But for some of us and especially for he/him identifying people, that sometimes comes in the form of being masculine. For a lot of us, it’s being funny or smart or nurturing. I also thought a lot about the personalities and traits that fat people develop to “compensate” for our fatness at a young age. Writing outside of my gender identity was something I had to really consider as I went, but Waylon and I have common ground in that we’re both queer and fat, so that was a really good home base for me while drafting. Pumpkin definitely presented a new set of challenges. What can readers expect with Pumpkin, and how did writing Waylon’s journey differ from your prior companion novels, if at all? Was it a challenge? In Dumplin’ and Puddin’, body image is more centralized than in Dear Sweet Pea and Faith Taking Flight (which I’ll get to soon!). With Pumpkin, you’ve written a story from the perspective of a fat, openly gay boy named Waylon. I can’t believe it either! You’re a master at creating incredible stories with raw, unapologetic characters who feel entirely real. I hope readers have as much fun reading it as I did writing it! The main character is totally new to the universe, so it was like all the excitement of a new book with the comforts of revisiting old friends.

I can’t believe it’s been five years now since the book came out! And the movie turning two! What a world! I was a little nervous to revisit the Dumplin’-verse because there’s always the danger of ruining a good thing, ya know? But ultimately, I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun writing a book as I did Pumpkin. Has this been exciting to revisit? (I’m personally so excited to revisit!)

I’m pretty thrilled because you’re set to release another companion novel in the Dumplin’-verse this year! Dumplin’ released in 2015 and became a #1 New York Times bestseller, and the Netflix adaptation came to screens a few years later in 2018. Hi, Farrah! I’m so delighted to be chatting with you today. I’m so excited we could make this happen. Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me today.

Julie murphy pumpkin