Waltham firefighter and former volleyball coach authors children’s book

Michael Murphy, a lieutenant with the Waltham Fire Department and a former coach for Waltham and Weston High School’s girls volleyball team, has written a children’s book. Titled “What If It Were … SaturNite?” Murphy said the story encourages kids to use their imaginations.

Murphy’s literary debut asks a simple question: What if day and night were reversed? The main character Johnny and his mother embark on an imaginary adventure, discussing all the things they could do if Monday, Tuesday and so on were “MonNite” and “TuesNite.”

Along the way, Johnny and his mother make friends with the nocturnal animals who join them for the festivities of “Taco TuesNite” and “SaturNite.”

Murphy credits his son, Connor, for helping him come up with the idea.

“My son during COVID had said, ‘What if it was Saturnite?’” Murphy recalled. “He’s like, ‘You know, Saturday night instead of Saturday.’ Oh, I thought. You know what? That’s kind of an interesting concept, I think I’m gonna write a book about that.”

From words to pictures

Murphy is no stranger to writing. Before joining the Waltham Fire Department, he worked at KCAL-TV, an NBC affiliate station, writing for broadcast. But authoring a book was a new experience for him.

“The writing part didn’t take as long, because I came up with the story as I went,” he said. But illustration was something outside of his experience.

He found help through his local connections.

While coaching a game for the Weston High School’s girls’ volleyball team with Joe Hanrahan, Murphy mentioned he was writing a book. Hanrahan said Miah Walker, a former member of their team, was an artist looking for work and referred her to Murphy.

One of the most enjoyable parts for Murphy was how Walker, a recent graduate of the University of Richmond, was able to turn his words into pictures.

“She was able to bring it to life,” he said.

Meanwhile, Samantha Lupinski, a former member of the Waltham High volleyball team who later served as the team’s freshman coach and varsity assistant after graduation, helped with some of the book’s early sketches after Murphy mentioned that he was interested in writing the story. (Murphy noted that Lupinski could only contribute in the very early stages of the project as she held a full-time sales job.)

According to Walker, producing the book — writing, illustrating and publishing — took five years. It was a process built on mutual trust.

“After illustrating each page by hand on my iPad, I became so accustomed to viewing them digitally that holding the finished book and flipping through its pages felt surreal,” she recalled. “Watching the story unfold one page at a time in print added a whole new layer of meaning to the work.” 

Murphy told The Waltham Times that he and Walker share the profits of the book, saying that her illustrations were a key piece of the story.

Spreading the word

“‘What if …’ has such a powerful ring,” Murphy wrote.

These two simple words challenge readers to use their imaginations to come up with their own stories, he said.

The next step in this process? Spreading the word.

Murphy said he’s working to get copies into the Waltham Public Library and wants to start tabling at local community events this fall. Copies can also be found on the book’s website.

To learn more about the production process behind What If It Were … SaturNite? Visit saturnite.com