M. E. Murray

About Me

I am a published writer, with a master’s degree in  entomology, who enjoys reading and writing suspenseful stories for all ages. I was born and raised in South Texas, but North Texas is  currently home to me, my husband, a mischievous cat, and an energetic foxhound. When not writing, I help my husband operate an antique business. Besides reading and writing, I enjoy listening to music, from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and collecting old things. (You  might see me and my husband in flea markets, estate sales, auctions, thrift stores, and garage sales, searching for that rare find to use in our antique business.)

As a youngster, I spoke Spanish fluently, thanks to my parents, especially my mother. (She tried to learn English but gave up. So, we had to speak Spanish at home.) Consequently, I didn’t learn to speak English fluently until I was 9 years old. I spent many summers in Mexico with my mother’s family. During that time, I became more familiar with Mexican customs and developed a fondness for mariachi music. I love to sing “canciones rancheras”, and I am very proud of Fort Worth’s North Side High School Mariachi Band.

Besides being selected as Villa Maria High School’s  salutatorian, I also received several academic awards, but I was particularly honored when I received a creative writing award during my senior year.  I am the first female undergraduate student to graduate from Texas A&M University (TAMU), College Station, Texas, with a BS degree in entomology. I also have  a life science teaching certificate from TAMU. “Gig ‘Em Aggies!”

I worked as a laboratory supervisor and teaching assistant in the soil and crop sciences department at TAMU; as a research scientist and laboratory supervisor at the United States Department of agriculture in Brownsville, Texas; a life science substitute teacher in Bryan Texas, and as a volunteer, teaching children about insects in College Station, Texas.

I have done a considerable amount of traveling. When my husband worked on his dissertation, we went on several insect-collecting expeditions throughout the US, Mexico, and on one expedition to Central America that led us all the way to the Panama Canal. As a member of the entomological Society of America, I traveled to national meetings in British Columbia, Montréal, Florida, Colorado, Massachusetts, and New York. My husband’s job also took us to Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, Italy, and Austria.

However,  one thing that disappoints me about my US travels is not making it to the Northeast. I regret not visiting that area because Bangor, Maine is where Stephen King, my favorite author, lives. Maybe one of these days, I will visit Bangor, and get to meet him. That would make my day!