Rabbit in the Moon: The Latest from Deborah and Joel Shlian

By Marla E. Schwartz

Deborah and Joel Shlian of Boca Raton appeared as last year’s Miami Book Fair International and presented their new medical thriller, “Rabbit in the Moon.” Although this book isn’t a typical thriller in the lines of well-known American detective stories, it’s in fact a creation itself of a new genre of literally excellence – bar none- suspenseful story.  Their novel is based on the same name of a Chinese symbol for longevity which basically in translation means: there’s a rabbit in the moon pounding on the elixir of life.

This down-to-earth, kind, considerate and brilliant couple practiced medicine together in a multidisciplinary medical group in Los Angeles for a long time, then attended UCLA to earn their MBAs and eventually decided to begin writing fiction.  “Rabbit on the Moon” is their third novel that’s available in hardback and on Kindle’s e-book format. It’s won the Gold Medal for Genre Fiction, the Florida Book Award and the Silver Medal for Mystery Book of the Year award from ForeWord Magazine. The first novel they scribed together was “Double Illusion”, than they wrote, “Wednesday’s Child” which was nominated for an Edgar Award. Both novels have been optioned for Hollywood films.

The Shlian’s speak at many local book clubs and if you want to find out where they’re speaking next, please go to their website for this and other information: .

In the meantime, Deborah was kind enough to answer some questions for us about “Rabbit in the Moon.”

AROUND WELLINGTON (AW): What inspired you to write the story?

DEBORAH SHLIAN (DS): In writing Rabbit in the Moon, we started with a ‘what if’ premise. What if someone had found a way to make people live well beyond the normal human lifespan. From that came two obvious questions: who would want such a discovery and what might they do to get their hands on it? In our story, we explore the various motivations of a host of characters who will do just about anything for this secret.

After deciding on the premise, we needed a setting for the story. The backdrop we chose is probably the most tumultuous seven weeks in recent Chinese history- from the rise of the Democracy movement in April 1989 until its fall with the Tiananmen massacre on June 4th.

We chose 1989 and the period around the student democracy movement for two reasons: first it was dramatic. Anyone who read the newspapers or watched CNN at the time can hardly forget the image of the young man holding up his arm to stop the tank from rolling over him.

But we also chose this backdrop because after our first trip to China in 1985 we returned to Los Angeles and became a host family for over 10 years for students from the mainland who were studying at UCLA. During those weeks in 1989 many of the students were communicating with friends and family back in China. In talking with them, it was clear that at least from their perspective, the conflict was a generational struggle between the very old leaders, many of whom marched with Mao and who were desperate to hang onto power (and therefore for our plot would want to get their hands on an elixir that could significantly prolong their lifespan), and the younger generation anxious for reforms.

AW: Why did you choose to include a longevity drug as part of your plot?

DS: We know that scientists both in the US and around the world have been seriously looking for an elixir of life for decades – some searching for a gene – some like Roy Wolford who we met at UCLA by manipulating diet; others through various pharmaceutical approaches. And through our travels in China we had a sense that the Chinese were also doing longevity research, but in secret. So the premise that someone living in China in 1989 had finally discovered a means to increasing life expectancy became the basis for our story.

Dr. Ni-Fu Cheng (one of our fictional characters) had been obsessed with finding the key to long life for over 40 years. Unfortunately, his solution to the puzzle, while doubling man’s lifespan, puts the doctor, his granddaughter Lili Quan and the future of the entire world in dire jeopardy. I won’t tell you more of the plot because we’d like people to read the book. 

AW:  How long did it take to write the novel?

DS: Considering all the research we did beyond our travels, the novel took about five years working intermittently from the first nugget of an idea to the actual completion.

About the Spanish River Book Club

Around Wellington was invited to sit in at one of their recent presentations at the Spanish River Book Club at the Spanish River Library in Boca Raton, FL. (By the way, they’re available for more book club presentations, in person in Florida or anywhere in the US or Canada by telephone. Check out their Web site for more information or send Deborah an email: .) The collective intelligence quota of those gathered at the book club meeting this particular night shown bright as their impression of the book, as well as their comments and questions about it kept everyone in rapt attention.  If you’re interested in attending the July meeting of this Book Club, the book “Water for Elephant” has been suggested. For more information, please write to: .

A native of Toledo, OH and a graduate of Kent State, Marla E. Schwartz has been a professional journalist since her teenage years and is a Senior Writer for Miami Living Magazine, and a freelance writer for CRAVINGS South Florida in Aventura, as well as Around Wellington Magazine and Lighthouse Point Magazine.  An avid photographer, her images have appeared in numerous Ohio publications, as well as in Miami Living, The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post.  She has had numerous plays published and produced around the country.  Her short play, America’s Working? was originally read at First Stage in Los Angeles and in the same city produced at the Lone Star Ensemble.  It was then produced at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL and then taken to an Off-Broadway playhouse by its producers Adam and Carrie Simpson.  Her piece, The Lunch Time Café, was a finalist for the Heideman Award, Actors Theatre of Louisville.  Feel free to contact her at: .