FROM IDEA TO BOOK WITH AUTHOR LUKE MURPHY

Luke Murphy is the International bestselling author of two series: The Calvin Watters Mysteries and The Charlene Taylor Mysteries. He also played six years of professional hockey before retiring in 2006. In addition, he writes an award-winning sports column and has also worked as a radio journalist. Check out Luke’s website for more information about him and his books.

Right from day one, The Cradle Will Fall had a different feel, and boy what a ride it’s been—from the original plot idea to the research, and then the unsuspected release day changes. This novel has been a wild card.

 

The idea for the plot started formulating back in 2019, after I released Rock-a-Bye Baby (Book #2 in the Charlene Taylor series). The initial story featured only Charlene Taylor as the protagonist.

 

The idea of a baby-selling ring was first put into play in Rock-a-Bye Baby, and I ran with it, as it continued to develop and branch out. I was even surprised at how far it ended up taking me.

 

When I wrote Red Zone in 2020, a novel featuring both of my main characters, Calvin Watters and Charlene Taylor, I had no expectations of where it would take me. I had no intention of writing multiple books including these characters but look at us now.

 

It’s all because of my readers. The amount of positive feedback I received after Red Zone, how excited they all were with Calvin and Charlene working together, summed up the possibility of another novel featuring the two. So, I added Calvin to this novel.

 

The idea of a baby selling ring is not your everyday topic. I interviewed a lady I knew who had gone through the adoption process, adopting a baby from overseas. I took the information she relayed to me, and I ran with it. Of course, I used my creative freedom, and took it to a whole new place.

 

The plot is a continuation from Rock-a-Bye Baby, when I left cliffhangers to indicate that the case wasn’t over, and questions still remained. Readers continued to want more, so I hope I fulfilled their desires by filling in the gaps.

 

The release of this book certainly is interesting. The Cradle Will Fall was originally scheduled for a 2022 release, but…since the story takes place in the Ukraine, and with everything going on over there concerning the war with Russia, I decided to postpone the original release date. I waited and watched, tracking the war, and wondering when an appropriate time would be to introduce this book to the world. I don’t know if there is ever a right time, especially with everything that Ukrainians are going through right now, but I sensed it was as right a time as it will ever be. So, I took a chance.

 

I hope you enjoy The Cradle Will Fall and my interesting story behind how the book came to be.

 

The Cradle Will Fall 

A Charlene Taylor and Calvin Watters Mystery, Book 3 

 

A rogue cop...

 

When the FBI refuses to acknowledge the disappearance of Agent Matt Stone during a covert investigation overseas, Detective Charlene Taylor has no choice but to go on the hunt. The Ukraine can be unforgiving to outsiders, but the detective has no idea just how deep the corruption runs.

 

A renegade PI...

 

There is only one person Charlene can turn to. Trusted friend and former leg-breaker, Calvin Watters, is a protector, and the only man who can go head-to-head with the danger that awaits them. Charlene must put her faith in Calvin, and hope that, together, they can find a way to uncover the truth surrounding the missing Americans.

 

Can Charlene and Calvin team up one more time to overcome an evil syndicate of corrupt cops, and a government conspiracy covered-up by an entire country?

 

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--CRIME FICTION AUTHOR LUKE MURPHY ON RESEARCHING MURDER

Luke Murphy is the international bestselling author of The Calvin Watters Mysteries and The Charlene Taylor Mysteries. Murphy played six years of professional hockey before retiring in 2006. His sports column, “Overtime” (Pontiac Equity), was nominated for the 2007 Best Sports Page in Quebec, and won the award in 2009. He has also worked as a radio journalist (CHIPFM 101.7). He is also a teacher and lives in Shawville, QC with his wife and three daughters. Learn more about Luke and his books at his website. 

Crime Research

A lot of people ask me about where I get my book ideas from, and to be honest, there isn’t one sole place where I retrieve my ideas. I’m constantly listening, speaking with people, observing behavior, and monitoring stories in the news. The majority of my ideas stem from a story I’ve heard or, even though my books are fiction, something that has happened in real life.

 

I always knew that I wanted to continue the Calvin Watters series. Calvin has become such a fan favorite character since I published the first book of the series, Dead Man’s Hand, in 2012. People seem to have a soft spot for the Vegas leg breaker turned private investigator. So writing a new Calvin Watters novel was priority number one.

 

Since I started writing crime novels, I have had many personal chats with my family doctor (he is one of my main resources). We are constantly talking about methods of death, and ways in which people can be murdered, without any proof or evidence left behind (I know, creepy, right?). Sometimes my mind even scares my own wife. LOL!

