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Ralph & Murray
by Rick Glaze
Synopsis (from Amazon):
In the quaint backdrop of a small southern town, circa 1959, an extraordinary tale unfolds through the charming narration of an unlikely storyteller – Ralph, a spirited four-legged companion with a knack for punchy humor.
Amidst a world where most dogs merely wag their tails and feline neighbors purr quietly, Ralph and his witty counterpart, Murray, emerge as remarkable exceptions, gifted with extraordinary abilities.
As they traverse the idyllic landscapes of their hometown, encountering ghosts, hobos, and even the iconic twist dance craze spearheaded by Chubby Checker himself, Ralph and Murray’s adventures take on a whimsical, yet deeply resonant quality.
Through their escapades, readers are treated to a delightful journey brimming with empathy, kindness, and compassion, serving as a poignant reminder of the power of standing up for others.
From unraveling the mysteries of why pencils have erasers to discovering who might have alligators for lunch, Ralph and Murray weave a tapestry of nostalgia from a bygone era with heartwarming humor and infectious charm.
Readers of all ages are invited to immerse themselves in a world where the bonds of friendship and the beauty of diversity reign supreme, leaving behind a trail of laughter, wisdom, and unforgettable memories.
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Enjoy this peek inside:
Chapter 1
After the car ride across town when they first brought me home, my stomach was rumbling around, and I upchucked on the kitchen floor. That’s when they named me Ralph. It’s an average name for a dog. Especially suited for a pound puppy with short, white hair from the neck down, black and brown fur on my head distributed judiciously, lanky legs not quite eight inches long, and a nondescript tail wagging most of the time. I lie around the house and yard like dogs tend to do, waiting on some action from the people around here.
A cat started wandering over my fence and I raced out and pretended to catch him in my lockjaw fangs and tear him to shreds. Actually, it’s Murray next door and if he didn’t show up occasion- ally, it would be even more boring when the kids are off at school. So, I race out to intercept him, he screeches and arches his back and pretends he’s a vicious lion, and king of the fence. We have a Mexican standoff for a minute from his perch on top of the fence; then he jumps back to his yard and I go back to the shade of my patio. It breaks up the afternoon, what can I say?
Like most Americans, I don’t have a notable pedigree. And no, I don’t try to fabricate the pedigree thing by showing off “designer” labels. Well, I actually don’t wear labels. But if I had a well-placed blush of color across my back, I might have a pedigree…at least for some folks. It’s a fun game, but actually I have more fun with the Murray thing.
When I joined the family, Tommy was eleven, and Ricky was nine. I was almost six months old and didn’t know much about a dog’s life or how people acted, but I started watching everything. I noticed there was a hierarchy in the family, a kind of pecking order, and it adjusted itself depending on who was in the house. For example, when Dad was home, there was an unwritten deferral to him as the top dog, no pun intended. Mom was the default when Dad was on a trip, and when in their rooms, big brother Tommy was the alpha, leaving Ricky on the bottom rung…except for me, but I’m just a dog.
So telling a story from a dog’s perspective, you’d think it would be pretty limited. After all, I can’t speak, and I don’t have a place at the supper table to talk over the
day’s events, and all that sort of thing. But two things happened that changed all that.
One April afternoon when the springtime sun was breaking through a cloudy gloom, and drying the winter-soaked yard, I was making a security check around the periphery of the back fence. I turned the corner and looked up to see Murray sitting leisurely on a cross beam at the top. He was sprawled out so his red-white-and touches-of-black coat caught the waning sunlight in an almost shiny glisten. While standing there motionless dismissing my gut reaction to defend the sanctity of my turf, a small, quiet voice spoke into my ear. “How’s it going today, buddy?” I tilted my head at this strange sound while I looked up at Murray. His mouth was stretched out in a big grin and it looked like he actually winked at me. Bewildered, my head turned back the other way. “It’s okay, you can do this,” the voice whispered. Looking back to Murray, I thought, “Are you talking to me?” “Yes, and it’s okay,” the voice said.
Over time, Murray showed me how to listen to everything around me including, and most intriguingly, people. When he climbs to the top of the fence, I still run out as if tearing him to pieces, because we both like doing it. But the world changed, and a lot of the things that happen are no longer a mystery.
