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"Write for the love of writing, not because you expect to sell your work," said Jeanne Ray, RN, author of the acclaimed novel Julie and Romeo.

After completing a grueling shift as a trauma nurse, Eileen Dreyer, RN, often would stay awake until the wee hours of the morning, typing out short stories on her home computer.

She discovered that writing was a great outlet for her stress. After a day spent working in critical care, where patient outcomes were often tragic, writing romantic stories proved therapeutic.

"There were many days when I needed to experience a happy ending, and the only way I could achieve that was through my writing," Dreyer said.

Dreyer and Jeanne Ray, author of the acclaimed novel Julie and Romeo, are two nurses who have turned their writing hobby into careers as best-selling authors.

In 1981, Dreyer found a kindred spirit in a nurse colleague who also enjoyed writing. They made a pact, challenging each other to get their stories in print.

Twenty-eight novels later, Dreyer has exceeded her initial goal of becoming a published author. After working for 16 years as a trauma nurse in two of St. Louis' busiest hospitals, she now spends her days working as a full-time writer.

During her career, Dreyer has expanded her literary horizons, from writing contemporary romances to medical thrillers. While continuing to write romances under the pseudonym Kathleen Korbel, she presents readers with intense medical thrillers published under her own name.

Her newest book, With a Vengeance (2003; St. Martin's Press), features heroine Maggie O'Brien, an emergency room nurse who also works as a medic on a SWAT team. When patients begin to mysteriously die at her hospital, O'Brien investigates whether their deaths are accidental or the work of a colleague seeking retribution on criminals, drug dealers and others who have preyed on innocent victims.

As part of her research for the book, Dreyer attended the Tactical EMS School in Camp Ripley, Minn. "I consider myself a very experiential writer," she said. "Some writers are fine doing research via the Internet, but in order for me to make Maggie O'Brien a realistic character, I felt that I needed to undergo the same SWAT training that she did."

Although a weeklong intensive SWAT course might seem daunting to most people, it was all part of Dreyer's commitment to making her stories as believable as possible.

In order to accurately portray characters in past books, she has trained in forensic nursing and death investigation and, for her upcoming novel, Head Games (2004; St. Martin's Press), she goes inside the mind of a serial killer.

For her research on Head Games, she has met with profilers at the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit. To ensure that all aspects of her books are accurate, she runs a draft of her novels past experts in the field before publication.

"I find it crucial that my books represent individuals and their professions correctly," Dreyer said. "I've read so many books where nurses are poorly portrayed that I don't want to inadvertently misrepresent another profession."

While she has become a literary success, her original writing buddy continues to work as a nurse and has an unpublished manuscript sitting on her kitchen table.

"The only difference between the two of us is that I persevered and wouldn't take no as an answer," Dreyer said. "Rejection from publishers can be overwhelming, but I knew this was something I was passionate about, and I was committed to getting my stories in print."

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