What if? That’s a question that drives many science discoveries. For Louis Janeira, MD, FACC, it also drives his craft.
Dr. Janeira, a cardiologist at Franciscan Physician Network Indiana Heart Physicians in Crawfordsville and Indianapolis, has penned several psychological thrillers and murder mysteries. Two of his latest plays will debut in the Indianapolis area this month.
A lover of mysteries, Dr. Janeira began writing initially as a way to pass the time during a three-hour commute, hiring a driver so he could write in the back seat.
“I start out with the unusual, the ‘What if,'” said the Portugal native, who writes under the pseudonym L. Jan Eira. “It puts me in a make-believe world, creation of a world where I have to define what happens, when it happens, who falls in love, who’s funny… It’s so thrilling to have that. It’s been exciting to think what the future might be like.”
Dr. Janeira has written murder mysteries, science fiction thrillers and young adult fiction. To date, he has published eight books and 11 plays.
“I always knew I wanted to be a doctor, but my writing makes me feel good and ‘lights up’ a part of my brain I don’t get to do in daily life,” he said.
All of his writings have medical undertones. Initially a book author, Dr. Janeira began scripting plays at the prompting of his daughter, a bibliophile who at the time aspired to be an actress.
Next month, two of Dr. Janeira’s plays will be produced in Indianapolis. The Casualty Game, a story of a surgeon who’s called to operate on a victim he just stabbed, will play Aug. 2-11 at The Cat Theater in Carmel. The one-act play The Last Man, the science fiction thriller of the battle of artificial intelligence and the last man on the planet, premieres Aug. 15-25 at the IndyFringe Festival.
Once a theater group has elected to take on his play, he remains involved to coach on medical terminology and accuracies in medical practice.
“Seeing my plays on stage is an amazing feeling,” he said. “These are my creations.”
