Character Spotlight ~ Richard Mabry's Dr Cathy Sewell

Dr Cathy Sewell

Not content to relax in retirement after a distinguished medical career, Richard Mabry has turned his hand to writing novels! Combining his extensive medical experience with his love of writing his debut novel, Code Blue, is the first in a series of medical thrillers. I hope you enjoy taking the pulse of his main character, Dr Cathy Sewell!

Over to you, Richard:~

Brief physical description

Dr. Cathy Sewell is a petite, blue-eyed blonde. Since completing her Family Practice training and moving back to her hometown, she's let her hair grow out from the “easy-to-manage” shorter cut she favored during her residency, and some of the sparkle is back in her eyes, at least temporarily.

People tell her she's the “spitting image” of her mother, who was killed in an auto accident a few years back. Unfortunately, her mother also had some mental problems, and Cathy hopes the resemblance doesn't go that far.

This is an image of Cathy on one of her happier days.

Strengths and weaknesses

In her professional life, Cathy is good at making decisions. But the events that drove her back to her hometown and the trouble she encountered there have left her doubting herself and her personal choices more and more. She'd like to lean on others, including her high school boyfriend, lawyer Will Kennedy, but can't bring herself to trust him…or any man, for that matter.

Pierce Brosnan makes for a great Will Kennedy

Quirk (if any)

Like most doctors, Cathy has a tendency to deny that she could have any kind of problem, let alone a mental one. If someone is really after you, it can't be paranoia…can it?

Like many female doctors, she carries a small chip on her shoulder, realizing she has to be better than her male counterparts to gain their respect.

Your inspiration for the character

There's no specific female doctor after whom I patterned Cathy, although I incorporated a few of the characteristics of the resident physicians I trained in my ten years as a medical school professor.

On the other hand, the town where the action takes place--Dainger, Texas--just might bear a resemblance to my own hometown.

Background to the story

I thought it would be interesting to tell the story of a young female doctor who flees back to her hometown when her world comes crashing down around her. Rather than being received with open arms by the medical community, she finds she has to prove herself again and again. I'm familiar with the turf battles that the average patient never sees, but which are part and parcel of modern medical practice, and I've made these a part of the conflict that greets Cathy.

The legacy left by her surgeon father and her mother, both killed in a car crash on their way to her medical school graduation, represents both a blessing and a curse to Cathy. Anyone who has ever tried to “live up” to the reputation of a parent or sibling will identify with the situation.

The rest of the story's conflict--an erroneous prescription leading to a malpractice suit, Cathy's trust issues with the men who want to help her, and her discovery that someone in town wants her gone (as in “dead”)--are purely products of my imagination.

I'm intrigued, Richard ~ thanks for sharing Cathy with us! I'm looking forward to reading your debut novel even more now.


Continuing the medical theme, on Monday the spotlight shines on Candace Calvert's Erin Quinn and Scott McKenna from Disaster Status!

Relz Reviewz Extras

Read the first chapter of Code Blue

Visit Richard's website and blog

Buy Richard's books at Amazon or CBD