Thanks to her black mother and her Irish father, Ruth “Penny” Borum is the color of a new penny—copper-skinned and freckled, with naturally reddish hair. Big-boned and notoriously sassy, Ruth is nonetheless the organist and a member in good standing of Antioch, Virginia's most prominent black church—or at least she was until she dragged the popular Reverend Jonas Borum into an ugly divorce.
Having lost everything in the divorce—everything but weight, attitude and the fiendish desire to continue playing the organ every Sunday next to her scowling ex—Ruth scrapes by on what she can make as a hairdresser at Diana's, a tiny two-seat salon. Alone at night, in her basement apartment, she indulges in ice cream and argues with the Almighty. Did He have to take everything away? And when is He going to give something back?

The Good Lord must have a sense of humor. That's the only conclusion Ruth can reach when He makes her fall head over heels in love…with a white man. Ruth's never looked at a white man before, but if you're going to look, why not look at Dewey Baxter? A big guy—just Ruth's size—with solid farm-boy muscles and a handsome face, Dewey's even cuter when he's with Tee and Dee, his darling children. Something—maybe it's Tee and Dee's copper, freckled skin, or the way traumatized Dee hasn't spoken since his mother's death, or it just might be the crazy breathless feeling Ruth gets every time she looks at Dewey—convinces her that she belongs with the Baxter family and they with her.

But getting to Dewey, Tee and Dee is trickier than Ruth could ever have imagined. Her friends are appalled to see her chasing after a white man, and Antioch, her spiritual home since birth, is ready to throw her out on her ear. Even Dewey—attracted as he is to Ruth's spirit and womanly curves—isn't sure his exhausted heart can take on another complicated relationship. Still, with the help of jump rope rhymes, a homeless man who hears God's voice in a mason jar, and two children who want a Mama as much as she wants them, Ruth's determined to prove anything is possible. Even love between two people who couldn't be more mismatched….

Luminous, uplifting and wickedly funny Something Real shows how love defies all expectations…and comes in all shapes, sizes and colors of the rainbow.

Calzone Street: Poems from the Melting Pot (2004)

Diane Anderson is living a lonely existence in Roanoke, Virginia. A librarian with no social life, her only entertainment is reviewing books online and playing solitaire. On Christmas, she starts reviewing books about African American women, something she knows about from firsthand experience, and posts a bad review even though the book takes place in her adopted town. Meanwhile, Jack Browning is gradually getting over the loss of his wife and young son while working on his second novel. His first book, a steamy interracial romance, is due out soon. Ironically, the first person he connects with at the local library after the tragedy is Diane. Unaware that he is the author she has criticized, she does wonder why this white man is reading black literature. Murray writes a gentle romance about cultural differences and deep commonalities in a unique tale about white-black relationships that mirrors his life as a white man married to an African American woman.

Diane Anderson vive un'esistenza dolitaria a Roanoke, Virginia. Una bibliotecaria senza vita sociale, il suo unico divertimento è recensire i libri on line e fare solitari. A Natale, incomincia a recensire libri sulle donne afroamericane, qualcosa che conosce di prima persona, e pubblica on line una recensione negativa anche se il libro è ambientato nella sua città di adozione. Nel frattempo, Jack Browning sta lentamente superando la perdita della moglie e del giovane figlio mentre lavora sul suo secondo romanzo. Il suo primo libro, una sensuale storia d'amore interazziale, è andato esaurito ben presto. Ironicamente, la prima persona con la quale entra in contatto alla biblioteca del posto dopo la sua tragedia è Diane. Inconsapevole che lui è lo stesso autore che ha criticato, lei si domanda perchè questo uomo bianco legga letteratura di colore. Murray scrive una storia d'amore gentile sulle differenze culturali in una storia unica sulle relazioni bianco-nero che rispecchia la sua vita da uomo bianco sposato ad una donna afroamericana.

Can't Get Enough of Your Love (2007)

Sometimes A Girl Likes To Keep Her Options Open

In her search for Mr. Right, Erlana Joy Cole has met lots of prospects, but she's never been able to narrow it down to just one. And why should she? After all, you can't ask a woman to have only one pair of shoes, right? So why settle for just one man?

Instead, she's got herself her own "Earth, Wind, and Fire" of men. There's her "Earth," Roger, a white soul brother with a sweet mind and a wicked touch. There's "Wind," Karl, a tattooed entrepreneur who's straight out of Erlana's roots. And as for Juan, well, he's pure "Fire," fierce and passionate and hot as they come. Put them all together and a sister's got everything she could ever want--not that she would ever put them all together. Huh-uh, no way. That can NOT happen.

But now, Erlana's juggling act is getting too hot to handle. And sooner or later, a girl's gotta make a choice while she's still got a choice to make...

Qualche volta Ad una Ragazza Piace Avere delle Opzioni

Nella sua ricerca per l'Uomo Giusto, Erlana Joy Cole ha incontrato molti uomini probabili, ma non è mai stata capace di selezionarne solo uno. E perchè avrebbe dovuto? Dopo tutto, non puoi chiedere ad una donna di avere solo un paio di scarpe, giusto? Così perchè accontentarsi di solo un uomo?

Invece, lei ha avuto la sua parte di "Terra, Vento e Fuoco" di uomini. C'è il suo "Terra"; Roger, un fratello d'anima bianco con una mente dolce e un tocco peccaminoso. C'è "Vento", Kar, un imprenditore tatuato che arriva dalle stesse radici di Erlana. E per Juan, beh, lui è puro "Fire", fiero e appassionato e sexy. Mettete tutti insieme e una sorella ha tutto quello che può volere - non che che lei li metterebbe tutti insieme. Huh-uh, non c'è modo. Questo non può accadere.

Ma ora, la situazione di Erlana sta diventando troppo difficile da gestire. E presto o tardi, una ragazza deve fare una scelta mentre ha ancora una scelta da fare...