I am thrilled to have interviewed author D.M. Murphy, who shared with us details of her writing life, her book ‘Down Down Down‘, which was released on 13th September 2023, and answered a few fun questions. This post contains affiliate links.

The first three years of my writing career I spent interviewing infantrymen and Rangers at Ft. Stewart, Ga. —a bit different from my suburban upbringing outside of Cleveland, Ohio. After discharge I moved to Arizona, and, in order, picked up a husband, a BA in Journalism, two kids, a Masters in Education, and a dog named Zeke, while living in L.A., San Jose, Houston, Tucson, Pocatello, and Youngstown.

As a feature writer and columnist for the Youngstown daily, The Vindicator, I interviewed and wrote about the people I grew up with. At the same time, I taught composition at Youngstown State University for 15 years or taught kids with emotional problems and special needs for two in public schools after studying special education. All the while, I wrote.

It took retirement to finally publish a book.

When I was 18, I became an Army Journalist stationed in the swamp lands of Fort Stewart, Georgia. While trudging through mud, following the elite Airborne Rangers to write about them, I thought, “What wouldn’t these guys do?” And, of course, being a writer, the idea took flight. I wondered, “Would they go into hell on a mission?” That became the basis for my book Down Down Down. Later, the idea morphed into a detective doing the rescuing.

By the seat of my pants! Before I found Scrivener, I just started writing and didn’t plot anything in advance. This meant I had rewrite and rewrite. Though I enjoy that, I eventually had to create outlines, timelines, and index cards which I had strewn across my office floor. It was a literal mess, pun intended. For Book 2 of The Beckler Trilogy, I’m doing most of the plotting in advance using the Scrivener app. Night and day!

The title of the book has changed four times! When I first started writing, it was called The Contract because the gorgeous Rita Blair claims her fiancé made a contract with the Devil. It then became The Harrowing which is the idea of journeying to hell. And then, in doing research, I encountered this beautiful Biblical scripture from Ezekiel about how even the trees of Eden would be cast into hell. It had the words, All the Trees of Eden. I fell in love with it instantly but grudgingly moved on because it made the book sound like a drama. Finally, the title found its perfect harmony with an old miners song, Down Down Down. A weasly little character sings the song as he guides Beckler. This title resonated with the narrative’s essence and felt like the perfect fit.

From the beginning, I wanted two major characters to have names that reflected their roles in the fantasy: Michael (as in the archangel) and Thomas (as in Doubting Thomas). Otherwise, the names of the characters began as nothing more than placeholders. I went back later and made them work according to the person’s personality and ethnicity, age, etc. I actually got the last name of my main character because I was driving down the road and saw Beckler Street. I instantly loved the name and changed my protagonist’s name to that. Sometimes I pay homage to old friends by using their surnames. And, once in a while, I snag an actual person from history.

The first thing I did was read the book The History of Hell which is an incredible, illustrated book about how the concept of hell came about. Then I did a deep dive on the internet for information about magic, Irish history, mythology, and hell. These provided the realism I needed to sell the fantasy.

It’s funny because I don’t think I chose the genre. Science fiction/fantasy chose me. I think in a very realistic way, and so it’s strange that almost all of my short stories, and this book, and my next one, are going to be fantasies. As you get older, I think you end up with more questions and fewer answers. That’s pretty ironic, but it does make for a gateway into fantasy where you can search for answers through fiction.

Since I do much of my writing in my head before I ever sit down to write, you could say each of my books takes a lifetime. Down Down Down benefited from my accumulated life experiences.

Epic fantasy quest

I think the hardest part about being a writer is not becoming disillusioned. I just saw a Facebook post by a woman who had returned to writing in her older years, much as I had. And she felt nervous that she wouldn’t be able to write again. It’s often a very solitary world that non-writers can’t appreciate. So I think keeping confidence in yourself when you’re getting rejection slips or no one seems to be paying attention is the hardest part. Since I’ve started to promote my book, I also think it’s very difficult to realize that there are many people out there who just want to profit from your insecurity and sell you things. That also is disillusioning.

Readers have told me that the book takes you into another world on an epic hero’s journey. They said the prose makes the unbelievable seem real. I appreciate those comments. Another reader, who didn’t typically read fantasy, said she couldn’t put it down.

I would have to say my writing buddy is my son, Josh, not because he’s literally by my side, but because he holds my feet to the fire on finishing. And he never hesitates to give of his time, the most valuable commodity of all.

I guess my writing quirk is that I made three hang tags for my office door to inform my husband. One says, “Be careful, I’m exercising.” Another says, “Please come in.” And the last one is for when I’m writing. It says, “Please don’t knock, call, tap or enter.”

Various places. Right now I have a corner of our second guest bedroom turned into my office. But I’ve also gone to coffee shops or the park to write, carting my laptop along. My dog Zeke and I used to go to the Gazebo in the park and spend a few hours writing. It was lovely. I once saw a woman writer using the table in a craft brewery, and that’s one I’d love to try in the future.

If my book were made into a movie, I’d long to be sitting next to the director, not in front of the camera!

If a talking owl just finished reading my book, I think she’d say, “Those fantastical daeva creatures were raptors, weren’t they?”

A big thank you to D.M. Murphy for sharing her writing life with us and for a wonderful interview.