AUTHOR MICHELLE CORBIER ON BIKING FOR MENTAL HEALTH

After over twenty years in clinical medicine, Michelle Corbier now works as a medical consultant. Her writing interests cover many genres—mystery, paranormal, and thrillers. When not writing, you can find her outside gardening or bicycling. Learn more about Michelle and her books at her website.

Bike for your mental health

One of the earliest skills I taught my son was to ride a bike. The first bike—only bike—I owned during childhood had orange handle grips with multicolored streamers. It had tall handlebars with a long narrow seat which accommodated me and my baby sister. Because my father served in the Navy, we moved frequently, and I lost that bike. But the desire to speed down a road on two wheels continues. 

 

Bicycling gives me the sensation of flying like a bird. Free, floating above all life’s concerns and complications. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, “Health benefits include improved cardiovascular fitness, stronger muscles, greater coordination and general mobility, and reduced body fat. As with other types of exercise, it can also help improve mental health by lowering stress levels and stimulating feel-good endorphins.” Well said.

 

In Hollow Voices the protagonist, Dr. Julia Toussaint, bicycles to release stress and remain fit. An activity she shared with her son before his death. While my son never appreciated bicycling, it’s something I still enjoy and wanted to include in my novel.

 

Medicine is a stressful occupation. While the benefits are many, it wears on medical professionals physically and mentally. The idea for the novel began during one of the most stressful moments in my career. I contemplated leaving medicine, a job to which I devoted most of my life. Caring for people gave me purpose. Medicine provided personal satisfaction, job security, and a stable income. Unfortunately, the work environment became hostile. When things became tense, I resorted to writing. 

 

In the novel, Julia suffers a total mental collapse following the death of her son. Disconnected from reality, she seeks treatment for her mental health. In time, she recovers and discovers a new purpose. But when the people she loves become threatened, she takes drastic action with fatal consequences.

 

Change is a fundamental component of life. While some changes are more traumatic than others, how we cope with those events defines our lives. In Hollow Voices, Julia experiences situations familiar to many people, from office politics, personal loss, to a mental health crisis. Books may transform readers to new vistas or reflect current circumstances. In this novel, a mystery collides with reality. 

 

If I’m having a hectic day, nothing satisfies like biking. Trudging up a hill admiring the scenery, matching my strength against nature, or soaring down a trail with the wind whistling in my ears. Join me. Hop on a bike and drift away on a cloud of endorphins. And when you finish, relax with a good book. 

 

Hollow Voices

Recovering after the death of her son, Dr. Julia Toussaint starts over at a new job with a narcissistic boss. Suddenly, the past catches up with her when a police officer blackmails her. In a fight for her sanity, Julia struggles to protect the people she loves. 

Time is crucial and she must remember what happened after Evens died because the decisions she makes will have fatal consequences. 

 

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AUTHOR MICHELLE CORBIER ON CREATIVITY

Today we welcome Michelle Corbier for a return visit. After more than twenty years in clinical medicine, Michelle now works as a medical consultant. Her writing interests cover many genres—mystery, paranormal, and thrillers. When not writing, you can find her outside gardening or bicycling. Learn more about Michelle and her books at her website. 

Creativity in the Simplest Things

In middle school, I published my first book review. Nothing life shattering, but it heralded my interesting in writing. I composed many stories during childhood—none remain—but the concept of publishing would come later. 

 

I didn’t have a stable childhood. Despite those unpleasant memories, I recall the beauty of libraries. They became peaceful sanctuaries during a chaotic life. A place where I escaped into stories like The Count of Monte Cristo and Anna Karenina. When I discovered the ability to craft my own narratives, the opportunities became endless. Through stories, I ruled kingdoms and traveled the universe.

 

In the Write Club Mystery series, Dr. Myaisha Douglas’ husband dies. In one moment, she became a single mother and a small business owner. She must redefine who she is and what she desires, acquire a new identity. Once her only child leaves for college, Myaisha discovers the freedom to explore her interests. Mysteries, fictional and real, become her passion. On this journey, she experiences romance and friendship—ignorant of their dark sides. 

 

However, Myaisha is also a baker. In time, she finds a new purpose for her pastries. They help her obtain useful information about murders from the homicide detectives. 

 

Creating stories provides an outlet for my passion. Dishing up delectable cakes, scones, and cookies is another aspect of my imagination. Recently, I found an orange cake recipe on the New York Times web page. After a long day working on the computer, measuring heavy cream and sifting flour clears my mind. As the cake rises in the oven, I select a tea. The cake cools and the tea brews. Stretched out on the couch, I munch on orange cake and sip floral tea. But the extent of my ingenuity doesn’t end there. From the orange seeds, I hope to grow a tree and nourish the appetites of future readers—and writers.

 

Explore your artistic side and find inspiration in simple, everyday items. Don’t throw anything away without considering its possibilities. Open to another perspective? Enter Myaisha’s world. Solve mysteries and experience the lives of the Greensboro Women of Color Writing Group. The second book in the Write Club Mystery series, Murder in Gemini, is available now. Happy reading. 

 

Murder In Gemini

A Write Club Mystery, Book 2

 

When she’s not busy practicing medicine, Dr. Myaisha Douglas writes mysteries. She’d like to devote more time to her personal relationships, but murder intervenes. The twin sister of a Greensboro Women of Color Writing Group member dies suddenly. Myaisha suspects murder. Her writing group investigates the homicide, hoping to publish a true crime story. 

 

But the investigation becomes deadly when Myaisha uncovers an important secret behind a necklace. While juggling a romantic affair, she pursues the case. With the police prepared to arrest her friend, Myaisha enlists the help of the Greensboro Women of Color Writing Group to solve the crime before a third murder occurs.

 

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DEBUT MYSTERY AUTHOR MICHELLE CORBIER ON THE CATHARTIC NATURE OF WRITING AND GARDENING

Michelle Corbier is a medical consultant publishing her first novel in May 2022. She recently returned to North Carolina, the setting for her murder mystery. Learn more about her and her book at her website. 

Many writers would disagree, but I find writing cathartic. A book idea is like pressure inside my brain seeking release. Once my fingers touch the keyboard, words pour through my fingers. Does this happen all the time? Of course not. But when I’m seized with the desire to write, my creative power feels electric. I can’t type fast enough to capture the ideas swirling through my mind. 

 

Gardening allows my hands to create differently. Soil teeming with wriggling worms. Grasshoppers skipping along blades of grass. Earth crumbling through my fingers, getting under my nails. I relax, decompress.

 

When I began work on Murder Is Revealing, I knew my protagonist would also be a gardener. Dr. Myaisha Douglas is a widowed, empty nester who writes to cope with her loneliness. A member of her writing group is murdered, causing a cascade of problems for the group—and its members. 

 

Though plants are not a pivotal topic in my novel, it thrilled me when my book cover designer, Karen Phillips, incorporated a gardenia on the cover. The sentiment not only touched me but also alluded to the book’s protagonist.

 

I started work on Murder Is Revealing around the same time I planted this Meyer lemon tree. Each white bulb is a potential fruit. Not every story I write will come to fruition and become a marketable novel, but I enjoy helping them mature. Hopefully, readers will likewise find my novel satisfying. 

 

Murder is Revealing

Physician and amateur writer, Dr. Myaisha Douglas must discover who murdered her college friend before police convict a member of her writing group for the crime. It is the height of the 2007 housing market crash and, with a murdered realtor, the potential suspects are many. Myaisha erroneously accuses the wrong person of the homicide and is almost killed for her mistake. 

 

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