Oscar de Muriel Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Oscar de Muriel Biography

I was born in Mexico City, in the building that now houses Ripley's Believe it or Not museum (some people claim to see a connection there…). I had a very happy childhood even though I did not try refried beans until I was six (I refused to eat anything brown and gooey).

My first attempt at writing stories, aged seven, was a tale about a triceratops and a stegosaurus battling a very hungry T-rex. Their three-page, ten-line long adventure was profusely illustrated by the author. Stegosaurus was extinct millions of years before the first T-rex hatched, but I still consider it a milestone.

When I was ten, Jurassic Park (the novel) scared the Jesus out of me – reminiscent of that Friends' episode where Joey Tribiani hides his books in the fridge (I blogged about that here). I'd never thought that written stories could have such a thrilling effect, and as soon as I got JP out of the freezer I decided I wanted to become a writer.

After a few fiascos and blatant steals, I managed to produce a few decent novels in various genres. However, I found myself particularly comfortable writing historical fiction.

I came to the United Kingdom to complete a PhD in Chemistry, working as a free-lance translator to complement my earnings (I was responsible for some cool Johnnie Walker's ads for Colombia). During this time I produced a handful of academic papers, and the idea of a spooky whodunit began to take roots in my head.

After several visits to Edinburgh, the city struck me as the perfect setting for a crime mystery. The entire concept of Nine-Nails McGray came to my head while eating pizza with a couple of friends [guys, do you remember Cantina Los Perros and the sea monster?]. For years I'd been meaning to write a story about the Devil's sonata (I am a violin player myself, which I should have probably mentioned earlier…) and it fit perfectly as McGray's first case – he's now on his fourth!

I went through the literary agent hunt until Maggie Hanbury rescued me from the slush pile and lent me her very professional hand. I currently divide my time between the North of England and Mexico City, almost always writing in a lovely shed in my back garden.

From the author's website, March 2019

Oscar de Muriel's website

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