C. David Murphy
We have a wonderful treat today C. David Murphy, author of A
Diary’s House has stopped by!
Tell me, were you a reader before you were a writer? What
do you enjoy reading?
I
would have to say I am a bit unusual in that regard. I have always been, as
long as I can remember, a very active writer, probably beginning around the
second grade. My teachers and professors throughout the years have taken an
intuitive interest in my writing skills - determining the style as quite
unusual and unique in verse, vernacular, scope and dimension. A somewhat
conversationalist style, the reader can quickly become embedded within the
‘spirit’ of the characters they are reading about. The adventures they endure;
trials, tragedies; the bounty of love and relationships they encounter while
living their unique lives within each novel I write.
The
reader will discover an embedded world all its own. I take great care in the
narrative style for each work, the characters and their traits, the storylines,
as diverse a novel as each uniquely becomes, and the message each carries. I
want to surprise the reader, bring them to emotion; of joys and sorrows all
enwrapped within this novelistic world I create.
The
reader side of me was a bit delayed. I seemed to gravitate towards the full use
of my fertile imagination rather than confine it within the boundaries of
someone else’s novel. I suppose this is what invented the prevailing style
which I utilize. Reading
is such a great way to become more enlightened and educated. I found writing to
be as fruitful, if not more so – partly due to the incessant sponge and
disciplinary background reading I have to perform before beginning each work.
As
far as what I currently read - pretty much anything with a style and lyrical
nature about it. I just finished ‘Cold
Mountain’ by Charles
Frazier…
Is A Diary’s
House the first book you’ve written?
I
began writing full novels and moved away from short-length works when I was
sixteen. The very first ‘trial and error’ novel was called ‘The Golden Cross’.
In writing this piece, I realized my deficiencies in writing – from pace, mood
and setting, character development, dialogue elements, structure. I knew that I
wasn’t ready for a full novel until I matured as a writer. It wasn’t until I
finished college when I began the first of two Shakespearean-style plays. Those
who have reviewed both (‘In the Years of the Ages’ & ‘Hildengrass’) have
given it very high remarks. They are both comparable to Shakespeare’s style,
texture and movement.
The
glowing reviews resulting from the plays encouraged the birth of ‘A Diary’s
House’. It wasn’t long after this that I began the tale of ‘a woman in the
diary’ – it is how it all started. Once I began, the characters and the story
took and complete life of its own. The thrill I had when going through the full
breath of it was truly incredible to experience. It was really then that I knew
this is what I was supposed to do – to write…
What where you particular inspirations the character
development or character traits for A
Diary’s House?
In
truth, the main character (Landon Hampshire) was inspired by the impressions
and feelings of a son I was yet to have – what would he be like? I really went
deep within to find him, to discover the boy he was, and in turn, I found a bit
of myself. A combination of both – the boy that sits inside this man’s body now
(me), and the child I would eventually have in life. Although we tragically
lost Landon at birth, the spirit of the boy he would have become sits within
the covers of this novel…
There
are many roads that lead to becoming a published author, each one littered with
its own potholes. What was the most challenging aspect of writing (A Diary’s House)? (dialogue, character
development, creating names, etc)
One
word – endurance. The aspects of this novel were not hard to overcome. Some
elements (such as 3-4 scenes which were created at a later date) were created
and interwoven within the novel a few years down the road. But the true essence
of ‘A Diary’s House’ has endured throughout – with little alterations.
The
endurance factor really comes down to one thing. What was I to do with the
novel after it was done? I had written it initially to be read as a bedtime
story to my son/children and for it to be written for Landon, about him, and
the adventures he would dream of taking in the world and times the setting of
the story was based in. It was seven years later when Landon was born and
tragically passed away. At this time I could not even look at this book, let
alone ever read it again.
