Mother, doctor of haematology and author, Eileen Merriman, lives locally in Mairangi Bay. The long journey to become who she is today began in Dunedin, 19 years ago. When she was young, Eileen always dabbled in writing but had to give it up when she started at the University of Otago. It took many long years of hard work and endless study to qualify as a doctor. This was where she met her husband, Grant. They are both parents to Lachlan, 17, and Maisie, 11.
Eileen has a dual career; she works as a consultant in haematology and is the lead thrombosis clinician at North Shore hospital. She is also a creative fiction writer with 14 published novels since 2017. She says she could not be successful in one career without the other.
In 2013, Eileen signed up for a 30-week fiction writing course with Creative Hub. She required structure for her writing, and by joining the course, she made a bunch of new friends, most of whom were also working two jobs.
Most writers choose to have a day job, as writing is not sociable. Eileen says, as she is stuck by herself in her own world, she needs the balance of working in medicine to fuel her imagination for writing. If she does not go to work (or takes a break) and then tries to write, she will often get ‘writer's block'.
Her speciality is revealing how ethical dilemmas might play out in real life and is not afraid to approach tricky subjects; her young adult books have delved into topics such as self-harm and mental health, often including medical dramas. Eileen also writes science fiction and has published a few adult fiction books.
“I like to write about things that are not black and white, and that comes up a lot in healthcare,” Eileen says.
She does not need to do a lot of research for her books as she has inside medical knowledge. Equally, her life as a mother gives her inspiration for use in her novels; having a teenage son and an almost teen daughter provides real-life situations. Most parents of teens are faced with challenges of some kind, just as much as our young adults deal with daily challenges or tricky situations in life. It is only natural that both children are bookworms - just as their mum has a constant pile of new books to read beside the bed, so do the kids.
Eileen's debut novel, ‘Pieces of You’, published in 2017, was set in an area like Mairangi Bay, although she did not call it that. It was given much critical praise and awarded a Storylines Notable Young Adult Book award, and was a finalist in the young adult fiction category of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Her first adult novel, ‘Moonlight Sonata’, was released in 2019 and was long-listed for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction in 2020. ‘Catch Me When You Fall’ is a novel about the relationship between a teenage girl and her boyfriend when he goes through leukaemia treatment. The prequel to it, ‘Catch A Falling Star’, won the New Zealand Book Awards Young Adult Fiction Award and the New Zealand Book Lovers Best Young Adult Book in 2024. ‘Catch A Falling Star’, plus another two of Eileen's books, have been adapted for film. Her fourth young adult novel, ‘A Trio of Sophies’, was released in Australia, New Zealand and Germany. Eileen cleverly drafted the book using a completely different structure from her other books by playing with the timeline. The book centres around the disappearance of Sophie A, with the story documented as a diary of one of the Sophies, and starts on the 64th day of her disappearance, detailing back to day zero. ‘The Night She Fell’ is a gripping psychological thriller which deals with the evil traits of narcissism.
Eileen really enjoys being asked to read her books at New Zealand schools with Storylines New Zealand, which awards the highest literacy award, ‘The Margaret Mahy Award’ for children’s stories. A total of four authors will travel the country for their national story tours to schools, including an author who writes young children’s literature, a young adult fiction writer (Eileen), a poet, and an illustrator. Eileen says it is rewarding to engage with children who recognise her and have read her books. They will often congratulate Eileen on sharing ’difficult topics’ they have experienced themselves.
Work as a doctor is hectic for Eileen. She is required to travel a few times a year for international conferences and has recently travelled to London in the depths of winter for three weeks to attend a thrombosis conference. Every six years, doctors are entitled to take up to three months' time off as a sabbatical to up-skill and better themselves to build on their careers. Air travel provides the perfect setting for Eileen to write; she has no distractions and can easily spend hours writing notes.
The secret of success for Eileen is to never give up. She says people who never give up are capable of remarkable success. “Ask for what you want. If you don’t ask, you don’t get." She adds that women doctors are finally catching up with men in positions of leadership.
Eileen’s hobby for the past six years has been Tai Kwando. She has achieved her red belt and is now starting on her black belt. The classes are held in Wairau, only a five-minute drive from work, so she manages to squeeze in three classes a week, one at lunchtime, an evening class, and a Saturday afternoon class. She says it is particularly good for you - it is fun and also keeps you fit and supple.
She’s a busy lady, is Eileen Merriman; mother, doctor, author and soon to be a black belt in Tai Kwando!
Visit eileenmerriman.co.nz
