Chris Lowrey
SHAWVILLE Nov. 10, 2017
Local author Luke Murphy drew a healthy crowd to Hursty’s Bar and Grill in Shawville on Nov. 10 for the book signing of his third novel Wild Card.
The book launch gave fans an opportunity to chat with the international bestselling author.
Wild Card picks up where Murphy’s first novel, Dead Man’s Hand, left off.
Dead Man’s Hand follows the fictional former University of Southern California football standout Calvin Watters, who is trying to clear his name after being framed for murder.
In the series, Watters suffered a career-ending injury and lost his scholarship. After some soul searching, Watters ends up on the streets of Las Vegas as a debt collector for a local bookie.
After the events of Dead Man’s Hand, Watters now finds himself as a private detective and gets looped back into the world of murder and intrigue.
Murphy chose Las Vegas as the setting of his book because he wanted a city that was familiar and that audiences could get excited about.
Murphy, a former pro hockey player himself, wanted to write a book exploring the path some athletes take after their playing days are done. He chose a football player to broaden the appeal of the book to an American audience.
Murphy started writing Dead Man’s Hand in 2004. After getting an editor, an agent and a publisher, he was finally able to get the book on the shelves in 2012.
He followed up Dead Man’s Hand with a romance-crime novel entitled Kiss and Tell featuring female protagonist Charlene Taylor. Murphy admitted that some readers have pushed him to complete a follow up to Kiss and Tell.
While Murphy said that many of his sales come in the form of e-books, the Pontiac are one of his strongest areas of support when it comes to buying a physical copy of the book.
“People always stop and ask me about my writing,” he said. “The community is very supportive.”
Murphy said that the writing process for Wild Card was much less hectic than it was in the past – getting the whole thing written in a matter of three or four months.
As for whether he plans to keep churning out titles, Murphy isn’t sure what the future holds.
“Who knows how long I’ll do it,” he said. “As long as it’s still fun.”
