On step 3 and beta readers

First the email comes  with the subject  heading
USMLE Step3 Score Notice

That's where I start promising God I will listen to Wizkid less and more of Tye Tribett if He gives me a pass.  Then I start rationalizing and thinking "well if I fail it, its not a big deal. I am not in residency. I will think of a good excuse when I am on the interview trail."

Then I opened the PDF and found out  I PASSED!!!!
then



















I thank God, Jesus and the holy spirit for the miracle! I was quite sure I bombed that horrendous thing.  I tell ya,  I was sweating bullets in that exam. Now its smooth sailing to self publication and
residency. :)

On the business of self publishing-
Everyone hopes you are that writer that every beta reader loves your work of art, your fiction your baby.  From feedback, I have found out that my "baby"  needs a lot of work. Its okay to know yourself as a writer and decipher what advice you take or which you reject. However if ALL your beta readers say the exact same thing. You better listen because your eventual readers will probably say the same thing. Sigh. The learning process continues....:)
But in the meantime I am dancing .....

Residency interviews ! So it begins!

Can you see the exclamation! I am trying to exude self  confidence and excitement.
My first interview is on Friday and being somewhat of an atypical medical professional I am not really nervous. I am not going for  surgery or derm or any gunner specialty and I just want a solid residency.   Honestly, I just want to get it over with and put a check next to the whole process saying "Never to be done by me again ." Its really not that bad actually , the wining , dining (especially love this!) and visiting new places. On the flip side, its physically and mentally grueling to travel round the country ( even though for me most places are in the north east) and be interviewed by at least two people in the  hospital. I am not complaining though., at least I have interviews. I have to watch my facial expressions during interviews . I tend to come off harder than I am.... sometimes. My friend said I have the "I don't really care" face down to a science.

I am praying for guidance , not to base my decisions in March when I enter my rank list based on human assessment but by God. The thing is I am lot more flexible and open to a new location than I was a year ago.  There is a little bit of fear in me. I constantly hear "You did it before. look at what happened." The neurotic side of me is constantly reminding me of all things that can go wrong aka failing that horrendous  nightmare of an exam step 3 . But I have made up my mind to trust God no matter what. I have found out through this journey,  that faith I like, belief I like but trust I don't like. Trust is harder that faith, its a step further and its much more difficult for me. I don't even like writing about it.

But God has made it in such a way that I have no choice but to trust Him. I am cautiously looking forward to my future because I am genuinely curious to see where God is taking me.
Because everything I thought I knew, I found out that I really had no idea. I probably still have no idea.

self publishing in medical purgatory

Medical purgatory :  no  mans land  in between medical school and residency, few medical students have been there and all generally dread it because it is  uncharted  and unknown territory. 

If someone told me a year ago that I would have to take a significant break in my medical training and in between would be self publishing my novel while going on residency interviews yet again, I would have lost consciousness. That is after I threw a colossal spiritual tantrum where I would have told God,
"Kill me! kill me now! my life is over! " You know, and other things along those lines. :D

But this period of my life has shown me that God will not take you through what you cant handle. He has said he will strengthen and harden you to difficulty. I learned through this process that Gods strength in me is everlasting. Now nothing can faze me. If it cant kill God it cant kill me. Someone I know calls me  the "teflon Don"  :). Nothing sticks baby!

Anyway my journey to self publication is quite premature and I made decisions swiftly. I finished the very first draft of my book when I graduated last year, then really had no time to spare or polish the manuscript for a year. When I went back to it , I had to prepare for the horror of an exam called Step 3 so STILL was pushed to the back burner. I eventually got round to it in October and I  had a very steep learning curve.

My first obstacle was how to publish a novel when I was erm.... "financially challenged" and had the very expensive expense of travelling around the country  for residency interviews coming up . One thing I had to learn QUICKLY was that information was my  friend . When I did some research , I found out that  the biggest expense would be editing the novel.  This is especially important because the quality of the novel depends on this.  There is so much information available and many services being offered. Prices range from 500-10,000.  You have to make sure some of these "services" are not scams There are services for everything under the sun, services to self publish, services to promote your book, services to edit etc. But  I didn't have to worry about that,  aint no one can scam someone who is 'financially evolving".

