LOCAL RESIDENT AND VOLUNTEER PHYSICIAN RICHARD HAIGHT PUBLISHES FIRST NOVEL

Winter Beach Dog Trot was released by iUniverse in March. In this dark comedy about greed, lust, murder, and Boston terriers in Florida's Treasure Coast, a struggling veterinarian becomes the lead suspect in a local citrus grower's death.

Inspired by such authors as Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen and tired of medical bureaucracy and Midwest winter blizzards, Dr. Richard Haight moved to Vero Beach ten years ago to write novels for tourists to read while relaxing on the beaches. Dr. Haight's new career was sidelined, however, when he was convinced by Dr. Dennis Saver to volunteer a few hours a month for the county's indigent healthcare program entitled We Care.

"One thing led to another, and as I realized the tremendous need as well as the appreciation expressed by the residents of Vero Beach, Gifford, and Fellsmere, I found myself working alongside the dedicated staff of the Indian River County Health Department as much as twenty hours a week. Thanks to Dennis Saver, I rediscovered the reason I went into medicine in the first place and soon found myself working in another free clinic in Wisconsin when my wife Denise and I returned North for the summer months."

Finally, with the encouragement of his family and his new-found passion for the people, the beauty, as well as the idiosyncrasies of Treasure Coast life, Richard resumed work on his novel, Winter Beach Dog Trot, a well-paced murder mystery full of quirky Florida characters, whose paths cross as they struggle to strike it rich or to merely survive.

Prior to Winter Beach Dog Trot, Dr. Haight published short stories and essays in MD, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Iowa Alumni Quarterly, and Lawrence Today. His work has received several awards. Winter Beach Dog Trot can be found at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, as well as at iuniverse.com. It's available in both hardcover and paperback as well as e-book.