She soon began working for an aristocratic English family, and Anthony excelled in athletics. But tragedy struck again, as Anthony died in a farm-related accident at age 15.

Sixteen years after her son's death, after working as a caterer and private chef in France, Murray flew to the United States in 2001 to visit an online friend in Bluemont, beginning a love affair with the Washington region. Her memoir, "Born on Friday 13th" -- both she and Anthony were born on a Friday the 13th -- was released in December.

Murray spoke with loudounextra.com reporter Adam Gerchick about the experience of writing the book. Here are excerpts from the interview.

Q.You said that you initially gave little thought to the fact that both you and your son were born on Friday the 13th, and that you resented your aunt for expressing some superstitions about that.

A. I did for six months [after Anthony died]. I knew that she was superstitious. She wouldn't drive a green car. She wouldn't wear green. She wouldn't go under a ladder. Friday the 13th was just a no-no with her.

And she was so stubborn, and I was stubborn. And I told [my family], "Don't let her come near me for a while." I didn't want to say something I regretted -- you can't take things back. My initial thing was, you have to blame somebody. She was 300 miles away, there was no way she had anything to do with it. But, in my mind, she had killed him.

After I had cooled down, I just let it pass. [There are] loads of people born on Friday the 13th. I've spoken to so many people who say, "My father was," and "I was."

I'm actually writing the screenplay right now, and I'm changing the name because, if you look on Amazon.com, if you look up that [title], you get all these horror films, [horror] books, and it's not a horror. It's a memoir.

Describe the emotional impact of writing the memoir. Did you eventually find it to be enjoyable?

Yes. I just felt a lot better. I felt . . . like I'd had a baby. I felt like I'd had this 23 years of pregnancy and then, suddenly, it just popped out, and there it was, there was my book. And so it was that sort of relief, of getting it out.

And that's what I loved about the computer. When I had the mood to write, I'd write and write and write and write. And then I'd come to a bit that I really struggled with, and I'd say, "Okay, well, I can't write this bit at the moment." So I'd stop and I'd carry on with the nice bits, you know. Then I could go back and when I could get in the mood to write the really bad bits, I could add them, which was [what was] really good about the computer.

Describe your experience doing literary publicity.

Well, it's all been on my own. I published it with CreateSpace.com, which is Amazon.com's publisher. So everything I've sold, it's all been on my own. I've done all the work.

I belong to an organization called AuthorsDen.com. And they sent out an invite in April for any of us to go to L.A., to the L.A. Times Festival of Books, for $150 for a book signing on [a] Saturday and Sunday.

I jumped at it. I sent the $150, I booked my flight, I booked my hotel. I thought, 'Let's get over to the West Coast.' They had a big stand, and I had 200 bookmarks and lots of cards and loads of books. I didn't sell that many; I got rid of all my cards. But at least the book was showcased and I was there during the book signing, and it was a great experience.

I did a book signing at the Three Fox [Vineyards in Delaplane], and I did one at Home Farm Store in Middleburg in January. And I'm doing another one at the Union Jack in Winchester, the new English pub there, on Thursday between 4 and 7 p.m.

How did you find Hunter's Head Tavern?

It's all in the book! I play bridge online. I have met a lot of the people I play bridge with. And I played bridge with a person in Bluemont [named Paul]. There were two [players] in Canada, and I decided to come to the U.S. to meet them all. And we fell in love, Paul and I. And I went backwards and forwards to France and here, and then he eventually asked me to move here.

I moved here, sold upcompany in France -- I had a catering company -- and I thought that I'd probably retire.

But I was bored. So I took a job at the [British] Embassy, to cook for the British ambassador in Washington. I just worked there for a three-week trial, but I really didn't enjoy the commute from Bluemont to Washington. And they offered me a flat, and I stayed there for three nights a week or something, but I really didn't like living in the city; I'm a country girl.

But then, Hunter's Head rang me. And they offered me a job and I just said yes. And that appealed to me much more than working for the ambassador.

How have your patrons at Hunter's Head reacted to your newfound role as an author?

They've been wonderful, I'm telling you. They were the people that made me finish the book, because they'd say, "Whereabouts in England are you from?" I'd say, "I'm not from England, I'm from Kenya." And they'd say, "You should write a book about it," so I said, "Yeah, I am." And they'd ask, "Well, when are you finishing it?"

So when I got it finished, that's why I sold so many at the book signing. And I sell a lot, still, because people come in. And just yesterday a man came in while I was receiving some people, and he gave me a big kiss and said, "I've just read your book. Absolutely incredible!" So, I'm getting fabulous responses. I have not had one negative response. Not one.

Is there anything you can share about yourself that you didn't share in the book?

Well, I'm writing another book. It's going to be a whole load of anecdotes, and every chapter's going to start with a recipe.

UP CLOSE is a feature in which Loudoun County residents talk about their jobs, interests and experiences in the community. Have a suggestion on whom we should interview? Send it to loudounextra(at)wpni.com.