Tag Archives: James J. Murray

A Memorial Day Reflection

Posted on May 20, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

This coming Friday initiates the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the United States. It’s actually celebrated on the last Monday in May. By the end of the week, people will be wishing everyone “Happy Memorial Day” or “Have a great … Continue reading →

Posted in A Memorial Day Reflection, How to Fly the US Flag on Memorial Day, Memorial Day and It's Meaning, Memorial Day Flag Ceremony, The Reason For Memorial Day, What is Memorial Day in the US, When and How is Memorial Day Celebrated in the US | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Scorpion Venom – A Lethal Opportunity!

Posted on May 13, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Scorpions are predatory arthropods—exoskeleton or shell-like creatures. They originated in England in the High Middle Ages (around 1200 AD). Although scorpion venom has a fearsome reputation, there are only about 25 varieties (out of the over 1,700 species) that have … Continue reading →

Posted in About Writing, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Chemical Poisons, Deadly Scorpion Venom, Deathstalker Scorpion Venom, Deathstalker Scorprion, Designer Drug Deaths, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Israeli Yellow Scorpion, Israeli Yellow Scorpion Venom, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Lethal Scorpion Venom, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Drugs, New Drug Discoveries, New Drug Research, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisonous Scorpion Venom, Poisons Used For Murder, Scorpion Stings, Scorpion Venom, The Deadliest Scorprion, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Tools of Murder, Types of Deadly Scorpions, Uncategorized, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Synthetic Marijuana – Fact or Fiction?

Posted on May 6, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Often I write about interesting designer drugs that can be used as murder weapons (like “Molly” in a previous blog). Today, I’d like to discuss another popular designer drug that’s been in the news recently. Synthetic marijuana first appeared in … Continue reading →

Posted in A New Drug Abuse Threat, A New Street Drug, About James J. Murray, Blog Writers, Blogging, Chemicals Used For Murder, Deadly Drugs in America, Designer Drug Deaths, Designer Poisons Used For Murder, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Abuse, Drug Misadventures, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Euphoric Party Drugs, Interesting Murder Weapons, K2 Use, Marijuana and Colorado, Marijuana Deaths, Murder With Party Drugs, Party Drugs, Psychoactive Designer Drugs, Spice and Recreational Drugs, Synthetic Cannabis, Synthetic Marijuana, Synthetic Marijuana and Colorado, Synthetic Marijuana and Teenagers, Synthetic Marijuana and Teens, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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