PSB: Boston Edition and GrubStreet are delighted to present the latest installment of the Grubbie Debut event series, featuring Christine Murphy! Join us for a celebration of her book Notes on Surviving the Fire on Tuesday, February 25th at Porter Square Books: Boston Edition. Writer and instructor Michelle Hoover will join Murphy in conversation, and the author talk will be followed by a signing line.

We had a chance to ask Christine a few questions about her debut book:

GrubStreet: Can you share your book pitch and what inspired you to bring it to life?

Christine Murphy: My book pitch is - at a Ph.D. program in Southern California, Sarah and her best friend, Nathan, spend their time working on their theses, getting high, and keeping track of the poor air quality due to nearby forest fires. No one believes Sarah when she reports a fellow student for raping her at a party—“He’s such a good guy!”—and the Title IX office files away the information, just like the police. Nathan is the only person who cares.

When Sarah finds Nathan dead of an overdose from a drug he’s always avoided, she knows something isn’t right. She starts investigating his death as a murder, and as the pieces fall into place, she notices a disturbing pattern in other student deaths on campus.

This book bubbled up in my mind in response to two questions: 1) Could I write a page-turning thriller that succeeded as a literary novel? 2) Could I make big, bad things (rape, murder, poverty, wildfires) funny?

GS: GrubStreet is all about supporting writers through all stages of their writing journey. How has GrubStreet supported or shaped the writing journey with your debut?

CM: I would not be where I am without GrubStreet! I had 15,000 words of this novel when I joined Henriette Lazaridis’ Novel Generator, and had a rough draft when I joined Michelle Hoover’s Novel Incubator. Both were fundamental in helping me stay motivated, organized, and encouraged. Writing a novel is a long, winding road. It is not a sprint and you can’t treat it like a sprint. You need a plan, a support system, and a community. GrubStreet provided me with all of that.

GS: Writing a book can be a life changing experience. Looking back, were there any standout moments — a challenge and breakthrough, or a surprise — from the process of writing your book?

CM: This is the first novel I am publishing, but it is not the first novel I have written. Like many early career writers, I have autobiographical components in my books. What has surprised me the most is realizing that the rules of fiction and the rules of life are different. True Crime is so popular, I think, because people are crazy! And do crazy things! When you are writing a fact-based book (true crime, biography, memoir, nonfiction), you can use the fact of what was done, no matter how absurd or unbelievable. When you are writing fiction, you don’t have facts to point to, and you must obey the laws of fiction. So, even if you are pulling quotes from things people actually said to you, they may not work in your book.

In this novel, the most unbelievable parts are true.

GS: One of the great benefits of a writing community like GrubStreet is the opportunity for learning and feedback from so many different perspectives. Was there a specific piece of advice or workshop experience at GrubStreet that significantly changed how you approach writing, either creatively or practically?

CM: In art as in life, I think the secret is to go for it. Just go for it. You’ll probably fail at first (most of us do), but if you can learn something from that, and pick yourself up and try again, you’re still on your way. My GrubStreet friends have always encouraged me to just give it a go. My favorite scene in this book (I can’t go into details because of spoilers) is nuts- I presented it in the Incubator and asked everyone, “Can…Can I do this? This will be censored, right?” And everyone’s response was, “Who knows? Keep going!” And that wild idea turned into one of the best scenes of the book, and one of my editor’s favorite scenes as well!

Creativity, practicality, keeping ourselves alive and keeping ourselves going, whether in the face of crises (politics, health, financial, etc.) or comfort (sometimes it’s harder to motivate oneself when everything is going smoothly!), is about figuring out what you need to keep going. Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. I had always hoped, like many newly published writers, that my first published novel would change my life. Instead, it is teaching my life- one foot in front of the other, another word, another page, another book.

GS: Aspiring authors often wonder how to take that first big step. What’s one piece of advice you would offer to writers preparing to take on their first book?

CM: The first question is, are you an aspiring author, or an aspiring famous author? The former wants to tell the story as well as they can. They want to learn everything they can so they can do the best job they can. The work is the priority. The latter wants to be on TV. I don’t think they even like writing, but they like what they think writing will get them.

For the former, I say just do it! We learn by doing. I think the biggest hurdle is stepping out of the “thinking about it” and into the “doing it.” Writing is hard, publishing is hard. This is their nature. I’m never concerned for writers who are in the work, doing the work. So many people quit. If you don’t quit, you’re automatically in the top 1% of the writing group through sheer determination. Talent is subjective. Success is arbitrary. Luck is random. But grit, resilience, the ability to sit your butt in the chair and keep going? No one but you has control over this.

For the latter, I don’t know what to say to you. I think there are easier ways to get on TV.

Join us on Tuesday, February 25th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the Center for Creative Writing in the Seaport for "Grubbie Debut: Christine Murphy, author of Notes on Surviving the Fire, in conversation with Michelle Hoover." RSVP here.