Pip Murphy

Until 20th February, you can preorder Christie and Agatha’s next adventure, A Curious Catastrophe, at @waterstones.bsky.social with 25% off using the code FEB26. 😻

It will be released 14th May-not too long to wait to read about the twins and Auguste’s latest escapade on Charlie Chaplin’s film set!

Thank you! I hope I can have it published one day.

Pen sketch of two young girls and a scowling puffin facing a giant sea wyrm. The text at the top reads Ramya.

A6 bedtime doodle, dreaming of my current book. I didn’t actually think the white pencil had come out at all until I saw it in daylight. 😅 Do any other authors fantasise about book covers??

#amwri̇ti̇ng #kidlit #kidlitart #orkney #puffin

A few recommendations:
+Inkbound: Meticulous Jones and the Skull Tattoo by @prleathley.bsky.social
+Dracula & Daughters by @emcarrollauthor.bsky.social
+Spirit Warriors by Ashley Thorpe
+Midnight Treasure by @pierstorday.bsky.social
+Heartseer: The Tale of Anise Star by Rowan Foxwood

#ReadItForward This February, if you order children’s books through @bookshop.org, 10% of every sale will go to @booktrust.org.uk & @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social, helping to fund early years reading support for disadvantaged & vulnerable families across the UK.

Hope you feel better soon! And merry Christmas, come to that.

The comic is free to read at pipmurphy.com/awtlet/ but if you Google the title it’s usually the first site that comes up.

Currently at episode 83 and counting, now with an added like/comment section!

Japanese girl with longish black hair (but very long ahoge), wearing a red sweater, dark blue jeans and red shoes. She has a scar on her neck that is usually covered by her sweater neckline.

I made some new reference sheets for my comedy comic, Assassins Want to Learn English, Too! / 暗殺者も英語を習いたい.

So first up, here’s our shy, klutzy assassin protagonist, Chinatsu Mori. She’s generally top-notch at her job, but because English is tough, she’s been having some trouble at work recently.

Red and white boat moored on a choppy sea.

Little watercolour I did last year, based on a photo I took of a boat in Hoylake, Wirral.
Pigma Micron fineliners, Van Gogh watercolours and white Posca pen.

#hoylake #urbansketcherswirral

One day I hope to own a copy of the Polish editions to put on my own bookcase. 😁

Thank you so much to Marta Szelichowska for translating the text and Wydawnictwo Tandem for publishing it! And also Lena Schimscheiner for reading the audio versions of the books so beautifully.

It blows my mind every time that I think of people not only reading something I wrote(!!), but reading something that a talented translator took the time to render into another language.

The fifth Christie and Agatha book is released in Polish today by @wydawnictwo.tandem : Agencja detektywistyczna Christie i Agaty. Geniusz w Zielonym Ekspresie

#wydawnictwotandem #ChristieandAgatha #PipMurphy

So yes, that new mermaid game is an instant preorder for me! I can’t wait to see what gem they’ve crafted this time.

Not only did I get the merch I wanted, I actually got to meet the devs (Xeen) themselves. And they were as kind and sweet as you could have hoped for. Signing everyone’s swag, photos with individuals as well as group shots, chatting... absolutely wonderful to their fans.

But, as I grabbed a few purchases, the shop staff made a surprise announcement: the team behind the game would be arriving soon for autographs, photos, etc. (They’d popped by officially on another day, but this was an unscheduled closing event.)

Anywayyy, back in September/October 2023 there was a Paranormasight pop up shop in Kinshicho. I was working most of the time it was on, but realised if I legged it, I could make it on the final day with about half an hour to spare. One of my friends tagged along and sure enough we got there in time.

Nostalgia/reminiscing ahoy!
(Spoiler: lots of Paranormasight event photos!)

I was bouncing around today after seeing the Nintendo Direct trailer for the new Paranormasight game that’s coming out in a few weeks. The original is one of my favourite games of all time.

#パラノマサイト #paranormasight

Upper photo: A lady with red hair and green glasses who has a puffin rubber duck on her shoulder. Lower photo: a Page document with the word Fin on it and word count: 45,043 Text: Is that the face of someone who just finished the first draft of their new MG novel involving Orcadian myths, Fin Folk, sus not-puffins and a lot of tablet? I think it is!

Is that the face of someone who just finished the first draft of their new MG novel involving Orcadian myths, Fin Folk, sus not-puffins and a lot of tablet? I think it is!

The 8th Annual Reflecting Realities Report is out now, showing progress in ethnic representation in children’s books and urging publishers to keep inclusion as a standard practice. https://clpe.org.uk/research/clpe-reflecting-realities-survey-ethnic-representation-within-uk-childrens-literature-3

Creatives4Sudan Fundraising Auction — Keep Eyes On Sudan Creatives coming together to raise life-saving funds for the people escaping genocide in El-Fasher, Sudan

CREATIVES! A gang of us are organising an auction raising funds for mutual aid groups in Sudan, amid the war on civilians. Can YOU contribute to the auction? Perhaps a piece of art or music? Signed books? Embroidery? Half an hour of creative mentoring? Sign up here! www.sudancoup.com/auction

A city at night. A lone assassin waits on a rooftop. Noodles are slurped. 夜の街。 屋上で待ち構える一人の暗殺者。 麺はすすられる。

But this is no mere noodle harassment. Chinatsu Mori, assassin extraordinaire, uses the sound of the slurping to judge distance and potential obstacles. これはヌーハラということではない。 森血夏は、スルスルという音で、距離や障害物の有無を聞き分けることができる優れた暗殺者だ。

Similarly, the antennae-like hair she has she uses to judge wind strength and direction. さらに、アンテナのような髪で風の強さや方向を把握する。

Chinatsu is fully prepared for everything. Except English. 血夏は何事にも万全の態勢で臨んでいる。 ただし英語以外は。

Assassins Want to Learn English, Too / 暗殺者も英語を習いたい
LESSON 1: Noodle harassment / ヌーハラ

#awtlet #暗殺者も英語を習いたい #森血夏 #chinatsumori

Just finished writing chapter 18…and chapter 21. 👀

Chapters 19 and 20 are sitting there looking at me and wondering what happened to the rest of their words…

Does anyone else do this??

Here’s a (free!) spooky short story I wrote, if anyone’s feeling like a period chill this evening…

pipmurphy.com/thedoppelgan...

He did tell me what the justification was but it was so dumb I forgot it. 😭

I feel a team-up with you on the narration and your husband on the character voices would be golden!

I remember a student who told me his wife didn’t want him reading to their infant child because she’d read a study that said it was bad for them. 🤯 I’ve never advocated challenging someone’s spouse faster. 😅

Niiice! So much more fun that way!

Last year we came across a copy of Sheep Pig while visiting my aunt and I read a few chapters to my wife every night before bed. It was fun for both of us, and not just because I got to do sheep voices. 🐑 We should normalise reading to family and friends no matter the age. Reading together is a joy.

I think there’s never an age to stop reading aloud to people. For various reasons (e.g. dyslexia) sometimes it’s easier and more fun to listen to it being read and discuss it with the reader. If both people are able to read some bits aloud you can switch between you, too. Shared reading is lovely.