It’s A Book Thing Presents: An Author Spotlight Interview with Murray Siegel, author of Cupid Wore Snow Boots

Author Bio: Murray Siegel was born and raised in Baltimore. He attended the University of Maryland where, he ran the campus movie theater and chaperoned guest speakers Robert Altman, Robert Wise, Alan Parker, Michael Palin and John Waters. In 1985, his Twilight Zone-inspired TV pilot was produced.

 

In 2021, he published MurMurings: Funny Tales of Terror and Other Desperate Cries for Help, a collection of nine humorous stories about real-life dangerous encounters, (including car accidents, robberies, and lightning strikes), accompanied by 135 illustrated memes.

 

His 2024 book Cupid Wore Snow Boots is a romantic comedy set in Baltimore on Valentine’s Day in 1979 and 2008. Amazon reviews praised the nostalgic novel for its depiction of teenage angst, first-time love and clever twists.

 

A long-suffering Baltimore Orioles fan, Siegel enjoys reading, music, and old movies. He is retired from a career in marketing and lives in Montgomery County, Maryland.

 

Deliah Lawrence: What inspired you to become an author?

Murray Siegel: When I was in pre-school, my father read stories to me at bedtime. In return, I often made up my own stories to tell him.  I’ve always liked telling stories with a beginning, middle and end. I was the kid in school (and the adult, now!) always reading a book or watching a movie. In retrospect, I can’t believe some of the books I read before entering middle school (e.g. The Godfather and Deliverance).  After watching every James Bond movie and reading The Odessa File, when my imagination was stretched, I took my first stab at writing a time-travel adventure novel when I was fifteen (with a co-author). We even secured an agent, although nothing ever panned out.

 

When I picked up the manuscript many years later, the flaws were obvious. It was a great concept, but the writing was sub-par.  My teachers always encouraged me, and I was determined to improve. I was an English major at the University of Maryland with a focus on writing screenplays and stories. The reading and writing assignments opened my eyes to many possibilities. I spent countless hours in my dorm scrunched up with a legal pad writing scripts and stories. That’s probably why my writing improved while my back got worse!

 

DL: What does your writing process look like from idea to final draft?

MS: My two books are as different as my process. Neither are traditional.

 

Cupid Wore Snow Boots started as a screenplay in 2007. Much of it was based on things that happened to me, which made it easier to quickly draft an outline. I like to get a first draft out fast so I can see where the story is going. It’s the skeleton. My first drafts are usually much shorter than the final book, so I typically go back and make improvements that also enhance and expand the story. In 2023, I decided to adapt my own script into a book. For the first draft, I literally wrote prose directly into the screenplay so that, ultimately, it read like a book.  I used most of the original dialogue and, of course, added much more. With my framework in place, I wrote several more drafts that improved upon what came before.  I was able to use narrative devices unavailable for a screenplay and make it a far better piece of work.  I should mention that, from script to final draft, the ending changed countless times, until I finally came up with a satisfying punchline.

 

MurMurings was a completely different experience. Bored during covid, I banged out a short story about when I got robbed in Georgetown. I gave it a funny twist and shared it with some friends who said they really enjoyed it.  I thought it would be fun to write a collection of short stories called “Funny Tales of Terror”, all with the theme of scary things that happened to me retold humorously.  Admittedly, I was able to write eight more stories, based on true experiences, fairly effortlessly.  I knew the collection was too short to publish and that I needed more content. I already had a loyal social media following of people who told me I should do stand up comedy based on my daily posts. Rather than doing that, I downloaded and reviewed thirteen years of Facebook posts that I had written (it was a task!) until I found the best of the best. I added clip-art illustrations and created a hybrid book with the stories and memes.

 That brings me to my current untitled rom-com novel. The main character in this one is a woman who graduates from Johns Hopkins University. We follow her from ages eighteen to forty. Like Cupid, it’s a funny story. Originally, it was going to be three interconnected novellas, so I outlined each story and decided which one to write first. Midway through the first draft, I decided to expand on the first story     and abandon the other two. Again, I wrote my first draft quickly. Drafts two through four expanded on the plot and character and add a lot of flavor, but the fourth also pays closer attention to the prose.  When away from the computer, I constantly email myself notes and ideas and then integrate them later. For this book and Cupid, I don’t let anyone read the manuscript until I am comfortable enough to share. After receiving feedback, I do another draft or two until it is ready to be reviewed by my editor. The new book is due out in 2027.

 

DL: What elements do you believe make a story truly compelling?

MS: Several things. Some people don’t like character-driven novels because they feel that the stories don’t have enough conflict to hold their interest.  Stream-of-consciousness novels don’t bother me if the characters are interesting and reveal something about the human condition. That said, there does need to be compelling reasons for readers to turn the page. I want to be taken somewhere away from my own experiences sometimes and see the world through someone else’s eyes. That said, I also enjoy a tight adventure story (see Dan Brown or George Pelacanos) if it is clever, has great twists, moves fast and rings of truth.

