Category Archives: The Writings of James J. Murray

Ricin – A Most Lethal Weapon

Posted on October 11, 2017 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

I was shopping with a friend recently and she had castor oil on her grocery list. That gave me pause. From my early days as a retail pharmacist, I remembered that castor oil was sold over the counter as a … Continue reading →

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Hyphens and Dashes – The Dread of Misuse!

Posted on August 30, 2017 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Hyphens and dashes are two distinctly different punctuation marks and a proper understanding of each will avoid embarrassing mistakes in your writing. Will anyone get MURDERED as a result of using the wrong one in the wrong place? No, but … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Editing, Accuracy in Writing, Achieving Perfection, Achieving Writing Perfection, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Dreaded Misuse of Hyphens and Dashes, Em Dash Use, Em Dashes and Ellipses, En Dashes and Em Dashes, Grammar and Punctuation, How to Use Em Dashes Properly, Hyphens, Hyphens and Dashes, Hyphens and Dashes and Their Misuse, James J. Murray Blog, Learning the Art of Writing, Mastering Your Craft, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, New Blog, Obsession with Proper Usage of the English Language, Proper Punctuation in Writing, Proper Use of the Written Word, Punctuation Marks, Punctuation Rules, The Art of Writing, The Proper Use of Hyphens and Dashes, The Writings of James J. Murray, Tools of Fiction Writing, Use of Dashes, Use of Hyphens, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Propofol – The Milk of Amnesia

Posted on August 23, 2017 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Propofol is a short-acting sedative-hypnotic that’s used to initiate and maintain general anesthesia. It also decreases levels of consciousness along with a loss of memory for sedation during minor medical procedures. It is administered intravenously. The drug was discovered in 1977. … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Murder, About Writing, All About Murder, Better Fiction Writing, Blog About Poisons in Fiction Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Deadly Drugs in America, Deciding How to Kill Off a Character in a Novel, Designer Drug Deaths, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Storyline Ideas, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Misadventures, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs That Create Memory Loss, Drugs Used For Murder, Drugs Used for Near Death Experiences (NDE), Drugs Used to Murder, Elements of Murder, Growing As A Writer, How to Choose a Murder Weapon for a Plot Idea, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Murder Weapons, James J. Murray Blog, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, Lethal Agents and Murder, Lethal Chemicals in Murder Mysteries, Methods of Murder, Milk of Amnesia, Misuses of Propofol, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Drugs, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Plotting Murder Scenes, Plotting The Perfect Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, Propofol, Propofol and its Uses, The Science of Murder, The Writings of James J. Murray, Thrilling Short Stories, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Uses of Propofol, Ways to Murder, Writing Dramatic Murder Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Committing the Perfect Crime!

Posted on June 28, 2017 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

I’m in the process of writing the second book in my Detective Rosie Young Murder Mystery Series. This one is called The Serial Chemist. The first in the series, Almost Dead, was a great success with a 4.8 out of … Continue reading →

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Changing Ordinary People into Heroes!

Posted on June 21, 2017 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In last week’s blog, I discussed fiction novel character development techniques. I ended the blog by stating, “Make your characters real and believable by first making them real to you.” An evolving fiction plot is not very interesting unless there … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A Jon Masters Novel, About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Editing, Accuracy in Writing, Achieving Writing Perfection, All About Writing, Better Fiction Writing, Better Fictional Character Development, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character development, Character Development Techniques, Character Driven Writing, Characteristics of a Fictional Character, Creating Interesting Fiction Characters, Creating Unique and Interesting Character Flaws, Designing Murder Plots, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Effective and Compelling Fictional Heroes, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Developing Writing Skills, Fiction Based on Facts, Fiction Based on Real Life, Fiction Writing - A Believable Lie, Fictional Character Development, Growing As A Writer, Ideas for Creating Permanent Change, James J. Murray Blog, Learning the Art of Writing, Life Skills, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, New Blog, Pharmacists as Protagonists, Proper Use of the Written Word, Protagonist Development, Published Novel by James J Murray, Publishing A Novel, Steps to Developing Great Fictional Characters, Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, The Writings of James J. Murray, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fictional Character Development 101

Posted on June 14, 2017 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

As many of you know, I’ve recently published my third novel. Click HERE to Review or Buy! While deep in the process of promoting that book, I can’t help but look to the future and begin another one. In last week’s blog, … Continue reading →

