Some Cuts Never Heal

With the James Madison University Hospital board of directors desperately seeking a new revenue stream, an egomaniacal surgeon attempts a reckless new procedure that promises to bring millions of dollars to the hospital and international fame to the physician. But the body of a lovely pharmaceutical representative has been found in a patient’s bed, threatening to ruin the hospital’s reputation and shatter its financial security. Lenny Moss, custodian and union rep for the hospital workers, is determined to solve the mystery and bring the killer to justice despite the frenzied work pace and inhuman hours he and his co-workers are enduring, as their jobs and one man's freedom hang in the balance.From the operating table to the pharmacist's desk, from the emergency room to the human resources office, Sheard's vividly drawn characters map out the anatomy of a crime with the discerning eyes of the finest clinician and the dogged determination of a master detective. Battling indifferent hospital policymakers every step of the way, the nurses, aides, critical care workers, secretaries, and morgue attendants of James Madison University Hospital prove that unity in the face of danger can defeat even the most cunning criminal.

My favorite stories are ones that are about something. Ones that engage social issues by showing people coming to grips with the forces that limit their opportunities for success. For love. For happiness. Sometimes the limits come from within. Often they are imposed by powers that come crushing down on them and seem unstoppable.
I try to write about real people toiling in the American health factories, with honesty and humor, recalling my co-workers and patients in all their conflicted, inconsistent glory.
There is no such thing as "fiction." Good stories tell important truths. That is my goal. That is my dream.