Lager and Literary Chat with Luke Murphy

Luke Murphy is the International Bestselling Author of two crime-thriller novels.  In preparation for our chat at the Writer's Retreat Chalet, I had a Lay-Z-Boy shipped in (which stuck out like Frasier's Dad's chair), a keg ready to be tapped and pounds of chicken wings to devour.  The Carrington clan would not have approved.  Luke did readily. After the keg was dry and oodles of chicken eaten, we settled back.

JS: I have to bring up my wife's question after reading 20 pages.  "Has he gone to LA?  He sure seems to know a lot about it"  I know you went to Vegas for Dead Man's Hand, but LA?

LM: The simple answer is NO, I didn't visit LA...but I had a lot of help. One of the editors I
worked with is from LA, so he was able to help me a lot. The internet, with sites such as Google Maps, allowed me to research and roam the city, checking out various street names and locations. I traded emails with the LAPD and the LA City Attorney's office, so they were very generous with filling me in on the rules and regulations, as well as some insight into Los Angeles. 

JS: Was it tough writing as a female?

LM: It's funny. I'm a male caucasion, but I have yet to write a book from that POV. Dead Man's Hand was written from an African American male's POV, and Kiss & Tell was written from a female's POV. Weird, right? I have to admit that I cheated a bit when writing from this female POV. I created Charlene Taylor, the protagonist in K&T, as a tomboy - a very athletic, tough-minded female character. To be honest, she acts and feels more like a male than a female. Of course she does have a sensitive side with female instincts, but she likes booze, sex, and talking tough. But to answer your question, I found myself asking questions to my wife at times, like, "How would you feel if this happened?", "What would you do in this situation?". So it wasn't easy at times.

JS: I loved Kiss & Tell.  Any sequels in the works?  For Dead Man's Hand?

LM: I'm currently working on a sequel for Dead Man's Hand. The manuscript is with my third
editor, and I'm hoping to have it out to publishers by the spring time. As for Kiss & Tell, I

would love to write another book with those characters. I received a lot of positive feedback from readers on the character of Charlene Taylor, so I would like to write another story involving her. The wheels are turning LOL.

JS: With a teaching job, three kids, a wife and a pug, how do you find the time to write?

LM: Good question, I wish I knew LOL. I'm a little more flexible and have more time in the summer, when school is out, but winters are challenging. I have four jobs: teaching, tutoring Math & Reading, reffing hockey (Wed. nights), and writing. This is what a typical winter day in my life looks like:

6am - Wake up, start fire, make lunches, shower, dress

7am - Wake up the rest of the family (the dog is the toughest) and help get them ready for school and daycare

8am - Bus picks up 2 oldest girls, then I take my youngest to daycare and go to work

9am-3pm - Teach at school

4pm-5pm - Tutor Math and Reading at my house

5pm - 9pm - Family time (supper, homework, bath, story time, quiet time, bed time, etc.)

9pm-12pm - Writing 

Some nights are different, better than others. Because writing isn't my full time job, and I don't rely on it to pay bills and eat (thank God because I would have starved long ago), if I'm not feeling it on a certain night, I just turn off the computer. If the writing is going well, then I will go longer. So my writing could last anywhere from 1-3 hours on any given night.

In the summer time I prefer to write in the mornings, because that's when I feel I'm most productive.

So this is my life. Now that I actually sit back and look at my schedule, I think it's kind of a crazy ride.

JS: Will you stick to novel-sized format, or throw a novella our way?

LM: Another good question. I've actually been dabbling in shorter, novella length books, but nothing that I would feel comfortable enough to seek publication yet. I've also been contemplating a switch-over in genres, maybe leaving the crime-thriller genre for a bit and trying my hand at something different. But still, nothing I am ready to dive head first into yet. But I do believe that in the future (3-5 years), you might just see something different from Luke Murphy.

(My take-away from this chat is if you have a crazily hectic life, you can be an International Bestselling Author too!  And have the Lay-Z-Boy to prove it!  Not to mention Murphy is a phenomenal writer.)

Author Link: Author.to/Author

Dead Man's Hand link: http://ow.ly/hd4Xv

Kiss & Tell link: http://myBook.to/Kiss