1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.I once dreamt up a poem. Literally. I woke up giggling at the sheer silliness of it. It was still going around in my head, so I wrote it down and can now share the masterpiece with you. You’re welcome.
If a noodle represents a day/He and his charming wife/Had many good noodles still to go/In the chicken soup of life.
2. What is your nickname?
Jools
3. What is your greatest fear?
I am afraid of heights, which is kind of weird because heights never bothered me as a child.
4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
Facts presented in interesting ways; stories that make you think.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Persistent, curious, thorough, insightful, careful.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
I’d like to be Tinkerbell because I am so not Tinkerbell in real life.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I would visit 66 million years ago because I have always wanted to see a real, live dinosaur.
8. What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?
Boy, you are so old! But hey, you followed your dreams to become a zoologist and a published author, so that’s really great.
9. Who is your greatest influence?
Creative people who think about life and care about others.
10. What/who made you start writing?
As a child, writing gave me an outlet to explore my feelings and perceptions of the world. It still does.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Discombobulate because it sounds like the way a seagull walks.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. It is a wild and beautiful YA story, written in prose that flows like poetry. I never tire of reading it.
Julie Murphy is a children’s author, and trained zoologist and zookeeper. Her non-fiction books are mostly about animals and nature. Her new fiction picture book, Gilly’s Treasures (Cedar Fort Inc, USA; October 2016), is about a greedy seagull who is never happy with what he has, and always wants more. Visit Julie’s website and Gilly’s Treasures Facebook page for more information.
