Julie Murphy: Hello, my name is Julie Murphy. It's a very simple name and quite common, so most people don't have a problem spelling it or pronouncing it.

The only problem with such a common name is that I'm sometimes confused with other authors who also have the same name. So sometimes I have to say hello, I'm Julie Murphy. I write children's books about animals and nature.

I'd already had writing published under my name, Julie Murphy, when I got married. That was about twenty years ago. So I decided not to take my husband's last name when I got married.

One reason was the name itself, Van Hoesel. It's a Dutch name and it's tricky to spell for most people who aren't Dutch. I didn't want to have to spell it out for the rest of my life. So, no offense to my husband, but I stayed Julie Murphy.