ROBIN MURPHY's WIP - Secret of Coffin Island

AUTHOR WIPs and NEW RELEASES

SECRET OF COFFIN ISLAND 
The 4th book in Robin Murphy's bestselling series,
Federal City's Secret!

1)   Tell us about your work-in-progress, or WIP, as it’s known as in the industry or New Release…

➢    What is the story about?

·       My current work-in-progress is the fourth book in my paranormal mystery series titled, Secret of Coffin Island. I won’t share the intro to the story; it would spoil the ending to the third book in the series, Federal City’s Secret. However, it has Marie Bartek, a psychic medium, and the Sullivan’s Island Paranormal Society, SIPS, getting involved in a case that has beheaded victims being found on the beaches of Folly and Sullivan’s Island. Marie enlists the help of a local teenager, Isabella Swanson, who has recently discovered she is psychic. Are the murders about pirates, buried treasure, or a legend that took place in the nineteenth century?

➢    Who is the main character? 

·       Marie Bartek

2)   What inspired this tale?

·         Two things inspired this story.

·       First, I learned that in 1987 there were fourteen bodies found on the beach of Folly Island with their shoulders pointing west. Twelve of the bodies had no skulls. There were also Civil War artifacts found with the bodies. Some of the theories as to why there were no skulls were that bounty hunters were given rewards for retrieval of bodies. Another was that the skulls were being used in voodoo rituals.

·       The second was the story of Edgar Allan Poe and his written mystery, The Gold Bug. Edgar Allan Poe spent time on Sullivan’s Island and The Gold Bug is about buried treasure on the island.

➢    How did the story come to you?

·       As with any writer, my mind continues to wander when I read about the history of places.  There are stories all over the place, after having spent a few visits on Sullivan’s Island and learning the history of the areas surrounding the island, I was able to pull these elements together into my story.

➢    Did you have to research for this novel and if so, why?

·       Absolutely yes, and even though I write fiction, the story needs to be believable. I continue to learn more and more about psychic mediums, children with psychic abilities, and dissect how a murder case is solved through books, real accounts, and yes, television and movies. Everything becomes research for me.

➢    If you did research, what do you think surprised you most to learn and why?

·       About this story, I would have to say the bodies that were found on Folly Island. I mean come on, what a classic reason to write a fiction story which ties in with my protagonist who is psychic.

3)   Do you relate to your character?

·         Yes

➢    Is your protagonist anything like you personally?

·       Yes, absolutely.

➢    If yes, then how?

·       Interesting question, I’ll share a story. When I did an interview for the local newspaper for the first book, Sullivan’s Secret, the journalist asked upon meeting me for the first time, “So, tell me, are you Marie Bartek or Gale Winters?” Gale is Marie’s best friend, and both of these characters are different sides of me.

➢    What made you write this character; what made them important to you or made you want to tell their story?

·       I don’t have any definitive answer for this, other than I’ve had an interest in psychics, and that interest, along with ghost investigating, helped me to create Marie and the SIPS team.

4)   Is there anything specific you want readers to know about this piece of work?

·         This is the fourth book in the series, which has Marie continuing to learn more about her psychic abilities. It shares her growth as an individual, as well as the growth of the characters of the SIPS team. I’ve enjoyed meshing the “other side of the veil” with the real world. People do have the ability to see and speak with spirits and this series shares how Marie accepts her ability now as a gift.

5)   When will the novel be available for purchase?

➢    Has the book already been published?

·       Not yet.

➢    If not, when is the approximate release date?

·       Hopefully the spring of 2015.

If you are interested in purchasing Robin Murphy's Books,
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