First-time Novelist to Publish Mystery-Thriller set in Milwaukee

Debra Murphys first novel, "The Mystery of Things," set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will be published in December by Idylls Press. (1-59597-000-2, hardcover, 400 pp., 6 x 9, $29.95)

Salem, OR (PRWEB) August 25, 2004 -- Debra Murphys first novel, "The Mystery of Things," set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will be published in December by Idylls Press. (1-59597-000-2, hardcover, 400 pp., 6 x 9, $29.95)

Set in an elite graduate studies institute in Milwaukee, "The Mystery of Things" is the story of James Ireton, a gifted young Shakespeare scholar with a past haunted by tragedy, religious conversion, and an otherworldly vision of a Knight, a Lady, and a vicious Dragon. For the past three years James has successfully banished the first two from his mind by means of compulsive work and womanizing; but with a power and life of its own, the vision has transformed itself into the stuff of Jamess nightmares. James thinks theyre just dreams, fragmentary reflections of a troubled past; but when two people James loves fall victim in a seemingly motiveless series of brutal murders, all involving falls from great heights, James realizes that there may be a very real dragon" preying in the shadows of his life. Worse, if James doesnt battle some of his own dragon-like impulses, the woman he loves may prove the ultimate victim

Murphy won the 1998 Willamette Writers Kay Snow award for fiction, and was selected as one of ten finalists in the 2001 Pacific Northwest Writers Association genre fiction contest. Her short story, "Yardsticks," was published in 2003 in IMAGE JOURNAL. Murphy also writes opinion pieces for Godspy.com, and Shakespeare-on-film reviews for bardolatry.com. She lives in Oregon with her husband and six children.

Murphy, who lived for twelve years in Kenosha, says she owes much of her inspiration for the book to the places she loved in southeastern Wisconsin. She set as many scenes as possible in familiar local restaurants and landmarks, such as Milwaukee City Hall, Bradford Beach, the Hoan Bridge, and Holy Hill. In fact, the original idea for the story actually came to her, she says, while on retreat at Holy Hill. I climbed up the Scenic Tower one gorgeous afternoon and thought to myself, 'Wow, what a great place for the climax of a thriller...a to-the-death confrontation between Good and Evil."

For more information about "The Mystery of Things" (including a pre-release copy), or to schedule an interview, please contact Daniel Murphy at 503-363-3601 or visit www.idlyllspress.com

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