Grow Where You’re Planted: A Guest Post by Jonathan Van Ness and Julie Murphy

By Jonathan Van Ness, Julie Murphy / May 20, 2025 at 12:01 am

Hardcover $22.99

Let Them Stare: A Novel

In Stock Online

Hardcover $22.99

From Emmy Award winner Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye and #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy comes a bighearted story about friendship, love—and discovering the secrets and beauty of your own hometown.

Grow where you’re planted. That’s been the mantra of Let Them Stare from day one. It’s more than just a cute phrase—it’s a whole ethos. It’s about blooming in spaces that don’t always feel made for you, finding the magic in the mundane, and maybe even learning to take up space in places where you were once told you didn’t belong.

We’re beyond excited to finally share the story behind this book: how it came to be, how we came to be, and what it’s meant to us along the way.

Our Meet-Cute: Boot and All

Let’s rewind. Picture it: New York City, May 2019. BookExpo. A blur of tote bags, lanyards, and excited readers buzzing around the Javits Center.

Julie was there signing copies of Dear Sweet Pea. Jonathan was there for Over the Top. And fate, in all her chaotic brilliance, decided to bring us together backstage.

Now, let’s address the boot in the room. Jonathan was wearing one—not the fabulous, knee-high, patent-leather kind you’d expect to see in their closet, but an orthopedic boot. Because, yes, even glam icons sometimes have to hobble.

Julie rushed to meet Jonathan after her signing, nerves buzzing. Jonathan reached out, gently touched Julie’s curls, and said her hair had “great movement.” Friends, if you’ve ever received a compliment so good that you relived it for days to come, then you know. Julie rode that compliment all the way back to Texas. (Shoutout to Jessica, her hairstylist, who was equally thrilled.)

From Compliments to Collaboration

Fast-forward to summer 2022. Jonathan had an idea. A big one. A little spooky, a little sassy, and completely irresistible: a haunted handbag. Yes. A haunted handbag. The story would explore queer identity, generational connections, and ghosts—both literal and metaphorical.

But Jonathan didn’t want to write it alone. They wanted a partner—someone who’d bring heart, humor, and a whole lot of lived experience to the table.

Enter Julie.

The second she got the call, she said yes. It wasn’t just the hair compliment from 2019 (though, let’s be honest, that didn’t hurt)—it was the excitement of working on something that felt both so unique and deeply meaningful while maintaining a lens of humor. Our agents pointed us at each other like Furbies, and we haven’t stopped talking since.

Found Family, Furbies, and the Weird Magic of Partnership

Working together has been a kind of magic that’s hard to explain. We clicked instantly. There was the creative chemistry, of course—but beyond that, we discovered a friendship that felt lived in, like it had already existed for years. (TBH, even our husbands became fast friends as they bonded over their UK nostalgia and memories.)

Somehow, amid all the voice memos, ADHD detours, chaotic Zoom calls, and costume changes, we found Sully’s story. And in telling Sully’s story, we found pieces of ourselves.

Sully is a little bit of both of us: genderqueer, fierce, and figuring it all out in a world that can’t always figure them out. Sully gets stared at. We’ve been there, too. And like Sully, we’ve learned there’s power in not shrinking. There’s power in letting them stare.

A Story for the Gawked-At and Glorious

The truth is: queer people have always been here. Everywhere. In big cities and small towns, in libraries and thrift stores, in quiet corners and center stage. We’ve always existed—and we’ve always told stories. Sometimes, those stories come in the form of a haunted handbag. Sometimes, they come through two authors who found each other through books, boots, and a very good hair day. And sometimes, it’s a little bit of both.

So as you dive into Let Them Stare, we hope you find some part of yourself in Sully’s journey. We hope you feel seen, celebrated, and maybe even a little haunted—in the best way possible.

Happy reading, friends. And remember: take up space. Let them stare.

xo,
Julie & Jonathan