Sean Paul Murphy, Writer

Sean Paul Murphy, Writer
Sean Paul Murphy, Storyteller

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Chapel Street Book Signing: Carpe Librum


On Saturday, October 24th, I had my first book signing at Carpe Librum Bookstore and Art Gallery, which is located at 7221 Harford Road, Baltimore, Maryland. Amazon bestseller Harry Carpenter was also present signing his books. We originally planned to hold the event outside in front of the shop but periodic drizzle forced us inside. Below you will find photos of some of my friends and family and book lovers in general who came to the event.

Melissa (the owner), myself and Harry Carpenter

Harry at his table, look at all of those books!

"A boy's best friend is his mother" - N. Bates
Here I am with Lisa Xavier, St. D. Class of 1975

With Jim Padden, Curley Class of 1979

With Mike Madsen, Curley Class of 1979

With fellow author Vince Clews, 
My Heart Transplant For Your Amusement

Here's Dana, my wife dragged her off the street.

She bought one of Harry's books too!

Here's my cousin Robert. 
With Brian Krasnansky, St. D. Class of 1975

With Jennifer Grill, St. D. Class of 1975
I borrowed her maiden name, Poskocil, and
our linked family histories for the book.

I want to thank Melissa for hosting the event, and thank everyone who showed up. If you couldn't make the signing, you can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.


Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:

The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3

Let's stay in touch:

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
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Subscribe on YouTube: Sean Paul Murphy

Thursday, October 29, 2020

The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime!


"This is the most important election of our lifetime."

Those are the words I heard when I first voted for president back in 1980. I have heard them prior to every subsequent election. It's being shouted even louder now.

It's crap. Step out of the outrage-driven twenty-four hour news cycle and look at things objectively. We are a huge country with a large, diverse population and a long history and strong institutions. We're not going to change overnight for either good or evil. 

So who's saying it and why? Democrats and their compliant media allies who want me to fear and hate Republicans, and Republicans and their compliant media allies who want me to fear and hate Democrats.

I refuse.

Do you honestly expect me to hate my brother or my sister or my friends because they're voting for Trump? Or Biden? What? Are you crazy?

Here's the truth.

Donald Trump never gave me a ride to the airport at five a.m.

Joe Biden never came over and helped me move.

Mitch McConnell didn't comfort me when my sister shot herself.

Nancy Pelosi did nothing to soothe my heart when my first love left me.

But my friends and family did. And now I'm supposed to shun them because they're voting for another candidate? You must be out of your freaking mind! We live in a country with two hundred and forty million eligible voters and you expect me to throw away lifelong relationships because of their one vote. That's worse than insane. It's emotional suicide.

But what about injustice, you ask? Am I turning a blind eye to that?

No, not at all. I see injustice all around me. I just don't see how partisan hatred is going to solve it. If you dig down deep enough  into any injustice, you will find that the root cause is always hatred or fear. And I guarantee it will not be solved by more hatred and fear. You don't fight fire with fire. You fight it with water.

No law will expel racism from the hearts of individuals. It will only drive it deeper and keep it more hidden.

What will end racism? Friendship. It's very easy to demonize a group. It's infinitely harder to hate someone who treats you with kindness and respect.

I talked to hundreds of people while compiling my extensive family tree. Many of the older people I talked with had fled downtown East Baltimore as a result of the white flight during the 1950s. At the time they were horrified at the prospect of living with African Americans. 

Guess what? In the ensuing decades, the lily-white neighborhoods they fled to slowly became racially-mixed. Now, in their senior years, they have learned to appreciate and respect their new black neighbors. I heard this attitude repeated to me by many former flighters. They would tell me, sometimes with more than a little surprise, about how kind and helpful their new black neighbors were. For example, I was touched when my eighty-eight-year-old Uncle Butch declared that the African immigrant who drove him to dialysis treatment every day was his best friend. My uncle was a good man, but he was also a product of his times. And guess what. Bill Clinton didn't change his heart. Neither did George W. Bush. Nor did a Supreme Court ruling. His heart was changed by simple kindness. That's all it took.

Sometimes I think you can do more to end racism by pulling over onto the side of the road to help someone change a tire than attending a political rally.

The worst problems in this country are ultimately problems of the heart. And they can only be changed face-to-face, one person at a time. To assign that job to the government abdicates our personal responsibility as human beings. To choose to hate, demean, deride and ridicule half of the people in this country who don't vote the way you do is counter-productive. And it is a choice. You are not morally compelled to hate people. 

So what am I going to do for the next four years if Trump wins? The same thing I am going to do if Biden wins.

I am going to love my wife and my family. I will also try to show kindness and grace to the people I run into on a daily basis, whether they be friends, acquaintances or strangers. I hope to continue writing about the things that are most important to me. And politics is nowhere near the top of the list. The issues that resonate most deeply in me involve suicidal hopelessness and despair and the hope offered by faith. Those issues cross all party and national lines. They're universal. And I am not going to trap myself in a box, thereby invalidating my testimony in the eyes of half the country, by endorsing a political candidate or party. That would be idiotic.

I find a great deal of wisdom in Reinhold Niebuhr's serenity prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

The older I get, the clearer it becomes what I can change and what I cannot change. And, as a result, I have chosen to put people ahead of parties.

Feel free to hate me for it. It's America. You have the right to do so.

Just don't expect me to hate you back.

More personal musings:

Be sure to check out my memoir The Promise, or the Pros and Cons of Talking with God, published by TouchPoint Press. It is my true story of first faith and first love and how the two became almost fatally intertwined.