Posted in A Jon Masters Novel, A New Novel By James J. Murray, A Thriller Novel, About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Writing, Better Fiction 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, Creating Unique and Interesting Character Flaws, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Effective and Compelling Fictional Heroes, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Developing Writing Skills, Fiction Writing - A Believable Lie, Fictional Character Development, Growing As A Writer, Ideas for Creating Permanent Change, Imperfect Murder The Novel, James J. Murray Blog, James J. Murray's IMPERFECT MURDER Novel, Learning the Art of Writing, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, New Blog, New Thriller, New Thriller To Download, Pharmacists as Protagonists, Proper Use of the Written Word, Protagonist Development, Published Novel by James J Murray, Publishing A Novel, Steps to Developing Great Fictional Characters, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, The Writings of James J. Murray, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

So, You’ve Published a Novel! Now What?

Posted on June 7, 2017 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

This is the question that many authors ask themselves each time one of their masterpieces goes to market. The writing, the editing, the cover art, the re-editing, the intensity to detail and all the other tasks of getting a manuscript … Continue reading →

Posted in A Jon Masters Novel, A Murder Mystery Novel, A Mystery Novel, A New Novel By James J. Murray, A Thriller Novel, A Writer's Psyche, About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, About Writing, Achieving Writing Perfection, All About Writing, Almost Dead, Better Fiction Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Developing Writing Skills, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drugs Used for Near Death Experiences (NDE), Elements of Murder, Fast Novel Reads, Good Books Create Emotions, Growing As A Writer, How to Create a More Productive Life, James J. Murray Blog, James J. Murray's ALMOST DEAD, James J. Murray's IMPERFECT MURDER Novel, James J. Murray's LETHAL MEDICINE Novel, Lethal Medicine-The Novel, Mastering Your Craft, Methods of Murder, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Mystery Novel, New Blog, New Book Is Published, New Book Release, New Methods of Murder, New Novel Published, New Publication, New Thriller, New Thriller To Download, Prescription For Murder Blog, Published Novel by James J Murray, Publishing A Novel, Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, The Psychological Effects of Publishing A Novel, The Writings of James J. Murray, What To Do After Publishing A Novel, Writing As A Special and Rewarding Career, Writing Skills | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Clean, But Deadly Household

Posted on April 12, 2017 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

A subtitle for this blog might be, “The Deadly Truth About Household Cleansers.” The other day my wife was using a bottle of carpet cleaner and asked me if the product was poisonous if ingested. I’ve long ago stopped questioning … 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, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Chemical Poisons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Daly Household, Dangerous Cleaning Supplies, Dangers of Carpet and Upholstery Cleaners, Deadly Household Cleaners, Deciding How to Kill Off a Character in a Novel, Designing Murder Plots, Dramatic Murder Weapons, How to Choose a Murder Weapon for a Plot Idea, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, How Women Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Murder Weapons, James J. Murray Blog, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Methods of Murder, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Chemical Cleaners, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Science of Murder, The Writings of James J. Murray, Tools for Murder, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways to Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Preventing the World’s Next Viral Outbreak

Posted on January 25, 2017 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

I read an interesting article recently about a new initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to partner with world leaders to tackle the next big viral epidemic. Bill Gates has said that “the world was tragically unprepared” to … Continue reading →

Posted in About Medications/Pharmacy, Blog Writers, Blogging, Curing Viral Infections, Curing Virus Infections, Cutting Edge Medical Research On Virus Cures, Deadly Viruses, Drug Resistant Viruses, Ideas for Murder Scenes, James J. Murray Blog, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Lethal Biologicals, Lethal Virus Cure Research, Lethal Viruses, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, New Blog, New Drug Research, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, New Research Technology, New Viral Threats, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, Superbug Epidemic, Superbugs, The Writings of James J. Murray, Unique Murder Plots, Viral Epidemics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

COPPER SULFATE – The Green Chemical

Posted on January 18, 2017 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Copper sulfate is a fascinating substance that burns with a green to aquamarine colored flame. Often it’s used in high school chemistry classes to demonstrate just such a phenomenon. It’s also considered a “green chemical” in that the US agricultural … 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, Blog About Poisons in Fiction Writing, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scenes, Chemical Poisons, Copper Culfate, Copper Sulfate Poisoning and Farm Workers, Copper Sulfate Poisoning and India, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Drug Poisoning, Drugs Used For Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, James J. Murray Blog, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Lethal Chemicals in Murder Mysteries, Methods of Murder, Murder Weapons Discussed, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Pesticides and Murder, Poisons and Murder, Poisons Used For Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Green Chemical, The Writings of James J. Murray, Tools of Murder, Unique Lethal Compounds, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment