Name: Grein Murray

Age: 45

Where are you from: East Coast

 

A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc:

I’m a single mom of 4. Before I was an author I was many things, such as librarian, office manager, secretary, florist and sports store sales person. I attended college to become a certified librarian.

 

 

Fiona: Tell us your latest news?

In December I released the second book in my Dancer’s series. I only have a few more chapters to complete my third and final book in my His Fallen Angel Series. I also, almost have the third book in my Dancer’s series finished as well, which won’t be the last book for Skylar and Ryan, I’m not quite through with them.

 

 
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

I used to write in high school and was encouraged by one of my teachers to become a writer, but life happened and that dream faded over time. It wasn’t until I started talking to my friend, mentor and author, Brina Brady that she suggested I write this story that had been floating around in my head. That book sparked my Joshua series and I haven’t stopped writing since.

 

 
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I think when I first held the paperback version of Loving Joshua in my hands. It just felt more real to me to hold that book and look at it, page through it and see my name on the cover.

 

 
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

I had Joshua’s character in my mind for a long time, the story kept growing and it was almost becoming maddening keeping it all in my head. Brina Brady inspired me to write it down and guided me through the self publishing process.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?

Descriptive is very much my style. I definitely love being able to have my readers feel what my characters are going through, to see what makes them tick. To have readers laughing and crying over my books touches me.

 

 
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

Some titles just come to me and others are a bit of a battle to come up with. Loving, Keeping and Forever Joshua were named that way because of how his relationship grew over the course of the series, so the titles fit the story well. I guess the same can be said for my His Fallen Angel and Dancer’s series as well.

 

 
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

That when you truly love someone that you will do whatever it takes to be with that person. There are challenges that my characters face, but their strong bond helps them to overcome those challenges. You do have to fight for that love, but if it’s worth it to you, don’t give up.

 

 
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I think pretty much every book I’ve written has some little part of my life in them. My most recent one, Love & Strength has an event that happens to one of the characters that is very closely related to something I lived through. My character, Ryan is actually based off of a real life dancer that I met last year.

 

 
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most? a mentor?

I’ve been an avid reader since I was a kid. I love getting lost in a good book, to escape reality and dive into characters lives is magic to me. The first book I ever got lost in was J. R. R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit.

 

 

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest and who  is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

There are so many authors out there that I have the privilege of talking to on Facebook. There are probably too many to name and I’d hate to leave any out, but if you check out my FB page, I share links to my friends books often.

 

 
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

I know I said it earlier, but Brina Brady was the person who got me writing, I owe her so much. I never had much support from my parents so having her backing me meant so much.

 

 
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

I do think it’s a great career, but the industry changes and if you don’t change with it you can get left in the dust. I’m not sure how long I’ll write, but I am enjoying it so far.

 

 
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

Not my latest book, but I’d love to be able to go back and re-do some things in my earlier books. I think I could do a better job on them now, I’ve learned so much since I wrote those.

 

 
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

In high school with the encouragement from my teacher. She used to tell me that I was good and grabbing the reader and making a picture form in their minds of what I was seeing in my story.

 

 

Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?

The third book in my angel series will focus on Alexander getting into a bit of trouble and Roman, needs to get to him fast. It probably will be a bit darker than my other books in this series. After the holidays I am going to finish it up so my editor can get her talented hands on it and hopefully have it out early spring.

 

 
Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

I have to make sure to stay true to my characters. I thought one of my stories should go one way, but it felt like something or rather one of my characters was fighting against me. I ended up throwing away about 6 chapters. Once I wrote what felt right, it went pretty smoothly.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?

I haven’t gone to any conventions yet as I still have some young children, but hopefully as they get older I can venture out. I’d love to meet other authors in person.

 

 
Fiona: Who designed the covers?

Kellie Dennis has done all of my covers, she is so talented. The cover for Love & Strength just floored me because I told her I would like to have 3 things all combined for the cover and I wasn’t sure how it would look, but she amazed me by doing it beautifully as always.

 

 
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

The conflict in this one was very hard to write. I hate when my characters are hurting, it actually affects me deeply. Me and my editor used many tissues while editing this one.  I tend to not be able to stop writing until I have cleared up a problem between my characters, which makes for some very late nights of writring, sometimes I’m up until 4 am.

 

 
Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

I think I learn something from each book I write. I hope that for people who have read each of my books that they can see my growth as an author. I don’t think you can ever reach perfection, there is always room to improve and I hope each of my books is better than the last.

 

 

 

Fiona: If any of your books was made into a film who would you like to play the lead.

I’d love for Logan Lerman to play Skylar.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?

Just to never give up. Don’t listen to the nay sayers, as long as you are selling books and enjoying what you are doing, keep at it.

 

 
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

I would like to tell them, thank you for supporting me and for keeping me going through the past two years. At one point I had thought about not writing, but then I got a private message from a reader who loved one of my books. Their encouragement means so much. I love to hear when people tell me how much they love my characters or how they cried or laughed during the book.

 

 

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

None, When I’m in the writing process, I can’t read other books or it throws me off. Once I am done with the next two books I hopefully can take a break and catch up on some of my friend’s books.

 

 

 

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

My dad’s copy of the Hobbit, that’s where my love of reading started.

 

 

 

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

Seeing the pain in the world we live in now really gets to me. I can’t even watch the  news any more. There are still lots of great people and good deeds done in the world, but it seems we just see the negative ones. I hate to see children suffering in any way.  What makes me happy is seeing the people around me happy and people I don’t even know. My youngest has a way of making me laugh every day, such a sassy child.

 

 

Fiona: Is there one person pass or present you would meet and why?

Alexander the Great, I’ve studied him for a good part of my life and would love to sit and talk to him about what drove him. I even did a presentation at a school about him.

 

 

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone and why ?

Loving Mother and Author because those two things are what I’m proudest of.

 

 

Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies ?

I play bass guitar, love legos, roller coasters and walking on the beach with my kids and dog, looking for shells.

 

 

Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?

I just finished watching an amazing anime called Yuri On Ice. I have no idea what I’m going to watch now that the season is over, but am looking forward to season 2. I really don’t watch much tv.

 

 

Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music –

Crab legs are my favorite. Black and red are my favorite colors and I have diverse taste in music from Avenged Sevenfold to the Doors to The Backstreet Boys.

 

 

Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?

I love animals and would have enjoyed working as a rehabilitation vet or possibly studying animals in the wild to help them get their population up. I’ve even thought of teaching world history. I’m very intrigued with ancient civilizations.

 

 

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?

I’m most active on Facebook, but do have a blog I update with important information.

My author page is https://www.facebook.com/GreinMurray/

My FB page I’m most active on is: https://www.facebook.com/GreinMurraypersonal and my blog is http://greinmurrayauthor.blogspot.com

All of my books are on Amazon exclusively. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Grein+Murray

My about me on Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/Grein-Murray/e/B0110SQWES/