Veterinary medicine into fiction

On this week’s episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, interviews Clare T. Walker, DVM, a veterinarian and suspense author, about her dual career in veterinary medicine and fiction writing. Walker shares her background studying animal science and veterinary medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, her work as a relief veterinarian, and her lifelong parallel passion for creative writing.

Throughout the episode, Walker discusses her veterinary medical thriller, The Keys of Death, set in Urbana-Champaign and rooted in real veterinary settings and experiences, as well as her work-in-progress, Lonely River, which follows a veterinarian caught in a political scandal and delves deeply into veterinary mental health, and more.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: So you're practicing doing relief work, and then you have these ideas, plus you're writing—how do you manage your time?

Clare T. Walker, DVM: I have to be honest, Adam, I don't manage my time very well, because veterinary practice, as you know, is very demanding, mentally and physically, [as well as] emotionally and just intellectually. You're drained at the end of a day, right? And then trying to do creative work that's interesting and really good is also very draining. So you have to kind of have a work-life balance and a work-work balance.

I have to kind of pick how much of each thing [I] can do. That's [probably] why I'm not as prolific an author as I would like to be, because I [have] to eat, right? [I have] to work. I do my best, and I try to spare hours here and there. And as a relief, that's nice, actually, because I can kind of set my own schedule.

Christman: And it has to be nice that you have this incredible creative outlet. I always feel that the more I chat with our profession, we're very creative in so many different facets. And with this outlet that you're doing, I mean, my gosh. Sometimes your brain must be your worst enemy because you have so many great ideas, but it's a great way of channeling that creativity and putting it on paper.

Walker: Yeah. It's funny, Adam. Sometimes I'll find myself sort of walking around the house thinking, “OK, what can I do? What should I work on?” And…it's really hard to rein myself in and go, “OK, I'm going to sit down and do this.” [I’ll] draw a box around my time, and say, “I'm going to work on this at this moment and that.” But you have to make yourself do it. Otherwise, your talent, if you have it, and your ideas just sort of blow up, or just blow away in the dust of life.

Christman: What is it about the books—you have this great book—what is it about them that appeals to veterinarians? I mean, we know that it has a little bit to do with us. But what about it appeals to veterinarians, veterinary technicians, or other people…?

Hear the answer to this question, and the rest of their conversation, at the top of this page or wherever you listen to podcasts!