Okay, as if that’s not enough. In the evenings after dinner, the boys go to their rooms and do homework. As I had no homework of my own to do, I broke up the boredom by shuttling back and forth between the two bedrooms. Snuggling into Tom’s bedspread, I watched him stare at books and quietly turn the pages, sometimes fast and other times deliberate, while writing on an adjacent pad. Watching Ricky was a different experience, and led to the second life-changing event. For one, he usually sat on the bed with a couple of pillows behind his back. Sometimes he had a pad of paper out, but other times he leafed through books with a steady even pace, and then I noticed the thing that was the defining moment. He was moving his lips as he read, literally mouthing the words. And get this, about half the time he actually whispered each word as he read…so low that people didn’t notice, but I have better hearing than people. After a while I found a position to sit where I could watch the page while hearing the words. Now sit down and take a deep breath, because what I’m about to tell you is hard to swallow. Ready? Okay, here goes. Under this strange confluence of circumstances, I taught myself to read. Okay, I know. Believe me I get it. I’m a dog. Dogs can be very smart, and some can think and even outwit their masters. But read?
Well, let it settle in for a bit while I tell you some stories of growing up in this small Southern town.
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MY REVIEW
Try to imagine navigating the world through the eyes and ears of a dog or a cat. You can enjoy that experience with Ralph and Murray. From grasping our language to learning how to read, their adventures are a delight to experience. Murray takes the young dog, Ralph, under his wing and guides him with a grudging tolerance that becomes a true friendship.
As people, we tend to give our beloved creatures human characteristics. It’s called anthropomorphism. What makes this such an enchanting, fun story is how the author makes me see the world as Murray, a cat, and Ralph, a dog. I walk in their shoes, or I should say paws. What fun.
4 STARS
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Guest Post
How Ralph & Murray Came to Be
Ralph & Murray is a pandemic book. Yes, it was easy to find time to write while literally everything was shut down. But, as I’ve heard from writers and others, the whole uncertainty and anxiety of this unknown event took a toll on mental space. I’m grateful that a lighthearted book was on my agenda. Ralph and I shared serious chuckles writing it.
I had planned a memoir incorporating growing up in a small southern town in the 1950s, leading later to the abrupt changes and unhinged people I encountered in Silicon Valley. It had some nice twists to it. The California segment was planned to be live interviews with a group of disparate characters that I was hoping to be quite juicy. Sounds kind of fun, right?
Okay. Maybe you’re guessing what happened. My March 8, 2020 flight to Silicon Valley was postponed for a week or two until this little virus thing blew over. Instead, it blew under the rug, under the sheets, and stole all the toilet paper.
The interview format was going to be a stretch for me in the first place, because it was a new approach. So, with no visits to the west coast and no interviews, I was relieved to enlist Ralph, my dog, to tell this story. I gave serious thought to the format, because I had some concern that there was little in the way of a fixed plot running through the various vignettes.
One of the most popular contemporary memoirs was a favorite of mine, and this was a perfect time to re-read Tuesdays With Morrie, a deeply touching and intimate story where the only plot was that the story took place every Tuesday. Like with every book, I was worried whether or not the book would find an audience. Ralph and his zany buddy, Murray saved the day, and as you can tell there is overwhelming, laugh-out-loud interest.
During the writing, there is a chance if you were around me and had something whacky or offbeat going on, you got a little ink or maybe your own chapter. For example, I escaped to Florida for a week and visited the Everglades. The fan boats skidded across the swamp and the guide explained details of the food chain, as in the adult racoons eat the baby alligators and the adult reptiles eat the racoons. As you may know, Murray chewed this one up in the chapter called, “The Big Ones Eat the Little Ones.” Thank you, Murray!
Now a confession. When Ralph is reading the letters from Uncle Art, it may be pure plagiarism. Is it stealing if I wrote in a different format? I hope not. A couple of these came from my previous weekly column in Silicon Valley, The Uncle Art of Investing. I’m not surprised these short, whacky pieces made it into the book. But I am surprised they made it into the newspaper in the first place.
There is a grain of truth in most of the vignettes in the book, even though the dog and cat mix things up a bit. That is, except for Zeke, down by the creek. I created Zeke so he could wind through some stories and places that the dog, cat, and the kids couldn’t go. In the end this is my memoir, even though I recruited Ralph and Murray to do the heavy lifting, so the last chapter finishes on a nostalgic note, which makes me feel just fine.
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Interview With Author Rick Glaze
On writing:
How did you do research for your book?
