author of The Mystery of Things

Debra Murphy grew up in Champaign, Illinois and received her B.A. in History from the University of Illinois in 1976. She has published articles (with her husband, Daniel) on family culture and spirituality in the U.S. and U.K. Catholic press.

Debra’s short story, "Yardsticks," won the 1998 Kay Snow award sponsored by Willamette Writers, and was published in the Winter issue (no. 37) of Image.

Debra’s debut novel, The Mystery of Things, a mystery-thriller with Catholic and literary themes, was published in December 2004 by Idylls Press, the small press started by Debra and Dan in 2004 with the mission of "publishing the Catholic imagination." The Mystery of Things is the first novel in Debra’s planned Ashland Grail Cycle. The second book, Muse of Fire, is scheduled to be published in 2008.

In writing The Mystery of Things, Debra has drawn on her life-long love of Shakespeare, mythopoeic literature and mystery/suspense thrillers. An earlier draft of the novel was selected as one of the top ten finalists in the 2000 Pacific Northwest Writers Associatio fiction contest.

Debra is a contributing editor for Godspy, where she publishes reviews and op-ed pieces on contemporary faith and culture. An avid moviegoer and Shakespeare fan, Debra is also also a film reviewer for bardolatry.com, a website devoted to Shakespeare-on-film and Catholic movies online. Debra edits an e-mail newsletter called Quotes for Catholic Writers, and blogs with the rest of Clan Murphy at The Idyllist..

Debra is a member of Willamette Writers, Oregon Writers Colony and Sisters-in-Crime.

Debra lives in Oregon with her husband and six children.

The Mystery of Things website
The Mystery of Things: reviews
visit Debra’s homepage
Debra’s blog, the Idyllist