writing, speaking, web-making, and best of all, I get to dance later
I'm the author of YA novels, Rhythm & Blues and Break On Through.More about me »
I’m interviewed today by my neighborhood pal Alan Silberberg. Alan is a middle-grade author, cartoonist, and TV writer whose latest book, MILO is coming out later this summer. I’m really looking forward to reading it. He interviewed me about everything from food to writing… and then things got a little personal. ALAN: Did you have [...]
I’ve had the great pleasure of seeing Rhythm and Blues all over YA Book Shelf this week. Melissa is making tons of noise about YA on her blog, and the enthusiasm is infectious. If you love reading and YA, you should definitely check it out, and I’m not just saying that because of this glowing [...]
A recent review of Rhythm and Blues focused on the celebrity aspect of the book. Fifteen year old Kayla said: “It definitally[sic] made me wonder if a lot of celebrities I’ve heard of are actually like they portray themselves on talk shows and in interviews or if they’re just playing a part for publicity reasons.” [...]
I had a GREAT time at CKUT radio’s Queer Corps yesterday, and I’m not just saying that because the host, John Custodio, assumed I was not long out of my teens. We talked about everything a YA author wants to talk about, and some things we don’t: what defines YA, how much variety there is [...]
Hello from snowy Montreal! Despite the snow, it’s great to be back home. I was in Toronto for a week, and I had an AMAZING book launch. Andrew Tolson took some marvelous photos, and you can see them over here on the Quill & Quire blog. A BIG thanks to everyone who came out. It [...]
I’m a part of this week’s broadcast of CBC Radio 1′s The Next Chapter. The theme of the episode is YA, and it covers some pretty wide and varied territory. The full list of guests is: Rukhsana Khan on Wanting Mor. Eric Walters on what kids oughtta know. Jill Murray on staying cool to teens. [...]
Online interviews are sprouting up like daffodils this week! My interview with My Ever-Expanding Library is now live. I got to talk about dancing, inspiration and the open-mindedness of teens, so I had a lot of fun. Here’s my answer to a question I liked, about the challenge of writing a second novel, compared to [...]
The first review of Rhtyhm and Blues has come in from Queer YA: Fiction for LGTBQ Teens, and… it’s a hit! “Murray really nails the voice here, and the plot is anything but trite. I want to read more by this author, and was delighted to learn this book is actually a sequel. Recommended for [...]
I’m on the National Post’s “Popcorn Panel” today, discussing The Runaways– the new movie about Joan Jett’s all-girl teen rock band, before she went solo. It stars that Twilight chick, Kristen Stewart, and lots of nice eyeshadow. I answered 20 Writerly Questions for BookLounge.ca. This one was my favourite: 17. Do you have any writing [...]
I have a bit of necessary horn-tooting to do this morning. First, an interview with the CBC Book Club: “Since I was into breaking at the time, it seemed natural and I was thinking about the group dynamics and how challenging it is to get a group together and keep it together with different personalities. [...]
My monologue about that one time in grade seven when I got in trouble for reading airs today on CBC Radio 1 at 3pm and and Sirius 137 at 1pm. You can also hear the episode podcast right now, or anytime. Note that Mariko & Jillian Tamaki of Skim fame are also featured in this [...]
I was interviewed on K.C. Dyer’s Darby Speaks yesterday. I’ve done a lot of interviews, but this was the first time by a fictional character. (Not too loud, I don’t know if Darby would be happy to hear me call her fictional). If you read the interview and post in the comments, you’ll get a [...]
The other day I conducted something I do far less often than you might think: a lengthy web search of my own name. I’m glad I did because it turned up two great things I didn’t know about: A excerpt from Break On Through on the truly excellent break culture blog, Celebreak. They thought it [...]
I got this long-distance phone call from the road while I was on my way to brunch this morning: More Or Les: You’re on page nine of Exclaim! Fresh Killz: (yelling in background) You ARE page nine of Exclaim! So everybody, go grab yourself a copy of Canada’s music magazine. (It’s free!) Or check it [...]
The Toronto Star has a nice piece on Break On Through out this morning. Read about it here.
I got shot by photojunkie! Because I know me pretty well, I can see how tired and stiff I look in the photo. There is a good reason for that: I am sooo tired. And stiff. I somehow pulled a muscle in my armpit while I was at YTV earlier that day. But everything is [...]
Today is Break On Through Day on The Zone (YTV), so wherever you are in Canada, tune in to watch MaeHem and I chat and dance in high definition with two of our favourite hosts, Joyce & Carlos, between about 4:15pm & 6pm! And if you’re in Toronto, and morning is more your style, look [...]
It must be International National Post Day at JillMurray.com, because Rob Roberts– a man who clearly has exquisite taste and superior judgment in how to spend one’s mid-day leisure and/or school field trip time– has chosen MaeHem and I as a highlight of Harbourfront Centre’s ALOUD festival in the National Posted Toronto Magazine. Thank you [...]
