Are you following your bliss?
I just had a birthday, and let’s just say I’m closer to entering retirement than I am to entering college. For readers who may be way younger than me, you might not “feel” what...
Murphy Writes Blog
Book promotion 101 – relationships are key
 (Author Patti Murphy (L) talking with Amanda Turner, host of Radio Boise’s Writer’s Block show) A lot of writers hate the idea of having to do self-promotion. Trying to pitch someone on why they...
25 things writers should stop doing
Today as I was jotting down thoughts for a New Year’s blog about some of the things we writers (me especially!) need to stop doing this year, and other things we might start trying...
13 things I learned in 2011
I don’t know about you, but 2011 has probably been the most difficult, bittersweet year I can recall. It was a year in which I excitedly published my first book, and then lost my...
A job loss doesn’t mean a loss of identity
“All the world is a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrances; Each man in his time plays many parts.”  ~ William Shakespeare (photo source) Often...
I write, thanks to those who believed in me along the way
Those of us who become writers likely have a zillion people to whom we can be thankful. Teachers, parents, bosses, all the editors who have rejected our submissions – each of them have pushed...
Hate “Writer’s Block?” Kill it with persistence
I recently read an interview in which several authors discussed whether or not they actually enjoyed writing for a living. It’s a pretty interesting question to ask because I think a lot of writers...
The NaNoWriMo self-imposed writing frenzy
I am joining with thousands of writers around the world to participate in NaNoWriMo, the annual self-flagellation writing event for authors who want to prove to themselves that they can finish an entire novel...
Favorite writing quote of the day
“I get up in the morning, torture a typewriter until it screams, then stop.” ~ Clarence Budington Kelland, an American writer who once described himself as “the best second-rate writer in America”
5 quotes that could change your attitude – and your life
Several years ago when I lost my job a good friend took to sending me inspirational quotes via email each day. Every morning when I turned on my computer, up popped an email from...
A chat with NYT bestselling author Jamie Ford
In the summer of 2008, I got the fortunate assignment from Sun Valley Magazine to write an article about the Minidoka Japanese Internment Camp pilgrimage that happens each June. Hosted by the Friends of...
Social media: Does it connect or disconnect us?
graphic source http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-05-06-socialmedia.jpg “On Twitter we get excited if someone follows us. In real life we get really scared and run away.” ~ Author Unknown Lately I’ve been thinking about how connected — or maybe...
Today’s favorite quote on writing…
Jamie Ford, the bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, when asked “What holds back most beginning writers and what they should do to make it better?” “Two things. One:...
Have you stayed too long at your job?
“Job security is gone. The driving force of a career must come from the individual.” ~ Homa Bahrami, UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business I will never forget the time I left a job...
Recovering from writer’s block
Let’s see a show of hands: Â Who among us has ever gone through a writer’s block? It may be hard to admit, but I think most writers have had a dry spell or two...
Pitching a literary agent – it’s a conversation, not performance art!
I recently attended an all-day agent pitching workshop hosted by the Idaho Writer’s Guild. Four well known literary agents — B.J. Robbins, Amy Rennert, Gordon Warnock, Ken Sherman — shared their expertise about the...
5 things that can help keep writers on track
Being a writer can be exhilarating one moment — for example, when you’re winning awards or you have editors contact you personally to write a story — and lonely and frustrating the next —...
Promoting Momisms book on the radio
My publisher Elaine Ambrose and I did several TV and radio interviews to promote Mother Knows Best – Wit and Wisdom from Idaho Moms. Here’s a fun one we did with Tim Johnstone and Ken...
“Idaho’s Basque Tables” feature wins two awards
The magazine feature article, Idaho’s Basque Tables, written by Patti Murphy for Sun Valley Magazine, recently received two awards. The historical feature was honored with the First Place Award of Excellence in the Idaho...
“Mother Knows Best” book hits local Best Sellers list
My first book, “Mother Knows Best – Wit and Wisdom from Idaho Moms,” went on sale on May 3, and by May 6 it was on the Best Seller shelf in Boise’s most popular local bookstore....
