Interview with Author J. Murray

This is the cover of To Hunt a Sub, the newly released thriller by J. Murray.

 

I’m excited by the drama of the clouds and the sight of the submarine as it powers across the ocean. Even more, I’m intrigued by the synopsis of the book:

 

A brilliant Ph.D. candidate, a cynical ex-SEAL, and a quirky experimental robot team up against terrorists intent on stealing America’s most powerful nuclear weapon, the Trident submarine. By all measures, they are an unlikely trio–one believes in brawn, another brains, and the third is all geek–but they’re all America has to stop this enemy who would destroy everything they believe in. But this trio has a secret weapon: the wisdom of a formidable female who died two million years ago. 

 

An unlikely team is America’s only chance.

                                                                             

It’s a book I won’t be able to put down.  Current, well researched, edge-of-your-seat exciting, the kind of book to keep me up all night.

 

I had the opportunity to interview J. Murray to ask about the process of writing the book, a topic that always fascinates me.

 

Me:  How do you blend a 1.8 million-year-old character into a modern thriller?

 

Murray:  That’s a fair question. To Hunt a Sub is the story of 21st-century terrorists who threaten to destroy America’s subs by infecting them with a revolutionary virus. The nation’s best experts are stumped and call on an unusual team for help–a washed-up SEAL-turned-professor, a feisty grad student, and an artificial intelligence named Otto.

 

First, let me say it wasn’t my original plan to include Lucy, a long-dead 1.8 million-year-old hominid female. Her story (Lucy: Story of Man) won’t be out for a few years. But Lucy kept popping into To Hunt a Sub‘s plot until I could no longer ignore her: This ancient female faced down a world of volcanic eruptions, Sabertooth tigers, and bull-sized proto-wolves, her only weapons being dull teeth, flimsy claws, and thin hairless skin. How she did this was the answer to my modern-day characters’ problems as they struggled to defeat a well-equipped, militarized, and fervent terrorist.

 

Me: That’s an amazing concept – the solution to one of your books was found in the premise of another – serendipity at its most creative. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything similar from another author.

 

Thank you for taking the time for this interview.

 

Murray: Thanks for the chance to talk about my book.

 

Me: The pleasure is mine. I wish you the best in all your writing pursuits.

 

You can purchase J. Murray’s new book at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K7VSPBW#navbar

 

Below is the link to Jacqui’s blog. Pop on over and say hello to her.

 WordDreams

 

 

Cover image courtesy: J. Murray