{"id":2523,"date":"2026-08-18T16:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T23:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/?p=2523"},"modified":"2026-08-18T16:11:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T23:11:28","slug":"tell-me-your-story-claire-a-murray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/?p=2523","title":{"rendered":"Tell Me Your Story : Claire A Murray"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I am so happy to welcome Claire A Murray (https:\/\/www.cam-writes.com<\/a>) to Tell Me Your Story. Claire writes, paints, and hosts write-ins for connection, inspiration, and sanity. She reviews books for Kings River Life Magazine<\/em>, belongs to the Short Mystery Fiction Society, Mystery Writers of America, and is president of Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter. Claire has more than twenty short stories published and is the lead editor for three Desert Sleuths anthologies. Play the Hand You\u2019re Dealt<\/em> (https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0CGQ5WYDP\/<\/a>) is her short story collection, and she is completing a suspense fantasy trilogy, with another trilogy also in progress. She has a suspense fantasy and trilogy in progress, and is completing the sequel to an unreleased amateur sleuth novel. Originally from New England, She now lives in Arizona. She will be teaching writing in the Emeritus College at Arizona State University this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Writing is Like Painting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by Claire A Murray<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Borg terms (yes, I\u2019m a Trekker), I would be six of eight, and perhaps that explains my nature\u2014dominated by five older siblings, always hoping there would be leftovers enough for seconds at the dinner table, sneaking away to play tennis for hours on end to escape being given yet another chore to perform, and generally not feeling as if I fit in. Reading was my escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I became comfortable with being alone, living through books, and figuring things out for myself. Every day after school, a trip to the library provided adventures through books. Singing in the church choir meant leaving the house early for rehearsal, thus escaping the embarrassment my sisters and brothers experienced of marching in late\u2014every week\u2014because our mother was always late. Joining school activities \u2026 well, I finally found a place where I fit in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was crushed when my junior high teacher marked down a short story I wrote because the \u201ctennis game\u201d lasted too long: \u201ctennis match\u201d she corrected, totally missing the point of this futuristic story of a society so fit and athletic that competitions that once took hours now lasted days. More humiliating at that age, I was a red-ribbon tennis player, yet she thought I didn\u2019t understand the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tried short stories again a few times as an adult and received rejection letters\u2014personal, handwritten, and often including helpful guidance. I was delighted to be rejected by Marion Zimmer Bradley for being too close to a book she was currently writing in her Darkover series. Sure enough, the book\u2019s storyline was close to my submitted story. Some would get angry, accuse her of theft. I took it as a sign I was on the right track and understood her characters and the world she had created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years later, I wrote my first novel. Based on my experiences as the waterfront director of a summer camp, I had a strong foundation of place, time, and experiences to draw on. I included a character based on someone I worked with at the time. When my deputy director read the final draft, she recognized that employee. \u201cYou captured her better qualities along with the chaos that surrounds her\u201d is a fair paraphrase. I knew I was on to something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m glad I never shopped that book, because I\u2019ve learned so much in the years since. I began its sequel from a different point of view, which leads me to wonder if I should rewrite the first that way. Still deciding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I began writing short stories to improve my longer works. Write succinctly. Make every word count. Easier said than done. My first published story was motivating. Another followed. I was thrilled when I could say, \u201cI have a half dozen short stories published.\u201d That turned into a dozen, then more, and now more than two dozen. This September, \u201cCharlotte\u2019s Mine\u201d will appear in Crime Before Our Time<\/em> (Level Best Books); it\u2019s a followup to 2023 \u201cCharlotte\u2019s Mining Days\u201d in SoWest: Wrong Turn.<\/em> Both stories take us back to 1890s mining days in Jerome, AZ. (I do enjoy research!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNed\u2019s Bedevilment\u201d earned Honorable Mention from Bethlehem Writers Roundtable (https:\/\/bwgwritersroundtable.com<\/a>) and will be published in their 2026 fall magazine. The first chapter of Mother\u2019s Mountain earned 1st place from SouthWest Writers in the Speculative Fiction First Chapter Unpublished Novel category (2025). Play the Hand You\u2019re Dealt<\/em> (2023) is my collection of previously published and new stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, I\u2019m three years and 82K words into Mother\u2019s Mountain<\/em>, a suspense fantasy trilogy. Kalen, a twentyish soldier in Lord Pentar\u2019s army, hides her banned magical gifts even as they protect her and her fellow soldiers. Her mission to retrieve and protect a sorceress to heal Pentar\u2019s son is threatened by raging storms, self-doubt, and a secret cadre of soldiers that wants her to fail. Above all, Kalen must decide: Does she serve Lord Pentar or the people of the realm?