Interview With Author Muz MURRAY
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started out as a surrealist painter, very much influenced by Salvador Dali, with whom I later became acquainted when living close to him in Spain. I also stretched my talents as a writer, actor, and set and costume designer for theatre and film. During seven years of vagabondage around the world, when I ran out of funds, I found odd jobs as a deckhand, mural painter, copper driller in King Solomon’s mines, art teacher, elephant trainer, scenic artist, a night club singer, and many more. I spent three years in Africa, dangerously hitch-hiking from Cairo down to Capetown, then hitched overland to live for 3 years as a wandering monk in India. On returning to the UK, after working at the BBC, I was founder-editor of Gandalf’s Garden magazine and Community and became co-founder of The Open Centre for spiritualized psychotherapy in London. For the last 50 years, I have quietly travelled the world as a spiritual mentor and Mantra Master, teaching Mantra and Advaita Vedanta workshops in many countries.
Because of my wild adventures down Africa and all over India, the Media call me “The Indiana Jones of Yoga”; although I am more often mistaken for Gandalf.
I have authored four books on spiritual themes, as well as an esoteric faerytale fantasy called “Ifflepinn Island”; and a whimsical book for younger children called “Old Mother West Wind Tales”..I also wrote and recorded script for BBC Radio 4, Edited two magazines and have been interviewed several times on BBC, Dutch and Italian TV and California and Colorado Radio, and on several podcasts in the USA.
I now live as a virtual hermit in the hills of southern Portugal, with a thousand chirpy geckos and the denizens of my stories as my only companions.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It’s a children’s book called “Old Mother West Wind Tales” about the adventures and mischievous antics of the animal, birds, and reptiles of the Grassy Green Meadow, the Pollywig Pool, and the Windily Wood. It’s a complete rewrite of a book by Thornton Burgess, which charmed me when I was six years old, and when I became an author myself, I always wondered what it was that tickled my fancy at that age, so that I could write something similar. But I never found the book again until I was in my Eighties! Then I was dismayed to discover how old-fashioned and poorly written it was. On finding it was over 110 years old and out of copyright, I decided to rewrite the whole thing myself in a more up-to-date and lyrical fashion, while still keeping the charm of the original. Plus adding 23 new illustrations of my own. It seems I got it right, as readers of the original book are delighted with my new version.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I can think of, but I am excellent at procrastination.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
They are countless. But “The Hobbit” by Tolkien was the next book that really captured and coloured my imagination from then on. But I also loved the Moomin books by Tove Jansson, “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Graham, “The Narnia Chronicles” of C.S. Lewis, and later, Usula le Guin’s “Earthsea” trilogy. As well as all the regular classics.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on the seemingly endless hassle of trying to get Amazon to promote my books correctly on their product pages. It goes on for months. Otherwise, my following is pushing me to get on with the autobiography of my adventurous life, to be called “Memoirs of a Maverick Mystic: Journeys from Dali to Delhi”.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My own website, wwwmuzmurray.com of course, for starters.
But I’m also exploring Amazon Ads, posting promo of my books on every FB author page possible, peppering the Social media sites, and joining several expensive membership sites by the bookselling ‘gurus’ that never really live up to their promise. I’m also happy to have found Awesome Gang’s very reasonable service for us indies.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Forget about traditional publishing and its gatekeeper agents. It’s generally a dispiriting road to go down. And even if you manage to get accepted, you have no say in your, how you want the book to look, and you still have to pay for all the advertising and do the promotions for yourself. I’ve been published by four trad publishers and had problems with all of them. Now I’m Indie all the way and happy to have total control of how I want my books to be. But just be aware the production and promotion may cost you an arm and a leg. Being an India is not for the faint-hearted. And you are into for the long haul to slowly build a reputation.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Earn a good-sized nest-egg before becoming a professional writer: you’ll need it.
What are you reading now?
“Talks with Ramana Maharshi”– a great sage. “How to Self-Publish and Market a Children’s Book” by Karen P. Inglis, and “Amazon Ads Unleashed” by Robert J. Ryan.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Maybe bankruptcy, after all my promotions?
Otherwise, slogging on, as I have several other projects sitting on the back burner.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“The Lord of the Rings” (never fails to carry me away). “Talks with Ramana Maharshi”. These are the only books I can think of that I can read over and over again. Except perhaps my own book, “You Are the Light: Secrets of the Sages Made Simple” to keep me mindful of what is most important in life.
Author Websites and Profiles
Muz MURRAY Author Profile on Smashwords
Muz MURRAY’s Social Media Links