Author Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy is joining me today for an interview. Sweet romance readers are sure to enjoy her latest novel, The Cowboy’s Last Chance, set in Southwest Missouri.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Title: The Cowboy’s Last Chance
Author: Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy
Genre: sweet romance, western romance
BLURB:
When Vivian Blackburn, recently returned to Southwest Missouri sets out to shoot pictures at a rodeo, she’s not looking for a cowboy but when she meets bull rider Calhoun Kelly, she’s found one. They have an instant attraction and rapport. They’re compatible in every way but one – he has a strong Christian faith and she lost hers after her parents died. When Vivian experiences strange dreams that seem to warn Calhoun of upcoming danger, she doesn’t know what to think. Calhoun decides to hang up his spurs at the end of the season but before he does, he and Vivian are married. They decide they’ll settle at her grandmother’s old farmhouse but not until he rides his last rodeo. When he’s critically injured, his life hangs in the balance. Will Vivian find her faith and pray? It’s a close call but time will tell.
INTERVIEW:
Welcome! It is my pleasure to feature your novel.
What was the inspiration behind your latest release?
I love cowboys, enjoy attending a good rodeo, and delight in spinning a love story. All these factors came together in The Cowboy’s Last Chance. A character named Calhoun Kelly, a bull rider, popped into my head and I had to tell his story.
Have you ever travelled when researching information for a book?
I have often travelled to research background for my novels. In The Cowboy’s Last Chance, I have been to most of the places Calhoun and Vivian visit. I have received many compliments from readers who tell me I nailed their community – including both Los Angeles and New York – because they could tell I had actually spent a little time there.
When did you begin writing?
I decided I wanted to be an author by the time I was in the fifth grade. I spent a good portion of my time that year scribbling a novel in the back of my blue binder. I continued to write. During college, I was on the campus newspaper staff and an editor for literary magazine. I worked in broadcasting as my first career after graduation and began to write short stories and articles, some of which sold. When my twin daughters were two, I decided if I didn’t get busy with my lifelong goal of becoming an author and write a novel, I probably never would. Although many friends and family thought I was crazy, a few encouraged me to continue so I made my first serious effort at a novel.
How many hours do you dedicate each day towards writing?
I approach writing like a full-time job. After I get up, play with my pets, have breakfast, get dressed, I head for my desk. I write at least six hours per day and if I’m heavily into a new work in progress, often more.
Which authors inspire you?
There are so many – Carolyn Brown, who lives “next door” in Oklahoma, Susanna Kearsley, the late Janet Dailey would be my top three.
Which project are you currently working on?
I’m working on a novel for a new line with The Wild Rose Press called Men And Women of Valor, I just completed final edits for a sexy romantic suspense novel, Venganza, with Evernight Publishing, and I’m also working on another WIP. I have an ongoing series with World Castle Publishing, the Laredo series. Book two debuted this summer and book three is already under contract.
Upcoming books, events, appearances, giveaways:
The Cowboy’s Last Chance, 10/21/24, Homeward Bound Hearts, 12/16/24 (both Wild Rose Press), Venganza, Evernight Publishing, The Birthright of Ezekiel Wilson and The Cowboy’s Prayer, 2025, World Castle Publishing, and The Cajun Cowboy (The Wild Rose Press) 2025.
AUTHOR BIO:
From an early age, Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy scribbled stories, inspired by the books she read, the family tales she heard, and even the conversations she overheard at the beauty shop where her grandmother had a weekly standing appointment. She was the little girl who sat at the feet of the elders and listened.
As an author, she has published more than seventy novels and novellas writing as both Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy and as Patrice Wayne for historical fiction. Her books are found in many places, online and in brick-and-mortar stores including some in both Ireland and Australia.
She spent her early career in broadcast radio, interviewing everyone from politicians to major league baseball players and writing ad copy. In those radio years she began to write short stories and articles, some of which found publication. In 1994 she married Roy Murphy and they had three children, all now grown-up. She was widowed in 2019. Lee Ann spent years in the newspaper field as both a journalist and editor and was widowed in 2019.
In late 2020, she hung up her editor’s hat to return to writing fiction. A native of St. Joseph, Missouri, she lives and works in the rugged, mysterious, and beautiful Missouri Ozarks.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Jill Piscitello 