LIFELINES, a women’s medical thriller with romantic elements by C.J. Lyons, is loaded with fresh emotive writing that imprints characters in a reader’s heart.  Lyons, an ER physician turned writer, excels at writing craft and story-building.   LIFELINES is garnering strong reviews across the country.  Romantic Times gave LIFELINES 4 ½ Stars and selected it as a TOP PICK.  Let’s see why. 

DEEP EDITING ANALYSIS:

On page 1, Dr. Lydia Fiore faces challenges of her first day on the job in a new city.  Here’s how CJ Lyons shows Lydia questioning her decision.

EXAMPLE: 
Her stomach did a tumble and roll, like being sucker-punched by a wave off the coast at Malibu, dragged under by your own stupidity. 

ANALYSIS:
CJ Lyons described a fresh visceral response, followed by a simile, anchored with a power internalization.  A power internalization that’s backloaded with one word that captures how Lydia is feeling:  stupid.

The second passage is from Chapter 3.  The Chief of Emergency Services wants to speak to Lydia.  She knows he’s not pleased and she knows why.

EXAMPLE:
“Meet me in my office when you’re done.”  He sounded tired and the look on his face definitely wasn’t the same friendly grin which had greeted her at the start of her shift.

            Of course, that was before she let the Chief of Surgery’s son die.

Her breath caught, couldn't make it all the way down her lungs.  It was as if a malignant mass pressed against her heart and chest, threatening to choke her.  And it kept on growing, twisting her gut, an unbearable pressure.

ANALYSIS
In the first line, CJ Lyons shows news-of-a-difference with nonverbals, having Lydia notice his face is no longer friendly.  The stand-alone line about letting the other chief’s son die is understated.  Part of its power is that the sentence starts out casual and ends with a psychological punch:  Lydia is responsible for someone’s death.

The last paragraph is empowered.  It’s packed with eight Emotional Hits.  Building emotion  with visceral responses sets the hook in the reader and creates a psychologically powered read.