Literature often has themes, especially historical fiction, as Susan Vreeland pointed out in her article “Dip Into the Riches of Historical Fiction” pp37, The Writer December 2011:   “Fiction is by nature exclusive, thematically based,. With many more pieces left out than put in, rather than inclusive, which is the office of biography.  Historical fiction shows rather than reports. . . Its value lies in its revelation of what it felt like to be a particular person place and time.” 

The theme of MURPHY’S TROUBLES is betrayal.  The protagonist, Ian Murphy, is betrayed by both his best friend and his lover.  Being the victim of betrayal Ian never wants to betray anyone.  Yet to reconcile himself and atone for his lifetime in the IRA he must make a decision, to betray the IRA cause to unify Ireland and by doing so betray his only lifetime friend – or not.

Our lives are about choices.  The choice Ian makes is difficult, he risks giving up his lifetime cause, losing his friend and losing his life.  It is the stakes of our decisions that gives life meaning.  

In addition to writing novels I like to dabble in freelance writing in a wide variety of topics.  Earlier this year I was given the opportunity to contribute a monthly column in an e-zine, Extra Innings, published by my friend, teacher and mentor Marshall Cook.  The electronic rag is dedicated to writing, writers and those supporting writers.  For years Marshall published a hardcopy newsletter called Creativity Connection and after retiring from the UW-Madison several years ago Creativity Connection morphsized into Extra Innings, a perfect title given Marshall’s love for both real and fantasy major league baseball, home league baseball and vintage base ball. My column is called:  Payers, Preyers, and Pretenders which was named by Marshall after telling him stories of my journey to have MURPHY’S TROUBLES published.

You can subscribe to Extra Innings free by sending your e-mail to:  join-creativity-connection @ lists.wisc.edu – just send a blank e-mail.  You’ll get a response e-mail giving you the site to access Extra Innings.

What is deep revision in a novel?  Deep revision occurs after your draft is complete, you set it aside for a few weeks and then read it from start to finish.  In the reading you’re looking for what moves the story along, what stalls the story, is the timeline consistent, are the characters authentic and believable.  This isn’t copy editing.  With MURPHY’S TROUBLES by deep revision was to kill off a character early in the book.  I had written a relationship between the protagonist, Ian Murphy and his school days friend, Timolty Doyle.  While interesting to me their friendship through adulthood didn’t move the story along, in fact it stalled it.  My solution?  I had Timolty die in an IRA bombing in Belfast when he’s 20.  Ian mourning his friend’s death wants revenge and joins the IRA.  My deep revision was to have Timolty’s death motivate Ian to action which moves the story in the direction it needed to take.   

I always struggle with the firt chapter of a novel.  Over the years I both completely discarded and re-written the first chapter of MURPHY'S TROUBLES many, many times.  At a Writer's Institute Conference I learned that in the modern novel the first chapter needs to introduce the primary conflict of the story and let the reader know what the protagonist must have or do.  In the first chapter of MURPHY'S TROUBLES, Ian Murphy is depressed and obsessed with guilt for his role in many deaths from 30 years' of IRA activity.  Ian tries to commit suicide by driving his car into a British barricade.   He lives through the experience and the novel is his story of seeking atonement for his life in the IRA.