I
called a major, very influential person after we lost Landon. I told him that I
had lost my will to write - for what I believed, at the time, to be the rest of
my life. That losing Landon, I had lost my talent and will to write. He told me
that I was the most gifted writer he had ever known and that I should let the
time pass and heal the wombs/loss of my son. Then, and only then, I would know
the time had come and it was right to continue.
4 ½ years later, the time has come – it’s now.
How
did you tackle this challenge?
Prayer
– the loving gift from God. To travel down a road littered with pits and
upheavals. At times the darkness was very deep; this is when the prayers had to
grow strongest. This is when I had to get closest to God. And this is when I
discovered a deeper, more enduring sense of who I am. Life is about
self-discovery. I hope, in the end, such an experience can be a guidepost for
others to endure tragedies of a similar or even dissimilar kind.
A
writer has to be human; unearthed from the depths of ones’ soul. This ‘voice’
speaks to the reader in a revolutionary, and yet traditional way. The reader is
touched by this earnest dialogue; the connection is made – the invention of a
unique and intimate relationship is born.
The
words have meaning; movement – it touches one soul to another. It perhaps is
the greatest identification one person has with another. This is the connection
I seek with each and every reader that I have the honor in them reading the
novels I write.
Being an author is so much more than just writing a
good story. Besides writing the story, what is one of the most difficult things
you’ve encountered on your journey as a published author? What helped you get a
handle on it?
The
loss of family members in perhaps the most tragic of ways - the next novel
(When Tomorrow Never Comes’) is about my mother, her incredible life, her
eventual and unusual passing, and the wonderful ‘imprints’ she left with all
those she touched. This novel is in honor of her…
Writing
is a byproduct of who I am as a person. If you can match your deepest, most
entrenched feelings with words which can best describe the universal nature in
all of us, then people will find value in what you do. I began to travel on
this new adventure just a few short months ago. I go by God’s direction, by an
internal heartbeat which beats in this direction, and a faith that there is
something of value and beauty with the connections I make through my novels –
with the readers and how I can touch lives, hopefully, in a very positive way.
For people to reflect, to appreciate life and those that are around them, and
ultimately to effect change…
David
Murphy, thank you for coming today and sharing a little of
your experience with us, for helping us avoid a few potholes on the journey to
becoming a published author.
Thank
you so much in having me here today. I truly enjoyed the Q&A. Comments and
questions can be forwarded to my website www.cdavidmurphy.com.
Also, you can look for constant updates on what’s next, a blog series I have
started called ‘Language from the Heart’, and further installments to ‘A
Diary’s House’ novel series. The sequel is in process ‘The Long Journey Home’
which entails Landon’s further adventures as a young man, the perils in his
pursuit of true love, and the deeper roads he must travel through…
A little more about C. David Murphy:
I am a writer; first and foremost. Anyone who reads my works will instantly know this. I have found no greater joy on this earth than to be close to God and nature; exploring the serenity of landscapes, waterfalls, epic mountains, meadows and grasslands. To sit on those spots of earth and write to where my imagination will take me yields a tremendous amount of peace and serenity.. To create characters with true and genuine emotions, feel their heartbeat thru every word I write; their trails, their hopes and ambitions; to breathe life into their eyes and see their soul become one with me and the reader is absolutely amazing. I simply love to create on that venue and canvas; to affect change in the lives of others. It is my hope, when someone picks up my stories and reads the full weight of them, that somehow I have affected change in their lives, brought them to places they could never have imagined before, and moved them to believe in humanity again – to go out into the world and create ‘goodwill towards all’. The Diary’s House is C David Murphy’s first digitally published novel. He is also the author of two Shakespearean-style genre plays In the Years of the Ages and Hildengrass. He is currently finalizing his next novel, When Tomorrow Never Comes and The Chronicles of Good and Evil – Dracula’s Lair / The Darkest Tower, both due out later this year. Also, the sequel to A Diary’s House is in the works – The Long Journey Home due out the first part of 2013.
Check the Give-a-Way page to enter now!
No comments:
Post a Comment