Speaking of Mary Murphy, have you heard she has a new book coming out?
The popular Comox Valley musician and author has just released a book of mostly short stories, titled Speaking Of, described on the front cover as “a houseful of eclectic works of fiction.”
Murphy’s fifth release, Speaking Of is a bit of a departure from most of her previous books. Three of her first four books have been children’s books
“Part of it is exactly what you would expect from me, and some of it is exactly the opposite of what you would expect from my writing,” Murphy said. “There is a bit of everything in this book. There is a novella - just shy of being a novel; a novelette, which is just shy of being a novella, and short stories, very short stories, and a few poems. It runs the (geographical) gamut. There are stories from Ireland, stories from Scotland, stories in New York, and Greece… there is a sci-fi, there is a mystery, and there are character-based stories.”
Murphy said that while each story is its own, there is a link.
“I really like threads, so even though they (stories) are divergent in their content, I wanted there to be a thread throughout the book. So at the start, it is always someone speaking. So ‘Delilah Speaks,’ or ‘Hecti Speaks’ or ‘Resistance Speaks’… while they are not connected as a whole, they are all connected through this thread of speaking.”
The variety of stories will appeal to the masses. Some are only a couple of pages long, whereas others 80-100 pages in length.
“That’s the nice thing. You might be in the mood for something lighthearted, or you might like a longer story… and they are all very engaging,” said Murphy.
While all the stories in Speaking Of have clear endings, Murphy said some of the stories in the book lend themselves to sequels.
“I won’t say purposely, but I guess semi-consciously, I ended some of these stories where it could easily be picked up. So there could definitely be a second (version) of this book. Probably all of the stories could be somehow piggy-backed.”
Speaking Of was edited by Kera McHugh, who Murphy said was a godsend.
“She is the most amazingly wonderful, talented, and humble person I have ever met. She was the editor and did all of the book design, and she is just remarkable. She has no idea how talented she is. This book is shining in parts because of her ability to lovingly, but strongly, push against me.”
Murphy is hosting a book launch from 2-4 p.m. on Dec. 3 at Dove Creek Hall (3400 Burns Rd., Courtenay).