Category Archives: Blog Writers

Foods Can Kill

Posted on April 29, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

I often write about poisons and toxins that kill. After all, I write about murder and what better way to kill someone than with a substance that’s lethal but not so easy to detect. Such scenes make for good fiction … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Anaphylaxis, Blog Trends, Blog Writers, Blogging, Children and Food Allergies, Common Food Allergies, Food Allergies on the Rise, Foods and Lethal Allergic Responses, Foods That Kill, Lethal Agents and Murder, Lethal Food Allergies, Lethal Substances Used For Murder, Murder With Food, New Methods of Murder, Peanut Allergies, Peanut Oil as a Poison, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Plotting Murder Scenes, Severe Allergies Used For Murder, Severe Food Allergies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

MADE IN AMERICA: What About Our Prescription Drugs?

Posted on April 22, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

From time to time, news features on TV report a trend to “buy American”. The reports suggest that Americans are choosing items made in America over similar items made overseas. That’s admirable—right up there with the “buy local” slogans. But … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Are Generic Drugs Safe, Blog Writers, Blogging, FDA and On-Line Pharmacies, Generic Drug Manufacturing, Generic Drug Safety, Generic Drug Use, Generic Drugs, Generic Drugs in the US, Made In America, Medication Safety Issues, Offshore Manufacture of American Drugs, Our nation's drug supply, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Prescription Drug Safety, Prescription Fill Practices in the US and Canada, Prescription Trends, The American Drug Supply, The Pharmacy Profession, Where Are America's Prescription Drugs Made? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Powdered Glass – An Instrument of Death?

Posted on April 15, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Let’s say that you have a particularly nasty villain in your novel and want to kill him or her off in some unique way. You have a brilliant idea! Crush glass into fine shards and mix them into the villain’s … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About James J. Murray, About Murder, About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Broken Glass and Murder, Characteristics of Murder, Choosing How a Character Should Die in a Story, Crushed Glass and Murder, Deciding How to Kill Off a Character in a Novel, Designing Murder Plots, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Glass Shards and Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Powdered Glass and Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Murder Plots | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Ancient Remedies Resurrected!

Posted on April 8, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Let’s start today’s blog with a riddle of sorts. What do the vegetables leek and garlic have in common with wine and cow bile? The obvious answer is “nothing” but a more subtle answer is “apparently everything” when the question … Continue reading →

Posted in About Ancient Forgotten Cures, About James J. Murray, Ancient Curing Potions, Antibiotic Discovery Void, Antibiotic Resistance, Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, Blog Writers, Blogging, Botanicals That Cure MRSA, Compounding Pharmacy, Drug Resistant Bacteria, Forgotten Cures, Medieval Cures, Medieval Remedies For Modern Ailments, MRSA, MRSA Research, Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria, Superbugs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dialogue: The Good and The Bad!

Posted on April 1, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Last week’s blog was all about character development and using the 3P model to consider physical, psychological and philosophical qualities to flesh out characters. Getting to know a character deep down is necessary before you can turn that character loose … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Editing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Writing, Authors' Social Media Support Group, Better Fictional Character Development, Blog Writers, Blogging, Characteristics of a Fictional Character, Creating Interesting Fiction Characters, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Dialogue Techniques, Good and Bad Dialogue Techniques, Good Dialogue Development, Growing As A Writer, How Fictional Characters Should Speak, How to Write Dialogue in Fiction, Learning the Art of Writing, Proper Use of the Written Word, Protagonist Development, The Art and Craft of Dialogue Writing, The Art of Writing, Tools of Fiction Writing, Writing Better Dialogue, Writing Dialogue, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Fictional Character Development Techniques

Posted on March 25, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

When people learn that I write fiction, they often ask how I develop the concepts for my main characters. The answer is simple: from observing people in their everyday lives. The long answer, however, is much more complex. While it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Editing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Writing, Better Fictional Character Development, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character development, Character Development Techniques, Characteristics of a Fictional Character, Counterfeit Drugs and the Internet, Creating Interesting Fiction Characters, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Effective and Compelling Fictional Heroes, Developing Writing Skills, Fictional Character Development, Growing As A Writer, Learning the Art of Writing, Pharmacists as Protagonists, Protagonist Development, Steps to Developing Great Fictional Characters, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, Writing Skills | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Makings of a Hero

Posted on March 18, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

There’s nothing better than a memorable protagonist in any story, and the good guy in a murder mystery saves the day by solving the crime and bringing the perpetrator to justice. So for the next couple of weeks, I’d like … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Writing, Better Fictional Character Development, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character Development Techniques, Characteristics of a Fictional Character, Creating Unique and Interesting Character Flaws, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Effective and Compelling Fictional Heroes, Developing Writing Skills, Fictional Character Development, Growing As A Writer, Learning the Art of Writing, Protagonist Development, Protagonists, Steps to Developing Great Fictional Characters, Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ketamine – A Bad Trip or a New Therapy Option

Posted on March 11, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Periodically, ketamine abuse is reported in news broadcasts or is the subject of TV dramas. Most of us have heard of the street name or slang terms for ketamine: Cat Valium, Jet K, Kit Kat, Special K, Super K, Vitamin … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scenes, Chemical Poisons, Designing Murder Plots, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Poisoning, Drugs Used to Murder, Future of Ketamine, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Illegal Ketamine Use, Illicit Use Of Ketamine, Interesting Murder Weapons, Ketamine As A Party Drug, Ketamine Hydrochloride, Ketamine Overdose, Ketamine Poisoning, Ketamine Treatments, Ketamine Use in Psychiatry, Ketamine Uses and Abuses, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Misuse of Drugs, Murder With Drugs, Murder With Party Drugs, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Street Drug Abuse Substances, The Science of Murder, Thrill-Seeker Drugs, Ways to Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CYANIDE – A Classic Murder Weapon!

Posted on March 4, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

If you’ve been paying attention to my blogs over the last three weeks, you’ll notice that I’ve been writing about some classic poisons that have been used throughout history as murder weapons and which have been the lethal elements of … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About James J. Murray, About Murder, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Chemical Poisons, Chronic Poisons, Cyanide and House Fires, Cyanide As A Poison, Cyanide in Household Foods, Cyanide in Household Items, Cyanide Is A Dramatic Killer, Cyanide Poisoning Symptoms, Cyanide Poisoning Telltale Signs, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Lethal Substances Used For Murder, Murder Weapons, Murder With Cyanide, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Poisons and Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Top Ten Most Famous Poisons, Uncategorized, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

BOTULISM – A Paralytic Nerve Toxin

Posted on February 25, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Botulism, as an accidental illness, is rare these days. More sophisticated canning processes and better preservation of food products have prevented this serious neurotoxin from poisoning those in the modern world. Intentional poisonings, however, are another story. The botulism toxin … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About James J. Murray, About Murder, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Bio-Defense, Biological Weapons, Bioterrorism, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scenes, Botulinum Toxin, Botulism, Botulism as a Bioweapon, Botulism as a Public Health Risk, Chemical Poisons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Clostridium Botulinum Bacteria, Deadly Poisons Discussed, Designer Poisons Used For Murder, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drugs and Bioterrorism, Drugs For Murder Plots, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing With Lethal Microbes, Microbes Used To Murder, Murder Weapons Discussed, Mysteries and Thrillers Compared, Neurotoxin Poisons, Paralytic Nerve Toxins, Paralytic Poisons and Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Ways to Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment