ABOUT ME: JAMES MURDO
Hello, my name is James Murdo and I write Science Fiction, usually placed in a hybridised Space Opera genre. I have seven books currently under my belt, and a couple more in the works. Right now, Echoes of Gravity is being released by Cranthorpe Millner, which is the first in the Tapache’s Promise Trilogy. I’ve also finished book two in that trilogy, and am drafting the third.
BEING AN AUTHOR: FIRST THOUGHTS
Personally, one of the best things about being an author is coming across reviews about my work that uplift and excite me. I vicariously enjoy seeing that other people have been entertained by my stories, and that can provide a buzz a little more powerful than coffee. Here’s a selection of some of those:
“The blend of biology, science, technology and engineering is staggering.”
“If you enjoy Iain M Banks’ Culture series, I’m sure you will love this story.” (GREAT accolade)
“I may never look at things in the same way again.”
“The breadth and scope of the author’s universe is staggering!”
“Love the books… Never wrote a book review before but really had to on this series.”
That said, writing’s a strange business, and perhaps counterintuitively, I don’t mind the occasional critical review. I don’t love them (!), but they help me improve, and sometimes, can be quite humorous. Here’s one that’s stuck in my mind:
“It sucks. has life forms unknown to me.” (1 star) *chuckle*
BEING AN AUTHOR: ALONGSIDE THE WRITING
My day-to-day activities, author-wise, are varied. Sometimes, I have little writing time at all, and occasionally, weeks can go by. Why? Life, work, and other writing get in the way. From simply thinking or worrying about plots, being present on social media, planning newsletters, communicating with other authors, navigating various author platforms, researching the writing ecosystem(s), going down various promotional avenues, correcting product displays and other technical errors (both self-inflicted and spuriously generated), deciding on cover artworks, liaising with proof-readers and advance review readers, maintaining my online glossary generator (I learned python to create a free tool for the author community), maintaining my website, to blah blah blah, ad infinitum! Now, more than ever, authors are expected to be on top of this spiderweb of activity.
But, I do love uninterrupted writing time. Personally, I require a good 3 hour stretch, minimum, in order to really get going. Anything less than that, and I would rather focus on something else. With 3 hours or more, the headphones go in (sometimes just noise-cancelling) and the words appear.
BEING A HUMAN: OTHER INTERESTS
For this, you can find me on twitter (@JamMurdo)! I’m quite active and always respond to DMs. Scientifically, an area that I’m fascinated by is consciousness – what it means and how it arises. All of my books focus on this in some respect, although my earlier writing was certainly more philosophical. I’m currently interested in the role of microtubules in the generation of consciousness, having first heard about them in an interview with Roger Penrose. If you’d like to know my literary inspirations, there is an area dedicated to them on my website (www.jamesmurdo.com).
ECHOES OF GRAVITY: HOW DOES IT FIT IN?
My stories all take place in the “Wanderer Universe”, eponymously named after an empire of sentient machines who feature, at least incidentally, in every book. Echoes of Gravity is no different in this respect, despite being part of a new trilogy. If you’re looking to whet your appetite before or after reading Echoes of Gravity, I recommend Siouca Remembers – a chunky, standalone book that serves as a good introduction to the Wanderer Universe.
You can find a list of my books, and where to purchase them, on my website at www.jamesmurdo.com. Other than that, if you use twitter or Instagram (both @JamMurdo), please get in touch!
Echoes of Gravity by James Murdo is available NOW from all major retailers!
