Author Interview--Murray Pura

Anne: Our interview this morning is with Murray Pura, a talented and widely published author from Canada. I reviewed his most recent publication yesterday, a short story in a series called Preacher Man. To read that review, click HERE.

Murray Pura was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, just north of the Dakotas and Minnesota. His first novel was released in Toronto in 1988 and was a finalist for the Dartmouth Book Award. Since that time he has published ten more novels, two collections of short stories, and several nonfiction titles including the Zondervan books Rooted and Streams and the Baker devotional Majestic and Wild. He has been a finalist for several awards in the US and Canada and in 2012 won the Word Award of Toronto for Best Historical Novel. Murray lives and writes in southwestern Alberta and is currently published by Barbour, Baker, Harper One, Zondervan, and Harvest House as well as several other publishing houses – he works with publishers in Canada, America, the UK, and Holland. His releases for 2013 include the novels: Ashton Park, The Rose of Lancaster County, A Road Called Love, Seven Oaks, The Painted Sky, Whispers of a New Dawn, Beneath the Dover Sky, The Name of the Hawk, and An Amish Family Christmas. His diverse writing spans many genres including: historical fiction, contemporary fiction, literary fiction, romance, adventure, western, suspense, fantasy, Amish, and inspirational. Most of his work is available in ebook format for Kindle, Kobo, and Nook as well as in paperback.

Wow--what a list! Now, Murray, we want to know what inspired The Devil to Pay?

Murray: There are a lot of crime shows on TV, and they show law enforcement battling evildoers on a very physical level. But there is also a supernatural plane where evil works wrong. I had seen story, quickly quashed, of a politician dying of burns from a ritual he'd undergone at some secret society in Europe. So I decided to have a character who dealt with evil on both physical and supernatural levels. The story begins when he's a federal agent who deals with criminal activity connected to politics and devil worship, and then it follows him into his second life as a pastor where the same issues raise their ugly heads.

Anne: I know you also write in other genres besides paranormal suspense--which is your favorite?

Murray: Historical fiction. But it seems that now I'm experiencing a bit of a shift, and I'm interested in doing more and more contemporary fiction.

Anne: About how long does it take you to write a book of this length?

Murray: The Devil to Pay is just over 20,000 words, so at 1000-2000 words per day it takes 10 days to 2 weeks.

Anne: And why do you write?

Murray: I like to tell people a good story that entertains but also one that makes them think and, at some level, one that might even inspire them.

Anne: How do you think people would describe you?

Murray: Tall, dark and handsome (lol). Hopefully as someone who is passionate about life and compassionate in the midst of that life.

Anne: I like that--well, the second sentence anyway! What is your favorite scene in the book? Why?

Murray: There is a scene where the rabbi is trying to help Jude find the killer, and feels God is trying to tell him something, but all he has in his head is a jumble of numbers. They eventually realize the numbers are a Scripture reference from one of the Psalms and this gives them a whole new perspective on the sort of murderer they are dealing with.

Anne: I liked that scene too. Finally, how about telling us a little about the next volume in this series.

Murray: In The Devil and All His Works a white power group comes to town. They have strong occult connections and are determined to wipe out the Jews in Jude's city as well as anyone else who isn't racially white. Nasty things begin to happen and Jude is back in the thick of it again.