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research helps me create realistic settings even when magic or mystical aspects are involved. Mention medieval and most people envision knights riding around in armor or jousting in an arena, but that was a short portion of an almost century-long period. Customs became traditions that evolved into yet others. Tools and weapons became more sophisticated. Styles, fashions, and manners changed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People, however, remain fairly consistent. Liars, thieves, clerics, soldiers, loving families, and fractured families exist throughout history. Human nature, after all, is a study in contrasts. I enjoy creating characters who represent those many facets. Isolating a character forces me to dig deep into how they solve problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m trying to keep the language in Mother\u2019s Mountain <\/em>and my second trilogy to 15c (late 1400s) and am impressed with how rich the language was even then. Words and names we assume are contemporary are much older than we think. I play with sentence structure and dialogue to give it an old-world vibe separate from today\u2019s language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one point, I considered Mother\u2019s Mountain <\/em>complete. Then I wrote new chapters from the major antagonist\u2019s POV to flesh out the societal, religious, and political aspects of this society and reveal information to the reader the main character does not know. Those revisions have been my focus for the past two years. I\u2019m in no hurry. Time gives me perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After moving to Arizona in 2016, I added painting to my creative endeavors, another form of story-telling. Painting lets my writer\u2019s mind wander and resolve story elements. This has evolved into the presentation Writing is Like Painting: Layering Enhancements to Transform Plot into Story.<\/em> Just as I use layers in my painting, I write a basic story, then layer in transformative enhancements. Now, I\u2019m working on painting a scene from that as-yet-incomplete novel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I began writing seriously, I\u2019d start at 4:30 a.m., write for a few hours before going to work and almost all day on the weekends. Today, I am rich with time to rise and begin writing as late as 7 a.m., host write-ins, attend webinars and workshops, and focus on learning as much as I can about writing and publishing in today\u2019s ever-challenging market. I\u2019ve edited two Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths anthologies and will do so again for our 2027 volume.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few things I\u2019ve learned from writing and painting guide my decisions. Mistakes are fixable: you can rewrite or paint over as long it fits with the rest. Nothing is wasted: what you remove from or cannot use in one work can be used in another. Time is your friend: distance from the process lets your subconscious figure out what\u2019s not right or needs to happen next; switching from writing to painting or vice versa is one of my strategies for that, and switching from my novel to a short story is another. Keeping a list of story titles and another of story ideas can be great when there\u2019s a call for submissions. Your own slush pile is handy: something you wrote earlier and didn\u2019t finish or haven\u2019t found a home for might fit an open call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These days, I still live through books and stories. But my greatest joy is creating them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website: https:\/\/cam-writes.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collection: https:\/\/books2read.com\/u\/bPkv2R<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

and https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0CKRH1ZJK<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Media:\u00a0https:\/\/facebook.com\/clairemurraywrites\/<\/a>;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0https:\/\/linkedin.com\/in\/clairemurray\/<\/a>;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/instagram.com\/clairemurraywrites<\/a>;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 https:\/\/youtube.com\/@ClaireAMurray<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am so happy to welcome Claire A Murray (https:\/\/www.cam-writes.com) to Tell Me Your Story. Claire writes, paints, and hosts write-ins for connection, inspiration, and sanity. She reviews books for Kings River Life Magazine, belongs to the Short Mystery Fiction Society, Mystery Writers of America, and is president of Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[426,425,86,427],"class_list":["post-2523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-claireamurray","tag-claire-a-murray","tag-desert-sleuths-sisters-in-crime","tag-play-the-hand-youre-dealt"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2H58s-EH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2523"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2529,"href":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523\/revisions\/2529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doniscasey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}