 

My doctor happened to mention a rare case he’d heard about surrounding a famous American heiress and socialite from the seventies and eighties—Martha Sharp "Sunny" von Bülow. Her second husband, Claus von Bülow, was convicted in 1982 of attempting to murder her by insulin overdose, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. A second trial found him not guilty, after experts opined that there was no insulin injection and that her symptoms were attributable to over-use of prescription drugs. 

 

But it got me thinking. 

 

Once we discussed this case, I started researching the story and it proved to be a very interesting idea. The story was dramatized in the book and movie, Reversal of Fortune. Sunny von Bülow lived almost 28 years in a persistent vegetative state, from December 1980 until her death in a New York City nursing home on December 6, 2008.

 

This got the wheels turning, and the thinking process kicked in.

 

I took this idea of insulin injections and ran with it. In my opinion, it was such a remarkable case, that writing about it became a fun fascination. Of course, as a fiction writer, I had the creative freedom to use my imagination and add to the story. But there were endless possibilities here, and I was able to follow through in developing an entertaining book. Or at least, I hope it’s entertaining for readers.

 

Finders Keepers

A Calvin Watters Mystery, Book 4

 

To beat the streets…

 

Calvin Watters spent three hard years on the Vegas streets, working the depths of the red-light district. When a string of escort murders surfaces and the LVMPD has no answers, they realize that there is only one man they can turn to for help.

 

…you have to know the streets.

 

Calvin vowed to never return to his former life, but this new case pulls him back in. As he hits the streets, his honed survival skills kick in, and the PI must call upon his past experience to outwit a worthy opponent.

 

Caught in the crosshairs.

 

When Calvin killed Derek Baxter, he added fuel to an ever-growing fire inside Baxter’s longtime sniper partner, Jackson North. Now North is out for revenge, but how far will the hitman go to leave his mark on Calvin’s life? 

 

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AN INTERVIEW WITH MYSTERY, SUSPENSE & THRILLER AUTHOR LUKE MURPHY

Today we sit down for a chat with mystery, suspense, and thriller author Luke Murphy. Learn more about him and his books at his website. 

When did you realize you wanted to write novels? 

It actually started later in my life. I’d always been an avid reader, so that helped. My first novel was published in 2012, when I was thirty-six. I wanted to be like the authors who I read and allow readers to escape reality and seek adventure in another world.

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication? 

I decided to try my hand and follow the traditional path to publication, so it was a long journey—months/year to write the novel, months/year to find an agent, months/year to find a publisher, months/year to release my book.

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author? 

My first three novels were traditionally published, and my last two are indie published.

Where do you write? 

I have a small office set up at my house, and I actually share it with my wife, who uses it as a sewing room.

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind? 

I like to have some background noise, so I usually have the TV playing in an adjoining room, usually on sports. But I have three young daughters, so there is always lots of noise LOL

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?

My main character Calvin Watters has similar characteristics to me. Even though he is a 6’5” black man, he is a former athlete who has suffered loss—lost his mother to cancer at a young age and experienced a life changing injury. Both have happened to me.

Describe your process for naming your character? 

Primary characters are thought out. I want a name that suits the character, depending on who he/she is. I like to have a name that can also be substituted with a catchy nickname. For secondary characters, honestly, I grab the phone book and open to a page, choose a first name, then do the same thing to find a last name.

Real settings or fictional towns? 

Real

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has? 

Charlene Taylor always chews the inside of her mouth when she is nervous or excited.

What’s your quirkiest quirk? 

I always have to put on the left side of my clothing first. It started out as a superstition: putting the left one on first (skate, glove, elbow pad, shin pad, etc.). And it continues in my everyday life: left sock on first, left pant leg, left shoe/boot, etc. 

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?

My favorite book is The Quiet Game by Greg Iles. It has such a great story and cast of characters, and there is so much happening.

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours? 

I wish I would have started writing earlier in my life.

What’s your biggest pet peeve? 

People shortening words and being too lazy to write them out when communicating digitally.

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves? 

A book, a BBQ, I better say my wife in case she sees this (maybe I should have said my kids LOL)

What was the worst job you’ve ever held? 

I don’t know about “worst”, but roofing was definitely the most physically demanding and one that I would not want to do for a living.

What’s the best book you’ve ever read? 

Already named it.

Ocean or mountains? 

