By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A St. Joseph native who has published numerous novels returns to her home town for a forthcoming book.
Lee Ann Sonthemeier Murphy now lives in Neosho, but grew up in St. Joseph. Murphy published her first novel in 2010 and explores a variety of subjects.
“I like to say I write everything from sweet to heat,” Murphy tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “I also write historical romance. For those books, I write those under Patrice Wayne, a pen name because my publisher thought to keep them different, separate, from my contemporary romance. But I write, pretty much I write whatever ideas that come up.”
Murphy has been busy this year. “The Legacy of Boone Wilson” came out earlier this year. “Venganza” came out earlier this month. “The Cowboy’s Last Chance” comes out next month with “Homeward Bound Hearts” set in St. Joseph and Savannah is due out in mid-December. An earlier work, “Urban Renewal,” was set in St. Joseph.
Murphy says she dreamed of being a novelist since she was a little girl, growing up in north St. Joseph.
Murphy says her aim is simple.
“I hope they get a good story that they enjoy. I hope it’s a story that sticks with them awhile. I occasionally get some fan mail, not a lot, but some,” Murphy says. “If they tell me my work really touched them or they really related to it, that makes me feel good.”
Murphy, who now lives in Neosho, has published more than 50 novels or novellas over the years. She published her first novel in 2010 after working as editor of the Neosho Daily News and the Aurora Advertiser. Murphy even worked for a time as a broadcast reporter.
And while Murphy says some fantasize about the glamorous life of a writer, reality is much different.
“My Dad used to say there is no perfect job and I think he was right,” Murphy says. “I love what I do, but it’s maybe not what people envision it to be. At the end of the day, I’m still me. I’m still Lee Ann from north St. Joe, spinning my stories.”
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