The Mark of Mur

I thought I’d better go the extra mile since my last post was mostly about me. I wanted to bring to your attention a young woman whose writing and presence in the podcasting world I have enjoyed greatly. Mur Lafferty (who is also the first hit to be found when googling her name) is a writer and podcaster who has had a major impact on the podcasting world. She co-wrote “Tricks of the Podcasting Masters” with Rob Walch, host of podCast411. She is the host of the podcasts Geek Fu Action Grip and I Should Be Writing. I am an avid listener of I Should Be Writing and anxiously await each new episode. I have also recently subscribed to Geek Fu Action Grip, and have greatly enjoyed these podcasts as well.

My first encounter with Mur Lafferty was through the Escape Pod podcast, hosted by editor and producer Steve Eley. We’ll talk about the wonder that is Escape Pod at another time. I listened to a story by Mur Lafferty titled “I Look Forward To Remembering You”. The beauty and creativity of this story had me in awe. I had listened to a lot of really good stories on Escape Pod by that time, but this one literally had me in awe. It’s one of those instances where you feel really good for that writer because of how well they did. And then you feel really jealous of that writer because they thought of the idea before you did. If you enjoy a really good story I suggest you review the archives at Escape Pod and download “I Look Forward To Remembering You”, published on June 6, 2006. While you’re there, I would also suggest subscribing to Escape Pod. With the quality of work that they publish you will not be disappointed. I’ll include some links at the end of this post.

Alright, I’m taking longer than I thought I would, and I want to ensure I do the rest of Mur Lafferty’s work justice. I recently listened to “Heaven Season One” and “Heaven Season Two: Hell”, both of which are available at Podiobooks.com. Heaven is where two friends have died and gone to…well, heaven. While they are there they manage to procure passports to explore other afterlives rife with other gods. It was great fun to explore the possibilities of afterlives with the two main characters. I especially enjoyed exploring the characters from Norse mythology, as these stories and tales are partially to blame for my addiction to the fantasy genre. I don’t know if it is the author’s intent to continue this into another season, but I know I would be tracking it down as soon as it was available, if so.

Friends, I have a very early morning tomorrow and I’m afraid that I have to bring this to a close. There is more material that can be covered when discussing Mur Lafferty, so I think we’ll have to revisit her work in the future. In the meantime I hope that you check her out at the links below. Also, please check out Escape Pod and Podiobooks.com for some more great fiction and audiobooks. Links are included below.

I’ll leave you with a quote from another author whom I enjoy greatly, Tracy Hickman. “May you always publish peace.”

Mur Lafferty Links:
Mur Lafferty Home Page
I Should Be Writing
Geek Fu Action Grip
Mur Lafferty’s story on Escape Pod

Other links mentioned:
Escape Pod
Podiobooks.com
podCast411