• Home
  • About
  • Look Inside
  • Praise
  • Reflections
  • Synchronicities
  • Other Books
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • More
    • Home
    • About
    • Look Inside
    • Praise
    • Reflections
    • Synchronicities
    • Other Books
    • Subscribe
    • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Look Inside
  • Praise
  • Reflections
  • Synchronicities
  • Other Books
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=

close calling: an Unplanned life

close calling: an Unplanned lifeclose calling: an Unplanned lifeclose calling: an Unplanned lifeclose calling: an Unplanned life

By Christopher Murphy

as Sir Nicoll Moncrieffe!

Buy the Book

close calling: an Unplanned life

close calling: an Unplanned lifeclose calling: an Unplanned lifeclose calling: an Unplanned lifeclose calling: an Unplanned life

By Christopher Murphy

as Sir Nicoll Moncrieffe!

Buy the Book

about

Close Calling: An Unplanned Life

This captivating memoir by Christopher Murphy recounts a lifetime of adventure, danger, love, travel, and survival. Through powerful storytelling and remarkable “close calls,” Murphy reflects on his unconventional journey with humor, honesty, and gratitude, celebrating the unpredictable experiences that shaped his life.

The Author

Christopher Murphy has lived a life that refuses to follow a straight line. Born in Cheshire, England, and educated at Cambridge, he abandoned accountancy for a string of improbable adventures—sailing across the Atlantic, flying amphibious aircraft, restoring derelict buildings, writing novels, and eventually settling in Santa Fe. 


His memoirs and fiction explore themes of synchronicity, reinvention, close calls, and the unexpected turns that shape a life. A longtime sailor, pilot, carpenter, and storyteller, he now writes, builds, and hosts guests while creating wind sculptures and handcrafted furniture. Close Calling is his latest exploration of how an unplanned life can become a charmed one. 

buy the book

advance praise for this memoir

"Another galvanizing winner. Murphy has the knack, and this memoir is every bit as engaging as his novels."

"Outstanding, and very moving. Most engaging. It stirred up a lot of my own life challenges and emotions. By telling his story, he is helping others to see theirs more clearly."

"Outstanding, and very moving. Most engaging. It stirred up a lot of my own life challenges and emotions. By telling his story, he is helping others to see theirs more clearly."

Ken Shaw

"Outstanding, and very moving. Most engaging. It stirred up a lot of my own life challenges and emotions. By telling his story, he is helping others to see theirs more clearly."

"Outstanding, and very moving. Most engaging. It stirred up a lot of my own life challenges and emotions. By telling his story, he is helping others to see theirs more clearly."

"Outstanding, and very moving. Most engaging. It stirred up a lot of my own life challenges and emotions. By telling his story, he is helping others to see theirs more clearly."

Thomas Starke, Ph.D.


"This is quite the tour de force, and the writing is so vivid that it reads as well as one of his novels. The theme that emerges from this extraordinary story is one of amazement and gratitude for life, in all its agitations."

"This is quite the tour de force, and the writing is so vivid that it reads as well as one of his novels. The theme that emerges from this extraordinary story is one of amazement and gratitude for life, in all its agitations."

"This is quite the tour de force, and the writing is so vivid that it reads as well as one of his novels. The theme that emerges from this extraordinary story is one of amazement and gratitude for life, in all its agitations."

V.C. Gilstrap, RN

"This memoir is a captivating tale not just of Close Calls with the Reaper but of a life filled with the rewards of no ambition."

"This is quite the tour de force, and the writing is so vivid that it reads as well as one of his novels. The theme that emerges from this extraordinary story is one of amazement and gratitude for life, in all its agitations."

"This is quite the tour de force, and the writing is so vivid that it reads as well as one of his novels. The theme that emerges from this extraordinary story is one of amazement and gratitude for life, in all its agitations."

 John Bishop

reflections

Subscribe

Sign up to learn about book talks and related updates

About synchronicities

Life drops clues everywhere—little winks across time zones, strangers who say exactly what you needed to hear, coincidences too perfect to be accidental. Something invisible stitches us all together,

and it has a sense of humor. 


Even quantum physics agrees: time isn't the boss of anything. 


Close Calling is a book about life's synchronicities that dramatically shifted Murphy's path, surprised him, and resulted in something beautiful that continues to surprise him every day.

BUY THE BOOK

contact or Submit your synchronicities

Some of the synchronicities in this life's tale are so remarkable that they point to interconnection on a limitless scale, convincing of a universal mind. We all enjoy the awe of these manifestations and love to share how the Universe seems to be listening. As the guru declared with certainty, "All minds are in communication all of the time."

Attach File
Attachments (0)

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Christopher Murphy

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Other books by Christopher Murphy

 

In His Own Words: How He Started Writing Books


One of my relatives was chronically gloomy, so I called him Eeyore. One day, I overheard him say wearily, "It must be very difficult to write a book." Some rebellious synapse fired in my head and I heard myself say, "Ï'll do it!"


And I began that very evening. The amphibian naturally became the centerpiece of the action, which set itself in Scotland for its wealth of lochs, all public property. When I sketched the outline of my next story, my publisher, a pilot himself, immediately demanded some more aviation, so for that one, I got to hijack a Hercules. After that, I was typecast, and every successor featured one or more aircraft, with, of course, some marine action included. 


Along the way, some human characters found a way to intrude...and that began the adventure to pen seven fiction novels, one self-help non-fiction, and the latest, Close Calling, a memoir.

Scream at the Sea

I, Said the Sparrow

The Jericho Rumble

 “At last, a thundering good thriller!”

London Evening Gazette 



Buy the Book

The Jericho Rumble

I, Said the Sparrow

The Jericho Rumble

 “Packed with action and tautly written….grips the reader’s attention from start to finish. Astonishing!”

New Books 

Buy the book

I, Said the Sparrow

I, Said the Sparrow

I, Said the Sparrow

"An all-action tale sparkling with excitement and humor."

John Tilley


Buy the book

Dance for a Diamond

Dance for a Diamond

I, Said the Sparrow

 "...and so we are swept along, diverted on every page, entertained by Murphy's elegant skill and intelligence."

Cleveland Plain Dealer


Buy the book

Dance on Wild Ice

Dance for a Diamond

Dance on Wild Ice

  With the Iron Curtain still a fearsome barrier, a couple dares to breach it,

for very different reasons. 

An aviation thriller like no other!  

John Blackwell 

Buy the book

Emerald Passage

Dance for a Diamond

Dance on Wild Ice

 "Fantastic. Literate. Sophisticated. Charming. Fluid. Wonderful writer. I love the style, the voice, the international flavor."

Susan Schulman, New York Literary Agent 


Buy the book

Goliath Trembled: Confronting the Cabal

Goliath Trembled: Confronting the Cabal

Goliath Trembled: Confronting the Cabal

  The Cabal or Corporate Goliath is too spread and powerful to be confronted. This tale explores a most devious way to subvert it from within. 

Buy the book

Finding the Millionth Monkey

Goliath Trembled: Confronting the Cabal

Goliath Trembled: Confronting the Cabal

 Discover a new path beyond traditional

self-help narratives. 



Buy the book

Close Calling: An Unplanned Life

Goliath Trembled: Confronting the Cabal

Close Calling: An Unplanned Life

A memoir filled with synchronicities and unpredictable experiences and the closest of shaves with the Reaper.


Buy the book

Copyright © 2026 Close Calling - All Rights Reserved.

Powered by

  • Privacy Policy

This website uses cookies.

We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.

Accept