Nikki Lynn Barrett

Abstract Despite the evidence supporting an association between oral disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD), oral health as a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular health is rarely addressed. This randomised clinical trial (1:1:1) evaluated whether oral health education improves oral hygiene behaviours and knowledge of individuals attending cardiac rehabilitation.

Today I’m going to do a scary thing. I’m going to let you in on my mind, my thought process. Don’t worry, it’s fairly harmless. Promise! But sometimes it’s fun to give a little insight as to how certain characters were created and why they are who they are. So today, I’m going to talk about one of my most recent intriguing and reader-loved characters, Nola Monroe. Nola Monroe is an heiress, and she’s the twin sister of Lizette Monroe.

Let’s create a scenario typical for an author. Or maybe not so typical… You have this story in your head. There are too many books to write first, so it stews and bubbles and works its way into the back of your mind. Then the time finally comes! Yay! The story gets to be written. So, the words flow. The characters develop. And then that fickle write-by-the-seat-of-my-pants muse says. “HEY! I’ve got a GREAT element to add to this book!’ I’ll be honest.