Mountains

City girl/guy or country girl/guy? 

Country

What’s on the horizon for you? 

Always working on a new book—slowly but surely.

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books? 

Red Zone is my fifth novel, but the first to feature both of the protagonists from my two series (Calvin Watters & Charlene Taylor). My readers have been asking for this for a long time, so I hope it lives up to their expectations.

Red Zone

A Calvin Watters & Charlene Taylor Mystery

The prodigal son…

Calvin Watters hasn't been back to USC since the day his scholarship and humility were stripped from the former running back. Calvin had cut all ties to the school, but now finds himself pulled back, when a woman's dead body is found on the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum football field.

…returns home

Detective Charlene Taylor's new homicide case, a freshman cheerleader’s murder at USC, is complicated. Charlene knows that the USC football team is a close knit family, and getting inside the trusted circle, as a cop, is unlikely.

Calvin Watters is a game-changer…

When Calvin and Charlene meet up on the Coliseum turf, Charlene sees an opportunity to use Calvin to penetrate the Trojan family circle. Little does the detective know, Calvin is now an outsider at USC, no longer welcomed—with many who will go a long way to see the former football star fail.

Can Calvin and Charlene work together to uncover the truth, or will their egos interfere with what could be a powerful partnership?

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AUTHOR INSPIRATION FROM LUKE MURPHY

Today we’re joined by Luke Murphy, international bestselling author of the Calvin Watters Mysteries and the Charlene Taylor Mysteries, here to discuss where he gets the ideas for his books. Luke played six years of professional hockey before retiring in 2006. He’s also worked as a radio journalist and currently teaches and writes an award-winning sports column. Learn more about Luke and his books at his website.

One of the fun aspects about writing and releasing novels is that you know that once your friends and family read your books, they will never look at you the same again. It’s funny to hear my wife’s friends tell her that she should sleep with one eye open, because I have a really weird mind.

People often ask me where my ideas come from.

My books are complete works of fiction. I don’t base the characters or plots on any real people or events. Any familiarities are strictly coincidence.

There is not a single moment in time when my ideas come to be, but circumstances over the years that lead to my stories: personal experiences, observations, news stories, things I hear from friends and family members.

You can say that I’m old school. While many authors probably add their ideas to their iPhones, I always carry a notebook around. If I get an idea, if I hear of something that could potentially turn into a great, entertaining story, I jot it down.

My wife calls me an introvert, because I’m not a big talker. But I enjoy listening and observing, and it’s during those conversations and watching when ideas occur to me. Whether it’s hearing a story that might ignite an idea, or just seeing someone somewhere, watching their mannerisms and physical appearance that could spark a character in my next novel.  

My books become real from mixing these events, taking advantage of experts in their field and adding my wild imagination. The internet also provides a wealth of information, available at our fingertips with a click of the mouse.

I’ve been very fortunate to meet some people who are willing to share their vast knowledge and experience to help in my research purposes. These selfless individuals take time out of their busy careers to answer questions, and also have me wondering about endless possibilities. I’ve worked with police departments, medical experts, city attorneys, etc.

Plot: I get my ideas from stories I hear about, whether through reading (newspapers, magazines, etc.), what I hear (radio) or what I see (TV, movies, internet, etc.). The plot is completely fictional. I wouldn’t say that one thing or person influences my writing, but a variety of my life experiences all have led to my passion in the written word.

Setting: I usually set my stories in cities I’ve visited and fell in love with, and if I haven’t visited, the internet basically puts me right there.

Main Characters: I think that every main character created by an author has a touch of themselves in there somewhere. I’ve used much of my athletic background when creating my protagonist Charlene Taylor. Even though Taylor is female, I’ve created a tomboy, a “son her father never had”, in making her athletic and tough.

Rock-A-Bye Baby

A Charlene Taylor Mystery, Book 2

An aunt’s worst nightmare…

In the city of Denver, a series of baby kidnappings has the town devastated.  With no ransom demands and no contact from the perpetrators, local law enforcement is at a dead end. No motive equals no answers.

A cop’s personal obsession…

Charlene Taylor’s niece becomes a victim, and the LAPD detective is thrown headfirst into a whirlwind case with similarities to one from seven years earlier. Out of her jurisdiction, and with no friends or leads, Charlene must walk-the-line between cop and sister.

Who can she trust?

Charlene has to decide who’s an ally, and when an unlikely partner steps forward, they must race against the clock: because that critical 48 hour window has come and gone.

