The Interview - Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

How did you become an author and get published? Share your experience.

I decided I wanted to become an author when I was nine and "wrote" my first novel in the back of my blue binder in school. Fast forward to being a new mom to twins in my early thirties when I realized if I didn't get started writing novels, I might never do it so I did. More than sixty books later, I'm still writing!

Can you explain your writing process? Do you prefer to create an outline and plan beforehand, or do you prefer to write more spontaneously and organically?

My writing always begins with the simple question "What if?". I don't outline but I always know where the story begins and ends.

Tell us what you enjoy most about writing [genre].

Writing is like reading intensified for me. I get to be in the driver's seat and move the story forward.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Read, trace family history, listen to music, cooking, and I enjoy sitting on the front porch

Did you have any say in the cover design?

Always. Each of my three publishers (World Castle, Evernight, Wild Rose Press) sends a cover art sheet and I work with the art department for a cover that represents my story that I love.

What can we anticipate from you moving forward?

New titles, more books.

Did you always want to be an author? If not, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Yes, from an early age.

Where do you like to write? In a coffee shop? In your home office? On the beach?

I write at home most of the time. In the past I've taken my laptop to a local cafe and worked but I now live in a very small town that I am very fond of!

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind of music do you like to listen to?

Yes. I have eclectic tastes but I often listen to music that compliments the current work in progress. Some of my favorites any time include Townes Van Zandt and Janis Joplin, seventies rock and roll, and classic country.

Do you have any personal connection to the story or characters?

I often do. My most recent title, A Creed For Love, is set in my hometown of St. Joseph, MO and the surrounding area so it was a blast to write. I don't live there any longer so traveling down memory lane was great!