Then I read a book that suggested using beta readers and then reinvesting in your product by re -releasing an edited version when you start making enough. Since competition is stiff it will probably be a long time before that time comes. So I got creative and got a few better readers by joining critique groups,  talking to people and then God placed people who could edit for me basically for free. Then someone referred me to fiverr.com, a website where you basically can get any service you want for 5 dollars.

So I did just that and I have learned that I  may not have the might of a publishing company behind me  but I have God so I thought to myself  "Eniola go for it" So I did.  
And like Esther if I perish I perish but what if I don't?

On Positive Blogging and Feelings.

When I decided to start blogging, I made a promise to myself to be positive on the blog no matter how I felt. I promised not to let my emotions dictate what I wrote. I had to make this decision because I tend to be cynical, sarcastic and nonchalant which I know is more of a defense mechanism for me.  So I made the decision to blog positive and keep the criticism to the minimum,  no matter how I felt.

I have learned the hard way that God is not overtly concerned by my  feelings and comfort. When He placed it on my heart to write my book in medical school I had justifiable excuses not to , I was busy,  my life was messy and nine times out of ten I did not feel like it. But in obeying God, your  feelings and your action of obedience will never be alignment. You have to make a choice. Do I obey my feelings? Or do I obey God? For the longest time I obeyed my feelings but  then I realized my feelings were volatile.One minute "God is good, I am so glad I am happy" , the next is "Why does God put me through all this?I am not happy , I am depressed. " I realized I could not trust my emotions , that they change, that the intensity of my emotions does not correlate with what direction I should take and what God wants me to do. Even now, I am typing contrary to my emotions. If I really wrote how I felt.....everyone that read the post would leave my blog depressed.

So I am going to fake it till I make it. I already feel like a "mole"  in this Christianity thing, that although I  have changed there are so many flaws still inherent in my character. That most times I don't feel like Theresa Giudice in "Real House wives of New Jersey" and all I want to do is "love, love,love" ( I am sorry, I really love that show * covers head in shame*)

But I will not "act"  like I "feel" Because nine times out of ten, my feelings are wrong and if I just  "stop drop and roll" the fiery intensity  of my emotions will be extinguished .

In positive news, I am currently in the editing stages of my book and I have given it to "beta readers " for feed back. I blog later this week about that. I am not looking forward to getting the manuscript with criticism but  I want the best possible product I can get with my more " financially challenged"  budget for publication. Editors are very expensive yall!

In other news not so positive news , Pharell Williams got married,.  I will  just think "positive" about that tragedy. :D

Still

A broken soul,

an alcoholic,

a certifiable genius,

a  Christian man

and a secret that will destroy the bonds of their friendship.

When self-proclaimed atheist Fadesola, gets into medical school she believes that it’s a fresh start of sorts for her. Until she discovers, her class mate is charming and handsome Tayo Smith, a man she encountered in a violent moment years ago. This revelation shatters Fadesola’s already fragile emotional state but hope comes where she least expects it. A seemingly innocent friendship with Tayo’s friend, Ladi, slowly develops into a smoldering relationship with both afraid to acknowledge their mutual feelings. Things get even more complicated when Nikky, Fadesola’s classmate and friend, ignores her desperate warnings and decides that Tayo is the man she is meant to be with. However, within the complexities of this friendship these flawed individuals will experience God’s redemptive grace in a setting each believed his love would never find them. Still, the first book of a four part series is a coming of age story about navigating through medical school in the first year, complete with hilarious hook ups and breaks ups, legendary parties and incessant studying, and experiencing the triumph of success and disappointment of failure.

Still is available on amazon in paperback for  $9.99  and in kindle for 2.99  here

Its available on Smashwords in multiple formats including epub here  

On B&N nook here

Also available on appleibook!