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PSYCHOLOGY OF A SERIAL KILLER WITH CRIME AUTHOR LUKE MURPHY

International bestselling crime novelist Luke Murphy played six years of professional hockey before retiring in 2006. He’s also an award-winning sports columnist, a radio journalist, and a teacher. Today he joins us to discuss the psychology of serial killers. Learn more about Luke and his books at his website.

Psychology of a Serial Killer

As a crime novelist, creating and developing emotion-driven characters is key. Because I write character-driven books, characters are the lifeline of my story; they drive the plot. For me, a powerful antagonist is just as important as a powerful protagonist.

In an antagonist, a writer wants to develop someone the readers want to hate, someone who the reader wants to root against, but find out more about. So when thinking about a serial killer, a writer must try to get inside the head of an individual who is so twisted, so manipulating that committing a crime feels like second nature.

There has been A LOT of research done on the psychology of serial killers, but really, there are still NO definitive answers. If you watch cop shows, then you know the FBI’s typical serial killer profile: white male, ages 20-30, target their victims within the vicinity of their living space, etc.

But in reality, not every serial killer falls into a single type, and these classifications don’t explain what leads someone to become a serial killer.

The thing with creating fictional serial killers is that the boundaries are limitless. For instance, serial killers can be: any age, any gender, any race, intelligent/unintelligent, educated/uneducated, organized/disorganized, employed/unemployed, loved too much/abused as a child, socially awkward/fits in anywhere.

They can be classified as: act-focused killers (killing is about the act itself), process-focused killers (enjoys torture), lust killers (sexual pleasure from killing), thrill killers, gain killers (believe they will profit), power killers (in charge of life and death).

Every writer wants his/her serial killer to be distinguishable, stand out in a crowd of murderers throughout literature, but many have these similar features: narcissistic personalities, callous, exploitive individuals with blunted emotions, impulsive inclinations and an inability to feel guilt or remorse.

When I first sit down to lay out the details for my killer, there are five things I think about:  a power junkie, a manipulator, an egotistical bragger, a superficial charmer and an average Joe.

The crime:

It can be organized, an attack planned methodically, from choosing victims, carrying weapons, transporting victims, and disposing a body. This makes it difficult for investigators to collect evidence. After a killing, they often follow the investigation in the media.

Maybe it’s disorganized, where nothing is planned. Victims hold no symbolic value, "wrong place at the wrong time."

The author’s killer must possess the cleverness and wit to be able to dispose of multiple bodies and outsmart the police by leaving little to no traces of evidence. They reel their victims into a false sense of security and once they have control, they kill, fulfilling their wants, desires, and impulses.

The Investigation:

Normally homicides are committed due to disputes that range from family affairs, gang violence, financial difficulties, and disputes between lovers. But serial killers are driven by instinct and a desire to kill. Due to these sexual desires and the need to fulfill their arousing fantasies, victims are usually complete strangers which means there is no link for detectives to investigate.

The Conclusion:

For me as a reader, I want closure. The subsequent arrest and proof need to be warranted and well planned in detail. Answers can’t be snared out of the blue; there has to be plausibility in the final outcome.

I want some background into the serial killer. Are their psychopathic traits due to DNA or upbringing? What were their parents like? Early childhood abuse or neglect might lead to posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders or phobias. Problem during the early stages of growing up can cause a child to seek relief through activities of violence such as killing small animals.

How will the investigator get there? What mistakes will the killer make? It all has to tie together and leave the reader satisfied. It’s very important for a writer to make sure the reader is aware of the motivations for the killer. This could be as simple as the killer finds comfort in his/her fantasies and dreams that take them into a realm that only they can control.

If you read my novels, please let me know if I was able to fulfill my criteria in creating and developing my antagonist.

Wild Card

This time, it’s not a job.

After proving his innocence as a murder suspect, taking down an assassin, and being an instrumental part in solving a high profile murder, Calvin Watters believes he can finally move on—until Ace Sanders’ prison escape catapults him into action.

This time, it’s personal!

Something has always bothered Detective Dale Dayton about the arrest of Ace Sanders. Call it police intuition, but his inner ‘cop alarm’ keeps twitching. When Dale reopens the case, he’s introduced to new evidence that leads him into a political nightmare.

Who will play the Wild Card to survive?

While Calvin tracks Sanders across continents and into unknown, unfriendly surroundings, Dale remains in Vegas to uncover the truth behind police corruption, prison escapes, and hired assassins. But Calvin and Dale must be vigilant, because there’s a deadly, new player in town.

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