Coffee Chat with Gail M. Murray
Pour yourself a nice steaming cup and settle in to get to know Gail M. Murray a little better.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you? Where are you located? Do you have a day job?
I’m a retired English teacher and teacher-librarian who always encouraged my students to write both stories and poetry. I'd often write and share poems along with them. I performed in live theatre in my twenties and thirties which promoted creativity and self-expression.
I find it helpful to join writing and critiquing groups for networking and inspiration. I discovered Alanna's magazine through a submissions call from Brian Henry's blog "quick brown fox".
How do you take your coffee? I adore cappuccino, especially in Italy.
What Blank Spaces issue were you first published in? The very first issue, September 2016.
When did you first know you wanted to write? As a child I played dress up and directed little plays. I scribbled poetry in university. I started writing in earnest in my fifties when I had the time.
What are you reading right now? What is it about and what keeps you coming back to the pages? I'm reading Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan. It's about the Pulaski tragedy — a steamship heading from Savannah to Baltimore had the boiler blow up and the passengers experience their own Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean outside North Carolina. I love how we experience their emotions and lives as they try to survive. This author is a master story teller and makes history come alive in her historical fiction — my genre of choice
What role has Blank Spaces played in your creative journey? Alanna is so encouraging and has published so many emerging authors. I enjoy all the different pieces. I was thrilled when Alanna published my “Ken and Beth - a Love Story” as a feature, as well as some of my poems and my author profile on Jennifer Robson. I was delighted when she invited my to be her 'regular reviewer' which keeps me on the lookout for new Canadian fiction. This has given purpose to my reading, kept my writing skills sharp, and I hope I am helping to promote great Canadian writers!
Tell us a little about the piece Blank Spaces published and how it was received by family, friends, and the greater community? It is always a thrill to see one's work in print and in such a high calibre magazine. Friends and fellow writers are encouraging.
Why is Canadian content important? Canada has a small population compared to the US which floods the market.
Where has your creative journey taken you since being published in Blank Spaces? It has given me confidence to send it out. Write it, edit it send it....you may get published. I've encouraged fellow writers to get sending their work out and start marketing. I mostly write creative non-fiction so I'm published in both travel and garden magazines and Our Canada for my travel and memoir pieces.
What does your writing process look like? I'm an emotional writer and write when I have something to say...to remember like Keat’s lovers on the urn, to freeze frame. I don't set aside time each day but I do carry a small notebook, especially when I travel, and write point form notes and whole sentences. I know I will write a travel piece and find the hook. I write in long hand as it is faster and then fill in the facts and of course let it lie and edit and then read it out loud and edit again. Helps to go to those critique groups for polishing but I never lose my voice.
If you could tell your young creative self anything, what would it be? Never give up.
How do you invest in your writing goals? I listen to writers talk about their novels. With COVID there have been so many virtual launches. I attend some workshops.
What one thing would you give up to become a better writer? Social time. I'm social and writing is lonely and requires discipline.
Who are your writing influences and how do they motivate you? My high school English teacher was a huge mentor. She taught us to see the style, the language, and nuances. I've loved sharing my published pieces with her.
Who is your hero of fiction? Actually poet John Keats inspired me the most. He died for his craft. He could freeze frame the moment.
What is the first book that made you cry? Probably Black Beauty as a child, then The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe when Aslan dies.
What do you tell yourself every time it gets hard and you want to quit? People I have never met love my pieces. Complete strangers will compliment me after sharing poetry on the open mic.
Gail presenting her poetry at the launch for Written Tenfold, an anthology that holds ten of her pieces, celebrated at the Brooklin Library
Do you have any writing rituals that help the words flow? Quiet.
Who do you think makes a better writer — a pragmatist or an empath? Why? You need both. You write from the heart but edit from the brain.
What advice do you have for writers struggling to break into the industry? Do the research. Find where your writing fits. Start small. Don't expect to get into a huge national magazine. Get your novel manuscript edited by a professional. Hire a publicist to promote you.
What are your creative goals? Where do you see yourself in five years? Maybe I will finally publish all those poems sitting on my computer.
What are you currently working on? I just finished a travel piece on Castles of the Loire. It's coming out in October.
Gail in Granda, Spain 2019
What should we be watching for from you? My reviews in Blank Spaces. I make an effort to include information on the author; either I have heard them speak in person or online or read up on them. Maybe that poetry book. I have the title Reflections and Reveries.
If you’re a past Blank Spaces contributor and would like to be featured in a virtual coffee chat, please complete our online interview form.
Work by Gail can be found in back issues of the magazine.
