Although he is best known for The Destroyer series he created with Dick Sapir, Warren Murphy's writing career has been marked by amazing versatility that goes far beyond his best-known characters of Remo and Chiun. He has written everything from cartoons and comic books to columns of literary criticism; from traditional "cozy" crime puzzles to comic detectives whose exploits have been called "the funniest mysteries ever written." His credits stretch from New York to Hollywood and his books and short stories have won more than a dozen national awards, including two Edgars from the Mystery Writers of America.

Yeah. Great. So what's he done for us lately?

We went and snatched him off the golf course and forced him to write the following update.

From Warren Murphy:

A funny thing happened to me on my way to literary immortality.
What happened was....aaaaah, never mind; who wants to see a grown man cry? Let's just say that when they get around to writing my obituary, they'll refer to this last decade as "the missing years." (I wasn't really missing; my bartender always knew where I was.)
But that was then; this is now, and as the poet Robert Browning used to say, "You ain't seen nothin' yet."
So here are some of the things that are on tap:
First of all, let's talk about the franchise.

--The Destroyer series:
We finally gave up on Gold Eagle as a publisher; the books were just sinking into a squid-filled mist. Next we tried Tor Books, a very fine publisher, but the demands of getting out a series on a predictable schedule turned out to be too much for them to handle.
So Jim Mullaney and I have gone on a writing vacation for a while. We'll keep this website up. Already, we've done a book of fan short stories and an all new Assassin's Handbook and a fistful of other books, and I don't expect that you've heard the last of us. We'll be around.

-- Other books:
I'm still working on plans for a new series for another publisher -- maybe in the style of the "Trace" books I used to write. And I'm going to continue writing short stories for various anthologies, and also with the Adams Round Table writing group of which I'm a member.

--And on the publishing front:
Most of the old (pre-Gold Eagle) Destroyers are slowly making their way into electronic publishing, that can be bought and read online or downloaded to palm-type readers, and so too are most of my other backlist books. But the operative word there is "slowly." And that's not a complaint -- it's just that the whole process takes time. Eventually, all those backlist Destroyers and other books will also be available in a real, hold-it-in-your-hand paper format. The operative word there is "eventually."
Frankly, while I truly believe that electronic publishing is a major wave that's going to wash over the publishing shore in the future, the future still isn't here. But it's on its way and there's a link from this site to E-Reads which is putting them all back into print once again. And my own small publishing company Ballybunnion Books may get back in play. We'll see what that eventually brings.
We've also got a contract with a new audio publisher and the Destroyers are now finally making their way into the CD market. Buy one, tune in and turn on.

--Merchandise:
Over the years, readers have often asked about merchandise celebrating the whole legend of Remo and Chiun and Sinanju. Splash around this site and you may still find some of the stuff we've got that's been cluttering up my bedroom for too long now. First come, first served. And when it's gone, it's gone.

--Teaching:
Much of my writing life has been spent teaching, trying to get younger writers ready for publication, and one of the things I've missed most in the last handful of years has been the classroom.
A lot of health problems put the kibosh on my plan to start offering writing classes, but I may yet wind up doing that on line. You'll read it here first.

--And: A lot of all the above may depend on what happens in Hollywood where a new Destroyer film is trying to be born. Hold your breath, cross your fingers, and let's hope. I'll keep you posted.

wm:
That's just a small glancing overview... so much to do, so little time. Can I get back to the golf course now??

The Webmaster:
No. Get to work.