Tag Archives: crime fiction writer

Latest Trends in Blogs

Posted on December 19, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

For almost a year I’ve been writing this weekly blog about various topics related to Murder, Mayhem and Medicine.  Since I write thrillers and murder mysteries, the blogs essentially have been an extension of my book research.  And from the comments … Continue reading →

Posted in #TBSU, About James J. Murray, About Writing, Blog Interviews, Blog Rolls, Blog Trends, Blogging, The Blog Scratchers Union, The Next Big Thing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

My First Interview as a Writer

Posted on December 12, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

About five years ago, I had a wild idea that I could be a writer.  Actually, I had entertained the thought for decades, but other things always came first.  I guess you could say the usual happened—life got in the … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Writing, Drugs Used For Murder, Guest Blogging, Mastering Your Craft, The Art of Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Fiction Character Development

Posted on November 21, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

When people learn that I write fiction, I’m often asked to describe my main characters and, specifically, they ask how I develop the concepts for those characters.  The answer is simple: from observing people in their everyday lives.  The long … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Character development, Character Development Techniques, Protagonist Development, The Art of Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Flowering Plants – Beautiful But Deadly

Posted on November 14, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

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

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Drugs From Oleander Plant, Oleander Plant, Oleander Poisoning, Oleandrin, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Plant Poisons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Meningitis Murder

Posted on November 7, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Recently, a horrendous outbreak of fungal meningitis was reported in the news.  I watched in awe as the story evolved from a few isolated illnesses to 419 cases in 19 states that resulted in 30 deaths, at last count. I write … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Compounding Phamracy, Meningitis Outbreak | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Killers from the Sea – Part 2

Posted on October 17, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In last week’s blog we talked about the pufferfish and it’s lethal tetrodotoxin as a murder weapon.  Today I’d like to discuss a couple of other interesting sea toxins that could be used as instruments of murder to kill off characters in your … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Ciguatera, Ciguatera Poisoning, Saxitoxin, Saxitoxin Poisoning, Weapons From the Sea | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Killers from the Sea – Part 1

Posted on October 10, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In last week’s blog, I discussed Water Poisons, specifically Cyanobacteria and Red Tide.  Today I want to dive deeper (pun intended) into the subject of sea toxins and discuss one of my favorites: Fugu. Specifically, Fugu is the Japanese pufferfish and … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Fugu Poisoning, Pufferfish Poisoning, Tetrodotoxin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Hyphens and Dashes

Posted on September 26, 2012 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 their proper … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Hyphens, Hyphens and Dashes, Proper Punctuation in Writing, Punctuation Marks, Use of Dashes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

POLONIUM – The New Weapon of Mass Destruction

Posted on September 19, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Recently, I posted a blog on thallium, a classic drug used as a murder weapon both in novels and in real life.  After posting this, someone commented, “What about polonium?”  I thought he was referring to plutonium and having a momentary … Continue reading →

Posted in Drug Poisoning, Polonium and Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Dialogue: The Good and The Bad!

Posted on September 12, 2012 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Last week’s blog was all about character development and using my 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 in … Continue reading →

Posted in All About Writing, Dialogue Techniques, Good Dialogue Development, The Art of Writing, Writing Dialogue | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments