In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series “The First Two Pages,” hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, and the full archive of those essays can be found at Bonnie’s website. In November 2017, the blog series relocated to my website, and the archive of this second stage of the series can be found here.
It’s always a pleasure to welcome a fellow SleuthSayer—fellow former SleuthSayer in both our cases!—to the First Two Pages, given that group blog’s reputation for fine writers and for quality and provocative reflection. But Melissa Yi wears even more hats than novelist and blogger. She’s also an emergency physician, a career she’s drawn on for her Hope Sze medical thrillers—the seventh of which, Graveyard Shift, was released earlier this fall. That book is the subject of her essay today, in which she also looks at the ways that one profession informs the other—and also at how she has to work differently on the page than in real life.
Yi’s novels have been named among the best Canadian suspense books by the Globe and Mail, CBC Books, and The Next Chapter. Her short fiction has also received numerous honors, including being named a finalist for both Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award and for the Derringer Award. You can find out more about her work at her website, or connect with her on both Facebook and Twitter.
Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay to read off-line.
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