 

DL: Which author or book has influenced you the most, and why?

MS: It’s hard to pick one. Frederick Forsyth, Ian Fleming, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King and Leon Uris were early influences on me because their great stories inspired me to write. In college, Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Phillip Roth were my heroes because their works had more depth, complexity, and tighter prose. They were literary giants. Roth, the only living author among the three, particularly appealed to me because he could be hilariously funny or dead serious. They each opened a vein to reveal what pained and tortured them. For years, I was uncomfortable revealing too much of myself in my writing, even though I was told to “write what you know”. Oddly enough, after reading Laura Lippman’s Baltimore mystery novels, I recognized that I could create stories with more verisimilitude and that also revealed more about me than my previous works.

 

DL: What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve received?

MS: I had a screenwriting professor at the University of Maryland who said, “whenever you write a story, or a scene, or a character, keep asking yourself ‘who cares’? If you can’t answer that question, then you have problems.” In other words, make sure your readers care about what you are writing since they’ll jump ship if they lose interest.

 

DL: If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

MS: Easy. I would make sure that every bookseller has my books on a table in the front of the store or front and center on their home pages.  If my superpower was really strong, there would be an employee standing by the books and making verbal recommendations to each customer. How many wishes do I get here?

 

DL: If you hosted a dinner party, which three authors (past or present) would you invite—and why?

 

MS: Phillip Roth – He was one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. We have several commonalities and he was bold and unafraid to explore areas that other authors avoided. We would have a deli platter.

 

Emile Zola – I gravitated toward his novels about French society when I was in my late twenties. His expansive Rougon-Macquart series is amazing in the breadth of what he wrote about. I never realized how great 19^th century French literature was until I read him. Then, he had the whole Dreyfuss Affair situation that elevated his stature to superstardom. We would have French cuisine.

 

Sinclair Lewis – He was a bold and controversial as Roth, but his amazing novels were written before World War II. He was masterful at shining light on social issues while telling sad, powerful stories. I feel the same way about John Steinbeck, by the way, so if Lewis has to cancel, Steinbeck gets his casserole!

 

DL: What are three fun or unexpected facts about yourself?

MS: At eighteen, I was fortunate enough to spend two full days roaming around the Twentieth Century Fox studio completely unchaperoned.  I had a memorable conversation with Mel Brooks, walked right by Natalie Wood and Jane Fonda, and spent many hours on the MASH set talking to most of the cast. I nearly passed out from the excitement.

 

In one of my early post-college jobs, I handled inhouse advertising for a Ford dealer. I wrote and oversaw production of all of their commercials. The owner wanted me to appear in the ads.  I had no training in that area, but he coerced me into it anyway. I “starred” in about 10-15 ads and was terrible. But, the ads were funny and sold cars.

 

I’m really good at time estimating. For example, I can usually figure out how long something has taken or will take. My accuracy used to drive people crazy. I’ve been called a Time Savant.

 

Deliah Lawrence: Would you like to share an excerpt from Cupid Wore Snow Boots?

MS: Sure, this excerpt is from a series of mysterious interviews, discovered on a scroll, that Cupid does with an unknown person:

 

Me: Cupid, what are your pet peeves about love and life?

Cupid: Excellent question. In the area of love, I hate when I see a man take a woman’s hand to kiss it, but he kisses his own hand instead. That is just sloppy, and he should be labeled a boob and precluded from kissing a woman for at least four months…My pet peeve in life? It’s when people say something is the greatest invention since sliced bread. Let’s be honest here. Sliced bread was an okay invention, but I think we would have eventually figured out other ways to eat it. Pulling off pieces comes to mind.

Me: Anything else?

Cupid: Yes. I don’t like when I’m hitchhiking, and people pass by and throw things at me. Oh…and I don’t like when a bead of sweat rolls down from under my arm until it lands on my waist. It always feels like an insect.

Me: Anything else?

Cupid: No. That’s pretty much it. 

                                                                                 *  

Me: Is it true what they say, that your mother completely controlled you? 

Cupid: Absolutely not. Sure, she picked out my togas at the acropolis, but that stopped when I was twenty-two and put my foot down. 

Me: What about your father? 

Cupid:  I never knew my father. He went out for a pack of cigarettes one day and we never saw him again. 

Me: They didn’t have cigarettes back then. 

Cupid: That explains a lot.

 

DL: Where can readers connect with you and purchase your books?

• Website: murraysiegel.com. Both of my books are available here.
• Amazon Author Page:  https://tinyurl.com/bdeuer6a Only Cupid Wore Snow Boots is available here.
• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/murmuringsbymurray
• Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/yyapast8

DL: Thank you for joining me for this feature! I’m excited for readers to learn more about you and your work.

 

MS: Thank you for the opportunity!