Praise for Still

 

“A spell-binding prose of love, pain, and self-discovery that will draw you to its characters and leave you pondering and entertained. Prentice, indeed, is an author to look out for."—Miranda A. Uyeh, 2014 INSPY Award Judge and Author of To Die Once: Child of Grace, #1

  

  

"Still is a fusion of two of my dearest institutions - Medicine and Christianity. Within this setting Eniola explores Christianity, suicide, alcoholism, relationships, the dark world of secrets and mental illness in a way that has never been done before."- Bumight Heparin MD

"The reader will empathize with and relate to each of these characters, cheering them from the sidelines.  This debut novel by Eniola Prentice is commendable." Nike Campbell -Fatoki Author of Thread of Gold Beads. 

"Still has a myriad of colorful characters, so colorful that you'll find yourself laughing, crying, cheering and  honestly, you just might catch a glimpse of yourself as well." inthemidstofher.com

"A Bible would symbolize the very real and active faith of the lovely author of this book. Its threads are woven throughout this book in a way that is authentic and refreshing. Just as you can see the hand of God in the book’s character’s lives, we can all see it on her as well."mountmom.com

"This is more than just a love story, it is a story of friendship, pain, loss, success, failure, joy and grace; a fine cocktail that just about sums up life." Kovie at FutureNewyorker

"I warmly recommend this book if you like romance fiction WITH (a) BRAIN (plus, there's a nice international flavor)." Mintu at IammrsK

Contact me

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Email: eniolaprentice@gmail.com


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What's in a name?

ap·pren·tice

əˈprentis/

noun

1. 1.

   a person who is learning a trade from a skilled employer

When I was thinking of a pen name for my novel  I wanted a name that encapsulated who I was and where I was in life. Something easy to remember and pronounce. So I went through a couple of  names that I thought were "sexy"  and that  my potential readers would understand Sorry , sue me. Sexiness is very important. LOL. Cardoso, Rhodes-Vivour, Peters were names that occurred to me. Then I realized these names did not mean anything to me . They were simply random.

Although I chose Prentice on a whim, it meant something to me.

I feel/ will always feel like I am Gods' apprentice. I am always learning and He is never to tired to teach me, scold me or admonish me. There are so many conceptions I had in my mind about publishing my book , my medical  career  and certain things in my life 2 years ago that have changed . Now my former rigid point of view is actually funny .  When God changed them  I wonder why I thought that way in the first place.

Being in a profession with never ending examinations AND re-examinations, training and reading I understand there is never going to be a point in life when I am perfect,when I will no longer be the apprentice. Even when I start practicing  I am going to encounter a patient that absolutely  stumps me and I will be back to being the apprentice.

But the apprenticeship of life, with God and his children is never ending, its always being renewed, revamped and redirected by a patient long-suffering God. He puts up with a lot from me....and I even when I get exasperated with myself He doesn't get fed up.

So I am introducing myself as Eniola Prentice,drama Queen, loyal friend, indifferent, reserved, sassy, quirky, sarcastic, funny, quick-witted, analytic medical doctor and writer But most of all an apprentice of Jesus!

In perfect but always learning.

About me

Eniola Prentice was born in Lagos Nigeria where she began to pen my stories as early as nine years old  inspired by an eclectic group of writers. Her budding writing career was put in the back burner as she pursued her dream of becoming a medical doctor, completing her undergraduate degree in Chicago, Illinois and her medical degree in Washington, DC. However in the third year of medical school inspired by the holy spirit or the voices in her head ( she would prefer to blame God for this one) and the unique and inspiring stories of friends that became her family in medical school she began to write her debut novel and series , Still. She hopes that her writing compels challenges, inspires people and draws people to the Christian God’s redeeming love.

 

Thank you for clicking on the link so you can get to know me.

I hope you leave this blog more blessed than you came

 

You can contact me by email  at eniolaprentice@gmail.com regarding anything, to reach out, for a book review, for advise, author collaborations, guest posts.  If any question comes to your mind, shoot me an email. I am pretty open.