with Victoria Christopher
Murray
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Victoria Christopher
Murray
Victoria Christopher Murray always knew she would become
an author, even as she was taking quite an unlikely path
to that destination. A native of Queens, New York,
Victoria first left New York to attend Hampton Institute
in Virginia where she majored in Communication Disorders.
After graduating from Hampton, Victoria attended New York
University where she received her MBA.
Victoria spent ten years in Corporate America before she
decided to test her entrepreneurial spirit. She opened a
Financial Services Agency for Aegon, USA where she managed
the number one division for nine consecutive years.
However, Victoria never lost the dream to write and when
the “bug” hit her again in 1997, she answered the call.
Victoria originally self published
Temptation. In 2000,
Time Warner re-released Temptation. Temptation
made numerous bestsellers list across the nation and
remained on the Essence bestsellers list for nine
consecutive months. In 2001, Temptation was
nominated for an NAACP Image Award in Outstanding
Literature.
Since Temptation, Victoria has written four other novels:
JOY,
Truth Be Told,
Grown Folks Business,
and
A Sin and a Shame.
All of her novels have continued to be Essence
bestsellers, with her last three each reaching the #1
position. In addition, Victoria has received numerous
awards including the Golden Pen Award for Best
Inspirational Fiction and in 2006, she was awarded the
Phyllis Wheatley Trailblazer Award for being the pioneer
in African American Christian Fiction.
Victoria’s sixth novel,
The Ex Files, was
released in June 2007. She is currently working on an
Inspirational series for teens. Victoria splits her
time between Los Angeles and Washington D.C. She is
also a member of the Long Beach Chapter of Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority.
Read An Excerpt from The Ex
Files:
Click Here
Author's Page:
http://www.VictoriaChristopherMurray.com
Author's Myspace Page:
http://www.myspace.com/VictoriaChristopherMurray
Contact The Author:
Click Here
Order Your Copy Today:
Click Here
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Urban Reviews: Tell our
readers about The Ex Files.
Victoria Christopher
Murray: The Ex
Files is the story of four women trying to recover from
their relationships ending. They find themselves together in
a prayer group, started by their pastor. Although none of
them are happy to be there in the beginning, a major tragedy
draws them closer and by the end of the novel, the women
discover they have more in common than they thought.
Urban Reviews: What
inspired you create this storyline?
Victoria Christopher
Murray: A friend once
said to me that there were four ways to handle a break-up:
you could be faith-filled, faithless, weak-willed, or
revenge-filled. I thought that was such an interesting
concept and decided to write a book around that.
Urban Reviews: Will
we see these women again in the future?
Victoria Christopher
Murray: Nope! I'm
done!
Urban Reviews: Can
you tell our readers how you started your writing career?
Victoria Christopher
Murray: I guess I
began my career the way anyone begins a career - I started
at the beginning. I wrote my first book, self published it
because I have a business background, decided that self
publishing wasn't for me, found an agent, she sold my first
book to a publisher and after three long, long years, I was
an overnight success! :-)
Urban Reviews: Why
did you choose to write Christian fiction?
Victoria Christopher
Murray: I never chose
to write Christian fiction. I just wrote a book. I tell
people that all the time. I don't believe most writers write
to genres or labels. Most authors write books for their love
of writing. Other people put the label of Christian fiction
on me. African American Christian fiction didn't even exist
when I began writing. The label came after my first novel
came out.
Urban Reviews: Do
you feel more people are reading Christian fiction now than
in the past?
Victoria Christopher
Murray: You know, I
don't have any way to measure that. I guess more people are
reading it because it didn't even exist ten years ago. For
African-Americans, it's a relatively new genre. So, if you
compare the number of people who were reading these books
ten years ago (which was zero) to the number who are reading
them now, then yes, more people are reading Christian
fiction than in the past.
Urban Reviews: Can
you give us a peak at your next novel?
Victoria Christopher
Murray: My next novel
is called Too Little, Too Late and it is the final
story in the Jasmine Cox Larson Bush saga which began in
Temptation and continued in A Sin and a Shame.
Urban Reviews: Who
are some of your favorite authors or books?
Victoria Christopher
Murray: My all time
favorite author is
Richard Wright. I love all
of his novels.
Urban Reviews: What
is one of the biggest lessons that you've learned about the
book industry?
Victoria Christopher
Murray: That this is
business is tough. And, it's a hustle. And most readers
don't realize that. I think readers think that authors are
given huge advances and then paid royalties. I think that's
why so many readers share books rather than buy them. Most
readers don't know that authors are not paid until a book is
sold. I didn't even know that until I became part of this
industry.
Urban Reviews: Name
one thing that the world does not know about Victoria
Christopher Murray-the person?
Victoria Christopher
Murray: Now, if I
told you the one thing the world did not know, then the
world would know it and I would have no more secrets!
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Read our review of The Ex Files in the
AA Fiction section.
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