Author Interview & Book Giveaway: One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Welcome to Author Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Lynda Mullaly Hunt is the author of middle-grade novel, ONE FOR THE MURPHYS (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin), winner of The Tassy Walden Award: New Voices in Children’s Literature. She is also a former teacher and Scenario Writing coach. Lynda has been Director of the SCBWI-NE Whispering Pines Retreat for six years. Lynda lives with her husband, two kids, impetuous beagle and beagle-loathing cat.

Links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/LynMullalyHunt

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Oneforthemurphys

Website:   http://lyndamullalyhunt.com/

Blog:  http://lyndamullalyhunt.wordpress.com/

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you? 

I suppose a boat is cheating here? How about an igloo? Well, I’d choose a barrel of sunscreen? No, let’s just make that three barrels of sunscreen. (I get those wonderful Irish tans—you know, when you burst into flames.)

If you could have any superpower what would you choose? 

Ability to transport myself anywhere with a snap of a finger. Or go back in time. Or super strength. Or the ability to choose just one thing.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? 

Toasted Almond Fudge from Friendlys. They discontinued it about 15 years ago. Could this be why they’re financially struggling now?

If you could meet one person who has died who would you choose? 

Oh, well, I would “meet” my brother, Michael Eric. He died when I was two. So, technically, I knew him but I don’t really remember him. Yet, I still think of him every single day. (The youngest Murphy boy is named Michael Eric after him.)

Night owl, or early bird? 

I’m SUCH a night owl, you can almost call me an early bird.

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book. 

Because, hopefully, Carley, Toni, and the Murphys are memorable characters who’ll you’ll be glad you met while reminding you of the most important things in your own life to cherish and prioritize.

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published. 

Visiting a classroom in which the kids read MURPHYS. It’s surreal to hear kids talk about your characters as if they’re real. (Wait. They’re not real???) I received a batch of school visit thank you letters from a class yesterday—Man, there is nothing better than that as an author!

If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world, which would it be? 

Okay. NOT Hunger Games. ;-) But, not Little House in the Big Woods, either. I guess I’d have to go with Harry Potter if I could be a wizard. And, truly, I’d also choose Murphys. I think it was the wish to know that world that drove me to write it in the first place.

What was your favorite book when you were a child/teen? 

The Cay/Flowers in the Attic

Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters?

Defying Gravity from the Broadway musical, Wicked.

What is your favorite Quote? 

“Just because something didn’t happen doesn’t mean it isn’t true.” (This is a favorite quote that I apply to my writing life. When done well, fiction breathes. Fiction become real at its heart. Why else would we cry or laugh or wish a book would never end? )

Which authors have influence you most how? 

Oh, I’d have to go with Patricia Reilly Giff and Katherine Paterson. Because they both do emotional honesty masterfully.

If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be? 

The Mighty Miss Mullaly (and if Christopher Paul Curtis wants to write it, that sounds good to me.)

Favorite smell? 

New pencils, babies, new crayons, books, and greeting cards from the 70’s (What???)
Spontaneity or Planning Ahead? Planning ahead, I suppose. After all, spontaneity has its time. And its place. ;-) Okay, seriously…I’m spontaneous!

What is something people would be surprised to know about you? 

When I was nine, I almost drowned in the famous Walden Pond. I was pulled out unconscious and revived by a life guard. Guess I owe him chocolate or something.

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One for the Murphys

In the wake of heart-breaking betrayal, Carley Connors is thrust into foster care and left on the steps of the Murphys, a happy, bustling family.
Carley has thick walls and isn’t rattled easily, but this is a world she just doesn’t understand. A world that frightens her. So, she resists this side of life she’d believed did not exist with dinners around a table and a “zip your jacket, here’s your lunch” kind of mom.
However, with the help of her Broadway-obsessed and unpredictable friend, Toni, the Murphys do the impossible in showing Carley what it feels like to belong somewhere. But, when her mother wants her back, will she lose the only family that she has ever known? 

Giveaway Details
1 signed copy of One for the Murphys
Open to US, Canada & UK
Ends 5/20/12


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