Author Molly Burnham knows funny. In 2016, she won the Sid Fleischman Humor Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. So where does the creator of the Teddy Mars series of books find her funny? We wanted to get to know her better.
Booking Biz: What does your average day look like?
Molly: Ah, an average day. That sounds like an intriguing concept, but one that I have yet to fully capture. There are certainly regular things that happen in the course of my day.
Morning 6:00:
1. Let my dog out to pee.
2. Feed my dog and cat.
3. Let my cat out to explore.
4. Make breakfast for my kids (my husband helps with this so I can’t take all the credit).
5. Read our local paper.
6. Make lunches for my kids (again with my hubby).
7. Kids are off to school by 8:00.
8. Walk my dog.
9. WRITE!!!!!
Before the first task with my dog, my early morning varies. Often I rise at 4:30 and get in an hour and half of writing before our kids wake up, but sometimes I use that time to go for a run, and sometimes I sleep in. I like keeping things flexible. I find it supports my writing more than if I have lots of rules and routines. But during the day I write (except when I eat lunch because I have yet to master the skill of writing and eating at the same time although I haven’t given up). Afternoons are equally unpredictable. I leave them up to fate. Will there be more writing? Will my kids need help? Will my dog throw up? Will I throw up? I just have to wait and see.
Booking Biz: When you’re not writing, what do you like to do best?
Molly: In no particular order:
- Play cards with my kids.
- Hang out with my husband.
- Walk my dog.
- Go for a walk or a run.
- Watch a great PBS mystery or a funny TV show.
- Visit with friends.
- On hot days, I love to swim.
- Listen to music (mostly in the independent or punk genre)
Booking Biz: Where do you get the inspiration for your books?
Molly: Is it too vague if I admit that I am inspired by everything around me? (Okay, like a good writer I will try to be more specific.) I get inspiration from when I was a kid (for example in Teddy Mars when the mom reads the newspaper and never notices anything going on around her–well, that’s my mom.)
I also get ideas from my own family (no specifics there because I respect their privacy). My pets are awesomely inspiring. I’m writing an animal fantasy right now about a dog named Swagger and a cat named Dinah who really are our dog, Pepito, and our cat, Gesar. I get ideas from friends, and from when I was a teacher, and from being really interested in people and the world we live in. But probably I also get many, many, many ideas from my own imagination and wonderings.
Booking Biz: Did you always want to write books for children, or was there another career you wished for as a child?
Molly: As a child I wanted to be a famous tennis player, or an actress or a writer. (I had an advantage on the writing front because all three of my parents are writers.) I started wanting to write for children when I was about 18. Because I had a lot of living to do before I could settle down, it took me a long time to accomplish this dream. But like gum on a shoe, this dream stuck.
Booking Biz: If you ruled the world, what would it look like?
Molly: WOW! Where to start? I wish I could give a funny answer like ice cream sundaes for everyone! But I can’t. Although, I love ice cream and I love humor, questions like this bring out the gravitas in me. There are a million things I would want the world to look like, but I am going to focus on just one: If I ruled the world, we would value our children way more, both through investments in education, and in community resources and social services.
Booking Biz: Maybe we could also give the children ice cream sundaes. 🙂 Thank you, Molly!
Read more about Molly Burnham and her presentations on her speaker page.