Shirley Rousseau Murphy

Biography

Shirley Rousseau Murphy is the author of over 40 books, including 24 novels for adults, the Dragonbards Trilogy and more for young adults, and many books for children. She is best known for her Joe Grey cat mystery series, consisting of 21 novels, the last of which was published when she was over 90. Now retired, she enjoys hearing from readers who write to her at her website www.srmurphy.com, where the reading order of the books in that series can be found.

Murphy grew up in southern California, riding and showing the horses her father trained. After attending the San Francisco Art institute she worked as an interior designer, and later exhibited paintings and welded metal sculpture in the West Coast juried shows. "When my husband Pat and I moved to Panama for a four-year tour in his position with the U. S . Courts, I put away the paints and welding torches, and began to write," she says. Later they lived in Oregon, then Georgia, before moving to California, where she now enjoys the sea and views of the Carmel hills.
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Where to find Shirley Rousseau Murphy online

Books

The Sand Ponies
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 31,480. Language: English. Published: April 5, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Animals » Pets & domestic animals, Fiction » Children’s books » Family / Orphans & Foster Homes
Running away from their drunken and abusive uncle, Karen and Tom go north toward their old home by the sea—the ranch that had been sold, their beloved horses sold, when their parents were killed in an accident. It’s a long journey before they reach the coast and discover the place where wild ponies roam, and where they tangle with a gang of thieves but find shelter with a group of new friends.
White Ghost Summer
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 38,320. Language: English. Published: April 5, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Animals » Pets & domestic animals, Fiction » Children’s books » Family / General
Melani's room in the delightful big old house looks onto a vast park with flowers and trees, and horses on the bridle paths. It is there, early one morning, that she first sees the ghost horse—a great silvery stallion standing on a hill rising like an island above the swirling fog. Where has he come from? Is he real? The answers to her questions lead to an exciting summer for Mel and her family.
The Dragonbards Trilogy: Complete in One Volume
Series: Dragonbards Trilogy. Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 174,160. Language: English. Published: June 8, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Young adult or teen » Fantasy
This omnibus of the classic trilogy contains the three novels Nightpool, The Ivory Lyre, and The Dragonbards. On the world of Tirror, only dragonbards and their singing dragons have the power to unite the people and animals into an army that can defeat the power of the Dark. But there are no dragons left until Tebriel, unknowingly destined to lead the bards, meets the young dragon Seastrider.
Unsettled
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 48,240. Language: English. Published: March 26, 2011 . Categories: Fiction » Young adult or teen » Social Issues, Fiction » Young adult or teen » Family
Fifteen-year-old Jenny Middle struggles to hold her family together despite poverty, constant moves, the jail sentence and drunkenness of her mother, and a sister tragically involved with drugs. This timeless story of growing up forty years ago will be as relevant and moving to girls of today as it was to those who read it when first published under the title Poor Jenny, Bright as a Penny.
The Runestone of Eresu: Box Set - The Castle of Hape, Caves of Fire and Ice, The Joining of the Stone
Series: World of Ere, Book 2. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 158,930. Language: English. Published: February 22, 2011 . Categories: Fiction » Young adult or teen » Fantasy, Fiction » Fantasy » General
Ramad of the Wolves, leader of his fellow Seers, knows it is up to him to find and rejoin the shards of the shattered Runestone of Eresu, which alone can save their world from the dark. Following his true love Telien into unknown reaches of Time, he is followed in turn by the Seer Skeelie, who also loves him. But only far forward in Time can the final battle against the dark forces be fought.
The Shattered Stone: Box Set - The Ring of Fire + The Wolf Bell
Series: World of Ere, Book 1. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 122,470. Language: English. Published: February 22, 2011 . Categories: Fiction » Young adult or teen » Fantasy, Fiction » Fantasy » General
To be a Seer, gifted with telepathic and visionary powers, means death or enslavement by the dark powers determined to conquer the world of Ere. In one of the included novels, young Seers set out to free others who are imprisoned, aided by the shard of a mysterious runestone. In the other, a gifted child seeks the stone itself, aided by thinking wolves and pursued by an evil Seer who wants it.
The Dragonbards
Series: Dragonbards Trilogy, Book 3. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 54,470. Language: English. Published: September 24, 2010 . Categories: Fiction » Young adult or teen » Fantasy
Dragonbards Trilogy, Book 3. Only the dragonbards and their singing dragons have the power to unite the people and animals of Tirror into an army that can break the Dark’s hypnotic hold over the world. Before their leader Tebriel can challenge the hordes gathering for the final battle, he must confront the dark lord Quazelzeg face to face in the Castle of Doors, a warp of time and space.
The Ivory Lyre
Series: Dragonbards Trilogy, Book 2. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 60,700. Language: English. Published: September 24, 2010 . Categories: Fiction » Young adult or teen » Fantasy
Dragonbards Trilogy, Book 2. The bard Tebriel and his singing dragon Seastrider together can weave powerful spells. With other dragons searching for their own bards, they have been inciting revolts throughout the enslaved land of Tirror. Only if they can contact underground resistance fighters and find the talisman hidden in Dacia will they have a chance to defeat the power of the Dark.
Nightpool
Series: Dragonbards Trilogy, Book 1. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 60,920. Language: English. Published: September 24, 2010 . Categories: Fiction » Young adult or teen » Fantasy
Dragonbards Trilogy, Book 1. As dark raiders invade the world of Tirror, a singing dragon awakens from her long slumber, searching for the human who can vanquish the forces of evil—Tebriel, son of the murdered king. Teb has found refuge in Nightpool, a colony of talking otters. But a creature of the Dark is also seeking him, and the battle to which he is drawn will decide Tirror’s future.
Cat on the Money: A Joe Grey Mystery Novella
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 19,370. Language: English. Published: August 31, 2010 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General, Fiction » Fantasy » Contemporary
This short novella is part of the popular Joe Grey cat mystery series. Booklist said: “What makes this series so delightful for both cat lovers and readers of offbeat fantasies is that Murphy’s convincing anthropomorphism allows the cats to maintain their feline natures while still adopting human speech and cognition.” Both fans of the Joe Grey novels and new readers will enjoy it.

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