Littlest interviews Tamsyn Murray

Meet Harriet Houdini, a young rabbit with lots of attitude!

After winning the village pet show, Harriet is whisked into the world of show business and finds herself competing in a talent show. If she wins, she’ll be a national star but there are other pets with their eye on first place. Can Harriet compete with an opera singing Poodle? And who is the mysterious man who offers to buy her?

From daring backflips to thrilling escape attempts Harriet really is a Stunt Bunny extraordinaire!

Littlest met Tamsyn Murray at my launch in London, back in May. I’d worried about how Littlest would cope with the late night and being amongst strangers, but I need not have worried. Part way through the evening I happened to glance over at Tamsyn showing Littlest how to hop like a bunny! They talked books and Littlest came home clutching her very own especially-signed copy of ‘Stunt Bunny: Showbiz Sensation’. The very next day, Littlest read her book, then went to Tamsyn Murray’s website and printed out the template for a Stunt Bunny puppet. Littlest then went on to make all the characters and performed her very own puppet show (for several hours!).

Taking time to interact with small readers, making them excited about characters and about books is something that not all writers do. How many of us remember that first book we connected with as a child? The writers who can go that ‘extra’ little bit create fans who will remember their books and their characters forever. I love that this is sometimes possible and I am grateful to any writer who takes time to encourage my children to love books. Littlest thinks ‘Stunt Bunny: Showbiz Sensation’ is brilliant! She has shown it to all of her friends and is thrilled that Tamsyn agreed to answer her (somewhat random) questions. (Thank you Tamsyn!)

Littlest interviews Tamsyn Murray:

Do you have a bunny rabbit called Harriet? No, Harriet Houdini is a made up name. I have five rabbits. They are called Ronnie and Roxie, Snoop and Dre and Dizzy. Ronnie and Roxie are celebrity bunnies because I wrote the book about the things they did. Dre is a quiet boy and Snoop is very friendly. Dizzy is super speedy when she hops around her hutch.

Why is Harriet a bunny rabbit and not a puppy? Do you like bunny rabbits more than puppies? Harriet is a bunny because Roxie escaped in the garden one day and made me chase her round to catch her, which gave me the idea for Stunt Bunny. I like puppies too and have one called Lillie. She doesn’t do backflips but she’s very cute.

Can you do backflips? No, but I can lick my own elbow and I have some sparkly bunny ears.

Did you write stories when you were little? The first story I remember writing was about a girl called Natasha and her pet monkey. I think it was quite a good story but I can’t remember much about it. I think it had a happy ending, though.

I loved making a Stunt Bunny puppet and a Lily one, but the Lily one isn’t very good. Will there be a Lily puppet on your Internet soon so I can print it out and make one? Wow, you made your own Lily puppet? That’s amazing! I’ll definitely have to see if we can get a cut out Lily puppet made just for you.

I am happy that you are writing another Stunt Bunny book and have asked my mummy to buy it for me. Will you remember to tell her when it comes out? I am happy that you are happy and of course I’ll remind your mummy.It will be in the shops next February and I’m hoping there will be more fun things to do on my website, like Bunny Trump cards and Harriet puppets.

I like red and pink. What colours do you like? I think I like every single colour there is but my favourites are blue and silver. I have a bracelet made of blue and silver beads. It has a silver bunny and a puppy on it.

Do you know the Tooth Fairy? I wrote her a letter and she didn’t come and get it. I do know the Tooth Fairy - her name is Ellie and she’s a good friend of mine. I’m sorry to hear she didn’t come to get your letter. Maybe she was at Tooth Fairy Training college, learning how to care for children’s teeth? I’ll ask her next time I see her.

You can buy ‘Showbiz Sensation: Showbiz Superstar’ here.

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About Littlest: Littlest is only just 7 and she likes to read. She has a rather impressive collection of signed books and, at the moment, she’s thinking that she’ll either be a fashion designer or a writer when she’s much much older. She plans to NEVER leave home.

About Tamsyn Murray: Tamsyn Murray spent her childhood moving around a lot, from Truro in Cornwall to a village called Norham in Northumberland (which is probably as far from Cornwall as it’s possible to get and still be in England) and then on to the Lake District. At eighteen she left home to go to university in London and has been a Londoner ever since. When she’s not working or writing, she can be found singing and dancing with her local amateur dramatics society. She is currently thirty-six and a half years old and married to the loveliest man in the world. She has one daughter.