Author: hmurphy

Why I Wrote Imogene in New Orleans

In 2003, I helped put on a writers conference at the Birmingham Public Library where I work. It was called Alabama Bound. The weekend after the conference, I was bored, sitting in our old rental house in between Greensprings Avenue and I-65. That house had 743 square feet for two grown men and two grown

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Book Reviews for My Mystery Novel Imogene in New Orleans

It’s been six months since I published the murder mystery Imogene in New Orleans. I wanted to post a few of my favorite reviews on my novel. They’ve been better than I expected and I couldn’t be more pleased. I had hoped to find some readers, but the people I’ve met along this adventure have

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A very fine visit to the North Shelby Library

I can’t say enough good things about libraries. I had the great fortune of visiting one recently, the North Shelby Library, which lies just beyond Oak Mountain State Park.  What a great experience. It was my first author talk and it was excellent. Librarian Michelyn Reid set it up and did a fantastic job of it.

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Original Title for Imogene in New Orleans

Six years ago when I first started thinking about the story and writing the first draft of my current book, I was calling it Imogene and the Zulu King. I loved that title. A great writer from New Orleans named Lyle Saxon had a wonderful scene in his 1928 book Fabulous New Orleans, where the

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Writing Books Is Fun

It’s been quite the journey, this book-writing deal. I started writing when I was about five years old, and I haven’t stopped since. I’ll never forget the first time I read a book that I didn’t have to read. I was 36 years old. No, no I wasn’t. I was in my teens. Someone loaned me

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