Swoon Sunday: Jack Murphy from The Sound of Us by Julie Hammerle!

Welcome to Swoon Sunday where you get to meet some of our swoon-worthy heroes. Today we have a visit from Jack Murphy from The Sound of Us by Julie Hammerle!

Jack, why don’t you describe yourself to us.

Picture the hottest golfer you’ve ever seen. Now keep the clothes, but add glasses and a premature dad bod. That’s me. What? I’ve been told dad bods are sexy.

What’s your profession?

I’m a high school student, but I’m away at college playing golf for the summer.

Where do you call home?

Indianapolis, IN

What bands do you listen to? (What song are you listening to on your iPod right now?)

Normally I listen to bands you’ve never heard of, but my friend Kiki got me to start listening to all these female singer-songwriters she likes. I’m deep into Aimee Mann right now.

What’s your darkest secret?

Now we’re getting personal. I…don’t really do personal. No offense.

What’s your favourite dessert/food?

Much better. Nutty Bars. They’re my kryptonite.

Describe your idea of an ideal date.

Netflix and chill. That’s not a euphemism. (Or is it…?) With the right person, a good show and a comfortable place to hang out all you need.

What is one thing would you refuse to share?

No one is allowed to touch my drumsticks. My room is a mess and I often have crumbs in my bed, but I keep my drumsticks in a velvet pouch. That’s how serious I am about you not touching them.

Favourite fictional character?

Kiki loves Dana, but, Project Earth-wise, I’m a Doug fan. He’s the dork who makes you laugh. I respect that. He’s Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters, basically.

If you had to describe yourself as an ice cream flavour, what flavour would you be?

Chunky Monkey.

And now for an exclusive, swoony excerpt in which Kiki recounts her dream about Jack, aka The Nutty Bar Guy:

The Nutty Bar guy? He’s going to be a problem.

After he left last night, I went back up to my room—it was too late for Norman’s—and pulled out “VergeblichesStändchen” again. Brie was already in bed, but not sleeping. She, too, was looking through her music, and she gave me a satisfied nod when she saw I was doing the same thing.

“Good for you,” she said, “for not giving up.”

But the German lyrics to “VergeblichesStändchen” were nothing but blurry waves on the page. My mind was full of the Nutty Bar guy. I even put my music aside for a few minutes to search through lists of Barenaked Ladies songs, trying to find the perfect one for him and me to perform together.

When I finally fell asleep, which took forever, I dreamed about him. In my fantasy, he wasn’t actually a registered camper. He lived down in the basement as a kind of “Phantom of the Opera,” but he played drums instead of sang, and he risked his safety that one night to reveal himself to me. Inevitably the whole situation turned into some PG-13 porn flick where the Nutty Bar guy ended up grabbing me and kissing me as the piano keys clanked and plunked below us. Obviously.

THE SOUND OF US 500x700

About The Sound of Us:

Kiki Nichols might not survive music camp.

She’s put her TV-loving, nerdy self aside for one summer to prove she’s got what it takes: she can be cool enough to make friends, she can earn that music scholarship, and she can get into Krause University’s music program.

Except camp has rigid conduct rules—which means her thrilling late-night jam session with the hot, equally geeky drummer can’t happen again, even though they love all the same shows, and fifteen minutes making music with him meant more than every aria she’s ever sung.

But when someone starts reporting singers who break conduct rules, music camp turns survival of the fittest, and people are getting kicked out. If Kiki’s going to get that scholarship, her chance to make true friends—and her first real chance at something more—might cost her the future she wants more than anything.