I did research during the pandemic by inviting my friend Buddy to reminisce about those times and our adventures when we were ten years old. Also, I took the short drive from Nashville to my hometown, where the book is set. I drove around and walked around the neighborhoods. I stopped frequently in front of my childhood home and studied the whole place letting my imagination run free.
In your book you make a reference to Zeke, the neighborhood character. How did you come up with this idea?
We were small-town kids and didn’t know much about the outside world. Zeke purported to have traveled the world and didn’t mind telling stories about exciting places and things he’d done…even if he made up most of them. His stories opened their world up to many possibilities.
Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
I listen a lot looking for twists and turns in people’s lives that might make a story. I also try to frequently read both fiction and non-fiction. I generally latch onto a big story idea and then watch and open up to elements that fit. For example, with Ralph & Murray, I toured the Everglades while writing it, and came back with a really fun twist on “who eats alligators for lunch.”
There are many books out there that are memoirs or about dogs. What makes yours different?
This book is a memoir about my growing up in a small southern town in the late 1950’s, but the narrator is two-feet high and walks on all fours. How could you not be Laugh-Out-Loud funny with that?
What advice would you give budding writers?
ABCD. Apply butt to chair daily. Okay…and get some training so you have a baseline to work from.
Your book is set in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Have you ever been there?
I was born there.
Do you have another profession besides writing?
I retired from a business career.
How long have you been writing?
I started writing a weekly business column for a local newspaper in California around 1995, but didn’t try fiction until I was in classes at Stanford University in 2006.
Do you ever get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?
Writer’s block is just losing focus. I try to turn the anxiety and frustrations of the moment into great scenes or dialogue. I stand back and embrace the feelings, and learn not to let these emotions slip away unused. I try to not think about myself too much.
What is your next project?
We are editing Book two in the Pieces of Eight series called Eight Pieces of Eight. A new dog and cat book is on the drawing board called Ralph & Murray: The Parrot, the Poison, and the Ghost.
What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
One reader said, “I had to leave the room, I was laughing so hard.”
If your book were made into a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?
I expect that I’ll write them.
Which authors inspired you to write?
My favorite writer is Jack London.
Where do you write?
I write in my home office.
Do you write every day?
When in the middle of a manuscript, I try to write 5 or 6 days a week for a few hours.
Fun stuff:
If there is one thing you want readers to remember about you, what would it be?
He is really good looking and he’s nice to dogs. But seriously, I like to paint word pictures for the reader. I like my characters to show their feelings and be relatable to readers. I want readers to be intrigued by the story and the plot.
What is something you’ve learned about yourself during the pandemic?
It’s okay to be alone!!
What is your theme song?
I wrote a song called, “Nickel Beer.” It’s on Spotify, iTunes, and you’ll be glad you listened to it.
What song is currently playing on a loop in your head?
I wrote a song for Ralph to sing about the mom of the house called “Looking After Me.” The recording is almost finished, but I haven’t released it, and it’s rolling around my head.
What is your go-to breakfast item?
I usually have Greek Yogurt, blueberries, granola and bacon on the side.
Tell us about your longest friendship.
My longest friendship is made clear in the pages of Ralph & Murray. He’s Buddy in the book.
Who was your childhood celebrity crush?
I wanted to be Elvis.
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About Author Rick Glaze:
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Rick Glaze published the kayaking adventure, The Purple River in 2021, Spanish Pieces of Eight, a sailing adventure/mystery, and Jackass: Short Story Collection in 2022. He was a Columnist at San Francisco’s Nob Hill Gazette, attended the Stanford University Creative Writing Program, and is a graduate of Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, and MTSU.
He is an award-winning songwriter with two CDs, a Pandora radio station, credits on Country Music Television (CMT), BBC Radio, as well as radio airplay. Rick has rafted the Grand Canyon, the Salmon and Rogue Rivers as well as sailed throughout the Caribbean Sea.
Author Links: Website / Facebook / Twitter/X / Instagram
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Purchase Links: Amazon / Goodreads
Praise:
“”Rick Glaze does an amazing job of sharing what life was like in the 50s and 60s through the perspective of a dog and it makes for a hilarious and unique book.”
“Ralph & Murray is a delightful journey into nostalgia that will resonate with readers of all ages, making it a perfect shared experience for the entire family.”
“A funny, smartly observant, and philosophical animal tale; a heartwarming read.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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