Category Archives: About James J. Murray

A Special Holiday Treat For You!

Posted on December 18, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

As we celebrate the winter holidays, I have a special treat for you. Recently, I wrote a rather twisted holiday story. It’s been included in an interesting anthology that published on Christmas Eve. Read my short story “Santa’s Secret Helper” … Continue reading →

Posted in A Christmas Short Story Collection, A Twisted Christmas Short Story, A Twisted Holiday Short Story, About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, All About Murder, All About Writing, Santa's Secret Helper | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Flowering Plants – Beautiful But Deadly

Posted on December 11, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

As many of you know, I write about MURDER, MAYHEM and MEDICINE.  It’s the focus of my website, and the novels I’m writing always contain a healthy dose of each. With years of experience as a clinical pharmacist prior to … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Writing, All About Murder, Blogging, Botanical Murder Weapons, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs From Oleander Plant, Drugs Used For Murder, New Drug Discoveries, New Drug Research, Oleander Plant, Oleander Poisoning, Oleandrin, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Plant Poisons, Tools of Murder, Yuletide Short Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Medication Errors – A Killer

Posted on November 27, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

As a follow-up to its landmark report, To Err Is Human, the Institute of Medicine (of the National Academies) has determined that medication errors are a serious public health risk and that the risk remains a widespread and growing threat. … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Blogging, Drug Error Prevention, Drug Errors in The Elderly, Drug Misadventures, Medication Safety Issues, Pharmacist Errors, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, The Pharmacy Profession, The Practice of Pharmacy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

WRITING vs RUNNING

Posted on November 20, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

This past Sunday I participated in a Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon Race. I’ve run full marathons (26.2 miles) before, but this time I was running the half (only 13.1 miles). Since I’ve been training for speed in my runs, the shorter … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Running, About Writing, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character Development Techniques, Developing Writing Skills, Difference Between Running and Writing, Learning the Art of Writing, Training for a Marathon, Training for a Running Race, Writing Skills and Running Skills | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

DRUGS and BIOTERRORISM

Posted on November 6, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Terrorism is defined as the use of force or violence against people and property. That action is labeled BIOTERRORISM when the violence involves the intentional release of a biological agent (such as bacteria, viruses or toxins). Bacteria and viruses are … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, Attack of Bacteria, Bio-Defense, Biological Warfare, Biological Warfare Treatments, Bioterrorism, Blogging, Drugs and Bioterrorism, Drugs and Terrorism, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Drugs Used to Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Murder Weapons, Murdering with Tetrahydralazine, Neurological Poisons, Story Development, Terrorism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Flesh-Eating Horror

Posted on October 30, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Since tomorrow is All Hallows’ Eve, commonly called Halloween, I thought some extra horror was in order.  I won’t bore you with what you already know about Halloween: that it’s the eve of All Saints’ Day in many Christian religions … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, CRE, Drug Resistant Bacteria, Flesh Eating Bacteria, Halloween Blog, MRSA, Necrotizing Fasciitis, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Zombie Wannabe | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Powdered Glass – An Instrument of Death?

Posted on October 16, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Let’s say that you have this particularly nasty villain in your novel and you want to kill him off in some unique way. You have a brilliant idea—crush some glass into fine shards and mix them in food. Your villain will … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, All About Murder, All About Writing, Broken Glass and Murder, Crushed Glass and Murder, Glass Shards and Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Murder Weapons, Powdered Glass and Murder, Tools for Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Brain-Eating Amoeba

Posted on October 9, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Of all the infections that one can get from living a so-called ordinary life, this one is about as lethal as any I’ve come across in the past. The disease is called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM for short. Fortunately, … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, Attack of Bacteria, Blogging, Brain Eating Ameba, Brain Eating Amoeba, Contaminated Fresh Water, Differences in Generic Drugs, Fatal Amoebic Infections, Fatal Brain Infections, Freshwater Sports Dangers, Infections From Fresh Water, Infections From Katrina, Internet Drugs, Naegleria fowleri, PAM, Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

SARIN GAS – A Deadly Agent!

Posted on October 2, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

With the Syrian Civil War prominently in the news recently, we’re reminded of the deadly effects of sarin gas. The loss of over 1400 lives in August 2013 is both tragic and horrific, and it calls to mind that sarin … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, Biological Warfare, Bioterrorism, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Drugs and Bioterrorism, Drugs Used to Murder, Sarin and Murder, Sarin as a Weapon, Sarin Exposure Symptoms, Sarin Gas, Sarin Gas and Syria, Ways to Murder, Writing Murder Scenes Using Sarin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

PROLOGUES – To Use or Not To Use!

Posted on September 25, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Often I blog about using interesting methods to develop murder plots, and sometimes murder mystery writers use a prologue to set up their story – possibly with an actual murder scene or with a scene that gives valuable information to … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, How to Use Prologues, Misuse of Prologues, Plot Development, Prologues, Proper Use of Prologues, Purpose of Prologues, Story Development, When Not to Use Prologues, Why Use Prologues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments