How the the Story of Ignatius was Born

As an ER physician I’ve heard and witnessed decades worth of incredible stories that left my head shaking in incredulity. My days have been filled with incidents like hearing “My baby no fart” as the reason a mother rushed her baby to the ER, as well as hearing unique patient health complaints that often start with the report, “I was just trying to …..” resulting in me biting back the retort “so how’d that work for you?”

My real life experiences as an emergency room physician has had friends and family for decades asking: tell us about the latest craziness you’ve seen.   So I’ve been a story teller for over 40 years now. But with all the new patient privacy laws, the stories I’ve written about unusual patients will likely never make it to print.

So I started creating fictional stories, when I wasn’t treating patients or tackling another DIY house project. This story of Ignatius came together during the pandemic as I needed an escape from what I was seeing in the ER. I had earlier begun a story about a high school student stuck in a fantasy world without all of today’s tools and technology to help him. I weaved in some fantasy creatures I conceived as well as some folklore creatures along with the adventure plot, and the first book of the Ignatius series came to fruition. I hope you too enjoy some time relaxing and escaping from your daily commitments as you join Iggy on his first adventure.