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Author Interview Series
Author Interview: Doctors Orrin Lippoff & Mladen solar
Unconditional Loss
Interview by Gary Sorkin, Pacific Book Review
Mladen Solar Orrin Lippoff
PBR: Today we are pleased to have with us doctors Orrin
Lippoff and Mladen Solar, co-authors of the new novel titled, Unconditional Loss. Doctors, thank you for taking some time to
join us.
Thank you for the great review.
PBR: Before we
start, I want each of you to know I’m a dog lover – in fact, quite
extraordinary with my past appreciation for a border-collie/lab mix I had in my
life, which died a couple of years ago. So your book hit some raw nerves with me. Was this one of your intentions when writing
your book – to open emotional wounds of readers thus heightening your book’s
impact?
Yes, I am very happy to have Alvin in my life; he was a
rescue Dachshund we located three years ago in Texas. Alvin was the unfortunate recipient of
“demodex” a disorder he received from his mother at birth. Another result of the devastating “Puppy Mill”
process. Dealing with Alvin’s chronic
disease reinforces for me daily for appreciation for Alvin. I cannot imagine the day in the future when
Alvin won’t be there to greet me when I arrive home at night.
PBR: I’m curious
how the dynamics of creating the story, and working the character development
occurred between both of you. Frankly
this question would be a right-side/left-side question to one person, but here
we have two people writing one literary work. How did you both work together on this?
As an Internist, seems obvious the main character is a
physician. Our combined experience
working daily with ill patients brought a realistic background and realism to this
project. In this case, applying negative
outcomes we see in human medicine to a possible catastrophic outcome for the
canine population. Mladen and I
collaborated on various chapter plots and methods for telling story, while
trying to keep a tight focus on realism.
PBR: Whose idea was it to write this book?
Ø Orrin had the concept, again fear of Alvin dying
in light of his medical issues, while dealing daily with patients in flu
season. The thought of dogs dying akin
to fear of global pandemic in humans came together.
PBR: Have the two of you teamed up on other prior
literary work?
Not on literary projects, but many other endeavors.
PBR: The credibility and authenticity of your medical
details seem highly accurate, to my layman’s understanding. How real is the threat of a virus such as the
one you wrote about?
Very real, every year we are at risk seeing a global
pandemic in human population. How
fearful should we be our lives in hands of the pharmaceutical companies charged
in production of these vaccines? It is inevitable
we will deal with a strain of flu or other biological which is resistant to
medications. Now that’s in respect to
humans, there are many canine viruses; anything is possible. Humans in some cultures have a close
connection to avian and swine populations, causing higher risk of virus jumping
from these vectors to humans are a real possibility.
PBR: In our review we talk about Hollywood picking up
screenplay rights. Have you been in
touch with the movie industry and do you have any plans to peruse this media?
No contact yet. We hope to get the word out as best we can. A great review we hope will bring us closer
to this goal. We are planning to increase
our exposure; utilizing a publicist to extend our current reach.
PBR: I notice you both generously are donating a portion
of your earnings to animal charities. Tell us about that please.
One of the goals is to enlighten people on what dogs do
for us on a daily basis; this appreciation goes beyond the dog lovers. We also support all the good work the ASPCA does
in all their endeavors for all animals on a daily basis, and feel part of the
proceeds from this project should support their efforts.
PBR: Are you working on any sequel or new novel?
We are working...
PBR: We certainly wish you the best of success with Unconditional Loss, and with all of your
plans for the future. Thank you both
once again for joining us today.
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