Dan Murphy finds himself perpetually gravitating towards that perpetual spark of narrative magic. “I would say that I was always attracted to fantasy writing,” says Dan, who is also Aubrey Plaza’s longtime friend and Evil Hag production partner. “I was really into reading kids’ books that were based off of movies that I really loved, like The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. My storytelling comes out of that background. Aubrey loves a little darker fantasy and world building. Since college, I’ve moved away from melodrama more towards comedy. Working with Aubrey has developed my sense of humor.”
His imagination leapt skywards on the branches of Delaware trees. “Aubrey and I have always liked finding projects that are grounded in our background from Delaware. A lot of times we’ll set our scripts or books in Delaware because we are still very comfortable and at home there. I know Aubrey feels very much like an East coast person. Delaware seemed like such a great place to set stuff because of all the woods and river and the beach. Somehow subconsciously, we’re always setting stories in that area because something is kind of creepy about it, but also it has really beautiful geography.”
Compelling characters serve as the threshold for his emotional investment. “With The Legend of the Christmas Witch and The Return of the Christmas Witch, we started with the character and then the world of the character grew out of that. So I think whenever I’m reading a script or considering a project, I always ask myself, ‘What are the central characters and do I feel a connection to them?’ And if I do, then I can get into the story.”
Dan and Aubrey’s latest venture into kids’ books, Luna and the Witch Throw a Halloween Party, is for all the spooky tykes out there. The hope is to foster a festive spirit! “Writing this book makes a lot of sense because both of us love Halloween and obviously we were writing these Christmas stories with a Halloween character in them, so writing the Halloween book sounded like a natural next step. In this book, a witch and a little girl come together to throw a party. They both have strengths and weaknesses that they have to bring together for the party. And the idea that they’re working toward is not only throwing a fun party for the kids in the neighborhood, but also teaching them that this witch isn’t someone to be scared of. By the end of it, they’re all just having fun. One of the goals of our book is for kids to read it and be inspired to throw their own parties for their own friends.”
Being an author symbolizes a poignant fruition of a lifelong aspiration. “In school, they would have these machines that the kids could make books and then you would bind them. I was so thrilled to make a book in second grade. I thought maybe someday I would do that, so it was a dream come true when we decided to start collaborating on these books with the idea that the books could become a movie someday, or we could create them in one form and then develop them for another type of media.”
The dynamic duo has no intention to stop spinning tales anytime soon. There are plenty of other thoughts brewing, too. “We’re never sure where to start because we’ve really enjoyed creating these books. It’s been a fun process. It’s creating a world with someone else. It feels very collaborative. At the same time, we both love film and we love animation. We’re working currently on an animated show for Amazon. That’s been a really exciting experience. I think there’s a bunch of projects that we have that we’re working on simultaneously.” We will see what comes out of his cauldron next! Preorder Luna and the Witch Throw a Halloween Party HERE. The book comes out July 29th.
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Dan Murphy Feels the Spooky Spirit in “Luna and the Witch Throw a Halloween Party.” Photo Credit: Daniel Pacheco.