Here are some sample chapters of The Promise:

Chapter 7 - Mission Accomplished
Chapter 15 - Quarter To Midnight

Be sure to check out my novel Chapel Street. It tells the story of a young man straddling the line between sanity and madness while battling a demonic entity that has driven his family members to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting my family experienced.

You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.


Learn more about the book, click Here.

Watch the book trailer:

  

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
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Subscribe on YouTube: Sean Paul Murphy

Sunday, October 25, 2020

Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast #47: Round Robin: Halloween Films


Here's another COVID free ZOOM edition of the Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast, a lively discussion of the movies that sometimes devolves into a group therapy session.

In this special pre-Halloween edition, each of the Mother Podcasters each bring a guilty pleasure horror film to the table to present to the others.  Our choices range from certified classics to low budget spoofs to terrifying recent films. Afterwards, we voted on which of the films we would feature on our Halloween edition. Listen and find out one we chose.

Here's the podcast on YouTube:

 

This week the Quattrucci brothers Cue It Up (again). Take a listen to the latest episode of our first official spin-off on the YKYMP network.

 

Our Podcast is now available for download on iTunes: Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast
Subscribe to our YouTube page: Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast
Check out our webpage: Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast

Like us on Facebook: Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast.
Follow us on Twitter: YKYPodcast
Check out Wojo's webpage: Wojo's World
And follow her on Twitter: @TheMicheleWojo

Check out our other episodes here:


My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.



Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Publishers Weekly's BookLife Features Chapel Street


My paranormal thriller Chapel Street was one of only seven novels featured in the October 2020 Indie Spotlight by Publishers Weekly's Booklife. Considering the huge number of great books released by indie publishers, it was a tremendous honor to be selected. I am very grateful for their consideration.

Read about it here: Indie Spotlight Part 1: October 2020

Have you read the book yet? You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.



Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:

The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3

Let's stay in touch:

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
Follow me on Facebook: Sean Paul Murphy
Follow me on Instagram: Sean Paul Murphy
Subscribe on YouTube: Sean Paul Murphy

Friday, October 16, 2020

Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast #46: Be Kind Rewind

Here's another COVID free ZOOM edition of the Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast, a lively discussion of the movies that sometimes devolves into a group therapy session.

After the two grim films from 1971, our newest member Drew Gould decided to bring some welcome whimsy to the group with the 2008 film by Michel Gondry Be Kind Rewind. But will it be whimsical enough to wash away the lingering aftertaste of Klute and The  Hospital, or will it be too whimsical? Watch and find out.

BTW, here's a story with The Mighty Wojo interviewing Linda Ronstadt: Linda Ronstadt on Persevering Her Culture.

Here's the trailer:



Here's the podcast on YouTube:

 

This week the Quattrucci brothers Cue It Up (again). Take a listen to the latest episode of our first official spin-off on the YKYMP network.

 

Our Podcast is now available for download on iTunes: Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast
Subscribe to our YouTube page: Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast
Check out our webpage: Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast

Like us on Facebook: Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast.
Follow us on Twitter: YKYPodcast
Check out Wojo's webpage: Wojo's World
And follow her on Twitter: @TheMicheleWojo

Check out our other episodes here:


My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.



Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:

Thursday, October 15, 2020

TV Free Baltimore Interview

\ 

The good folks down at TV Free Baltimore just interviewed me about my book Chapel Street, and the actual haunting that inspired the book. I was grateful for the opportunity to talk with them, and I look forward to sitting down with them again in the near future!

I hope you enjoy it.

Below you will find my previous interview with them about my first film 21 Eyes.

 

Be sure to check out my novel Chapel Street. It tells the story of a young man straddling the line between sanity and madness while battling a demonic entity that has driven his family members to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting my family experienced.

You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.


Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:

The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
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Subscribe on YouTube: Sean Paul Murphy

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Chapel Street Review - Escapereality4now

Here's a review of my novel Chapel Street by Instagram and Goodreads horror reviewer Tali Leonard, aka escapereality4now.

View this post on Instagram

Book Review ✨✨ Thank you @sean_paul_murphy #giftedbook Tell me something (anything) about the main character in your current read. Chapel Street , by Sean Paul Murphy, was a paranormal thriller based on the authors experiences. The main character, Rick Bakos, is a tortured soul that lost family members to suicide. Aside from researching his family’s lineage, He volunteers after work for a website called “Resting Place.” Part of his volunteer work includes visiting graves and in doing so he awakens a demon. Rick befriends a fellow volunteer, Teri Poskocil, and they find themselves growing closer to the horror. Although it took me a few chapters to get into the book, it was an extremely well-written story. I could feel Rick’s loneliness and grief in the beginning of the book. The story begins to pick up for me after Rick photographs the grave of Betty Kostek. At that point the reader begins to see the evil that has a hold on this family. Sean Paul Murphy has a way of writing which made me want to turn the pages and dins out more. Chapel Street has many religious undertones but most stories consisting of possession and demons are intertwined with religion. I feel that the author had a good balance of faith and horror which made the story suspenseful. It was a true battle of good versus evil. 4🌟 Thank you for the buddy read @marcyreads and @wherethereadergrows 🥰 ——————————————————— #chapelstreet #seanpaulmurphy #paranormalstories #horrorfiction #bookreview #promotehorror #bookstagram #mustreadbooks #newbooks #goodbookstoread #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookstafiends

A post shared by Tali (@escapereality4now) on

My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.


Learn more about the book, click Here.

Listen to me read some chapters here:


Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:

The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An Introduction
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The House
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is Us
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, Arrival
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, Methodology
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's Tale
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3

Let's stay in touch:

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
Follow me on Facebook: Sean Paul Murphy
Follow me on Instagram: Sean Paul Murphy
Subscribe on YouTube: Sean Paul Murphy