Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been a Police Officer in Queensland, Senior Fire Commander at a number of airport fire stations around Australia, a Customs Coastwatch surveillance mission coordinator, (which happily involved a couple of hours flying!), heavy machinery mechanic, emergency medical technician/ instructor, film extra, and General Manager of an event company, which is my current occupation. I’ve previously published separate peer reviewed academic papers on Liquid hydrogen fire fighting tactics and Rescues in difficult terrain. I have held a worldwide provisional patent for a nonlinear mathematical calculation, (it was a method of calculating Blood Alcohol Concentration before computers came alone). I narrowly survived Australia’s largest gas BLEVE in 1987, (there’s a blog of that particular one on chasmurrell.com.au and have provided operational support to some of Australia’s largest natural disasters (cyclones) in Far North Queensland.
On a personal level I suffer from relentless and debilitating migraines and have done since I was 5. I’m proud father to four and pop to two! My artistically entrepreneurial and wonderful wife and I live in Tasmania, which looks very much like Scotland! Robert the Bruce (King of Scots), is my 21st Grand father and history runs deep in these veins.
The second question is easy, lol, just the one so far. The sequel is progressing though, just a little more slowly than I would like.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Yearn to Fear. You probably wouldn’t believe it, but, true story, my wife Gabbi suggested I write a book during COVID lockdown, so a couple of days later I had the original idea and off I went for 2 1/2 months until the first draft of 94,000 words was done. That would be a lot of pencils if I couldn’t touch type lol.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I dont think I have anything you’d really call unusual, I dont have a ritual or regime or anything like that. But, I do like peace and quiet which I guess is the norm. I find it takes a day to get my head back into writing a story when you have been thinking about other things, be they work or a busy life in general.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I loved the old Dale Brown books based on “Flight of the old Dog,” mind you I’ve read all the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon as well. I can remember listening to the Davinci Code (Dan Brown) on CD on a long car trip from Cairns to Brisbane nearly 2 decades ago, (about a 20 hour drive), I loved it.
What are you working on now?
The sequel of Yearn to Fear. Since we’re all friends here, lol, the next book in the series is called Fear to Recall and the last of the trilogy is Recall to Past.
I’m currently working on Fear to Recall, the framework is up and some of the detail is in, but so very far to go! 🙂 I have asked a few folks who have read Yearn to Fear if they wanted to know the first sentence of Fear to Recall. Of those that said yes, 100% were very happy with the start. The challenge is to keep the benchmark up there for the next two books. I will do my level best!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well Artisan book group has to be up the top of the list. These guys, if you dont know, are author visibility and marketing specialists. We really like their personalised approach and being able to jump on board quickly when time was short! – thanks folks. We need a home base ourselves and we have chasmurrell.com.au
Do you have any advice for new authors?
– Don’t do it for the money.
– Develop a thick hide, and pour your heart and soul into that manuscript!
– If you’re different and that’s the direction you want to go in, then the decision belongs to you, so go do.”
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing!
What are you reading now?
The manual for the DJI Mavic Air2S drone. Not much of a story in there, but it might save me taking some paint of…
What’s next for you as a writer?
That’s a hard question as I dont write for a living. But… it would be to finish the trilogy I started with Yearn to Fear. I have had an idea for another trilogy based on historical fact, but whether I actually get to write the first in line, “The Jets of Adlertag” is another thing altogether! I couldn’t help myself though, I’ve done some basic mapping for all three. lol.
What is your favorite book of all time?
It’s a difficult question, so I went for a walk, made a cup of tea, ate an apple and still had no answer lol. I decided to look at my desk and there’s one book that hasn’t moved off it for 18 months, so even though it might not be my all time favourite, its worth a mention. “Pilot’s notes for Spitfire IX, XI & VI. I’m not sure what that says about me, but we’re al;l individuals hey?
Author Websites and Profiles
Chas Murrell Website
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