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. Claire has more than twenty short stories published and is the lead editor for three Desert Sleuths anthologies. Play the Hand You’re Dealt (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGQ5WYDP/) 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.
Writing is Like Painting
by Claire A Murray
In Borg terms (yes, I’m a Trekker), I would be six of eight, and perhaps that explains my nature—dominated 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.
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—every week—because our mother was always late. Joining school activities … well, I finally found a place where I fit in.
I was crushed when my junior high teacher marked down a short story I wrote because the “tennis game” lasted too long: “tennis match” 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’t understand the game.
I tried short stories again a few times as an adult and received rejection letters—personal, 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’s 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.
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. “You captured her better qualities along with the chaos that surrounds her” is a fair paraphrase. I knew I was on to something.
I’m glad I never shopped that book, because I’ve 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.
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, “I have a half dozen short stories published.” That turned into a dozen, then more, and now more than two dozen. This September, “Charlotte’s Mine” will appear in Crime Before Our Time (Level Best Books); it’s a followup to 2023 “Charlotte’s Mining Days” in SoWest: Wrong Turn. Both stories take us back to 1890s mining days in Jerome, AZ. (I do enjoy research!)
“Ned’s Bedevilment” earned Honorable Mention from Bethlehem Writers Roundtable (https://bwgwritersroundtable.com) and will be published in their 2026 fall magazine. The first chapter of Mother’s Mountain earned 1st place from SouthWest Writers in the Speculative Fiction First Chapter Unpublished Novel category (2025). Play the Hand You’re Dealt (2023) is my collection of previously published and new stories.
Meanwhile, I’m three years and 82K words into Mother’s Mountain, a suspense fantasy trilogy. Kalen, a twentyish soldier in Lord Pentar’s 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’s 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?
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.
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.
I’m trying to keep the language in Mother’s Mountain 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’s language.
At one point, I considered Mother’s Mountain complete. Then I wrote new chapters from the major antagonist’s 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’m in no hurry. Time gives me perspective.
After moving to Arizona in 2016, I added painting to my creative endeavors, another form of story-telling. Painting lets my writer’s mind wander and resolve story elements. This has evolved into the presentation Writing is Like Painting: Layering Enhancements to Transform Plot into Story. Just as I use layers in my painting, I write a basic story, then layer in transformative enhancements. Now, I’m working on painting a scene from that as-yet-incomplete novel.
When I began writing seriously, I’d 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’s ever-challenging market. I’ve edited two Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths anthologies and will do so again for our 2027 volume.
A few things I’ve 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’s 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’s a call for submissions. Your own slush pile is handy: something you wrote earlier and didn’t finish or haven’t found a home for might fit an open call.
These days, I still live through books and stories. But my greatest joy is creating them!
Website: https://cam-writes.com/
Collection: https://books2read.com/u/bPkv2R
and https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKRH1ZJK
Social Media: https://facebook.com/clairemurraywrites/;
https://linkedin.com/in/clairemurray/;
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