The Panacea Project Blog Tour

Title: The Panacea Project
Author: Catherine Devore Johnson
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
Pages: 304
Genre: Medical Thriller

Calla Hammond has always been a loner—a product of the foster system and avoided by others because of a skin condition. When doctors discover her immune system holds the key to curing cancer, she struggles to advance lifesaving research in a world that sees her only as a means to an end. Yet along the way, Calla gains the one thing she has always longed for: a chosen
family. But when a group of unscrupulous people join forces to sell Calla’s blood to the highest bidder, she has to dig deep to find the strength to retake control of her life, her body, and her story.

Release Date: February 28, 2023

Publisher:  Greenleaf Book Group

Hard Cover: ISBN: 978-0-9858579-9-8; 304 pages; $24.95

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The Panacea Project

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Author Interview

At what point did you decide to be an author and what was your path to publication?

Twelve years ago, my husband brought home a course catalog that listed the latest continuing education program offerings at Rice University. He had stuck a post-it note next to the description for a one-day seminar for aspiring novelists. “You should do this,” it read. Apparently, I’d been talking about writing a book. A lot. I decided that maybe it was time to stop talking and start writing.

One of the prerequisites for attending the seminar was to bring the first 30,000 words of a novel-in-progress. I signed up kind of late and only managed to bang out about 15,000 words. Being an overly anxious, people-pleasing, rule-following type of person, I was concerned that I would get kicked out once the professor discovered that I hadn’t met the minimum word count, so I hid out in the back of the room and avoided eye contact for the first half of the day. I shouldn’t have worried. Writers are generally a loving, supportive bunch, and I soon found myself immersed in an extraordinary community of creatives who supported me as I took my first, tentative steps on the road to becoming a writer (though the most credit to my husband for giving me that all-important first nudge).

So, I started writing a book. Exciting stuff! Like many other aspiring novelists, I dreamed of finishing my manuscript in record time and scoring an amazing literary agent who would sell it within a matter of days to a top publishing house. Glory and movie deals would follow.

Spoiler alert: This is not what happened.

I’ll try to be brief: I wrote a novel, rewrote it, hired an editor to help me polish it, rewrote it again. This all took several years, after which I finally started the process of querying literary agents. One hundred and ninety-seven query letters later, I landed an agent. He did an admirable job of pitching my book to editors at some big (and some not-so-big) publishing houses, but he wasn’t able to sell it. We decided to shelve Book #1 for a while. In the meantime, I mentioned an idea I had for a second book about a young woman whose immune system could cure cancer. My agent was intrigued. He told me to go and write that book. I did, and after several rounds of revisions, he declared The Panacea Project ready for submission. Once again, my agent did his best to get my manuscript on the desks of as many editors as possible, but it also didn’t get any traction with publishers (despite getting positive feedback on the story itself). At this point, I knew several other writers who had gone through similar experiences with their books. A few had decided to give hybrid publishing a try. Hybrid publishers offer the infrastructure and support of traditional publishers (editing, cover design, production, marketing, sales, etc.) but the costs are paid for by individual authors. I was ready to get my story out into the world and see how it would fare, so I submitted an application to Greenleaf Book Group, a hybrid publisher based in Austin, Texas. The book was accepted for publication and will make its debut on February 28.

Describe The Panacea Project in 10 words or less for people who are just learning about it.

Timely exploration of bodily autonomy set in a medical thriller.

Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?

One of the things I admire most about the main character in my book, Calla Hammond, is her selflessness. Despite all of the adversity I throw her way, she never loses her determination to help other people. Exercising even a fraction of her courage and generosity could result in such good things. I hope that my readers are inspired by her example to do something kind and compassionate for someone in need.

Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give to your younger self?

Don’t give up. Publishing a book in today’s world can be HARD. It takes time, effort, and energy. Most writers hear “no” more than any other word when they are trying to get signed by a literary agent or publisher. It’s essential to have thick skin and a fierce determination to get your story into the world. That being said, don’t completely ignore rejection or criticism. Sit with it. See if any part of it resonates with you and use that to improve your work. And when it’s polished and as ready as it ever will be to face the great test of public opinion, seek publication with an open mind and a flexible approach. The way we publish, market, and consume books is constantly changing, so writers need to be open to new ways of getting their work in front of an audience. There are a lot of great options out there for story-tellers these days that don’t involve selling your book to a “Big Five” publisher. Don’t be afraid to try one of them if the traditional route doesn’t work out for you!

What is your favorite line from your book?

“Cancer is a waiting room.”

I think it might be more accurate to say that this is the most personally meaningful line in the book to me. Most of the plot in The Panacea Project is pure fiction, but the core of the story is based on a very real experience. Ten years ago this May, my husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He had surgery to remove the tumor. It was an early-stage cancer with no evidence of spread and he was relatively young, so his doctor recommended surveillance (regular scans and blood work) with no chemotherapy or radiation therapy. My husband was diligent about going to his follow-up appointments and we began to hope that cancer would stay firmly in our family’s rearview mirror. Eighteen months later, though, we learned that it had recurred in an abdominal lymph node. My husband subsequently underwent proton radiation therapy and has been cancer-free since then. Overall, we were incredibly lucky. The cancer was detected early, it was highly treatable, and we had access to some of the best medical care in the United States. But the experience was harrowing and I drew from it when I was developing my main character’s cancer story in The Panacea Project—particularly my newfound relationship with waiting and waiting rooms. As the spouse of a person with cancer, the waiting was one of the worst parts of the experience for me. Waiting for appointments. Waiting to run tests. Waiting for the results from those tests. Waiting to start treatment. Waiting to finish treatment. Waiting for enough time to pass after treatment so that we could run more tests to see if it worked. And the whole time we were frantic to do something, anything at all, because we knew that the cancer wasn’t waiting—it was busy growing, dividing, and (ultimately) spreading.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

When I’m not writing, I love exploring Houston restaurants, going on walks, traveling, doing crossword puzzles, enjoying yummy red wines, and reading, reading, reading. I also drink an inordinate amount of caffeine and spend a lot of time in various cafes and coffee houses. But most of all, I love spending time with my family—my husband, my two children, and my mother.