Just About A Year Ago....I Set Out On The Road To Becoming An Author

 Old habits die hard and I still listen to a lot of the music I loved in my youth, even in my childhood.  One of my favorite groups remains Credence Clearwater Revival and one of the songs I love most is “Lodi”. That song opens with the lines, “Just about a year ago, I set out on the road, seeking my fame and fortune, looking for a pot of gold.”  That ballad seems not just a favorite these days but somehow prophetic for my career or so I hope.

http://youtu.be/vxO_FHR5U_A

 A year ago, I had two signed contracts for my novels and I wanted  readers discover my work and enjoy it.  I wanted to write fiction that would engage people’s imaginations

Last November at this time I was deep into my first edits for Wolfe's Lady, a paranormal romance released at the end of December 2010.   My other contract - signed first - was for a novel Kinfolk with a targeted release from Champagne Books for July 2011.  That seemed so very far away as I worked hard on those first edits, learning to use track changes and other Word options.  During the process, between the first round and second round of edits, I came down with some gnarlybug and was so sick I could hardly stumble to the computer.  That's rare for me - I'm seldom sick but it happens to the best of us.

A year ago I couldn't imagine I would have eight novels out this year with two more coming out before the end of 2011 or that I'd have six more signed contracts thus far for 2012.  I had no clue two of those novels would be in paperback as well as eBook form or that I'd gain readers and some fans aloong the way.  In additon to the novels I have several novellas and short works out plus my number of anthology appearances shot up from eleven or so to twenty five and counting.


http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/B004JPBM6I

My second release (also from Evernight Publishing) Love Tattoo led to a sequel called Love Scars and then became a series, The Love Covenant Series, with Love Knots.  The fourth volume in the series, Love Shadows also will be out in December 2010.

Early in 2011 I made one of the best decisions I've ever made and submitted a novel to Rebel Ink Press.  That novel, Love Never Fails, became my first Rebel Ink release and also my first novel to also come out in paperback.  My second Rebel Ink release, Witness Protection Program came out in early October and flirted with the Bookstrand bestseller lists in a way I liked.  My upcoming Christmas release, Sing We Now of Christmas due out in just a week is another Rebel Ink Press title.  In 2012, I have two Rebel February releases, A Patient Heart and In Love's Own Time, along with others which so far include Miss Good Samaritan (April), Guy's Angel (June) and In The Shadow of War.  I'll also have a shorter work as part of a special Father's Day release with the characters borrowed from Love Never Fails.

There's also my other Champagne Books release, a time travel romance  A Time To Love that came out on the heels of Witness Protection Program in October

Now I write full-time but most of life has changed very little.  In this turbulent economy I'm far from rich - I still struggle to make ends meet (and sometimes they don't quite and I have to push and force to get it to work)

      I still like the same things and have much the same routine.  I go grocery shopping in my worn-out blue jeans, worship at church with my family, sit out on the porch in the cool of the evening, and doing the things I’ve always done.   I just spend more time promoting, sometimes very long hours, and do a lot more web appearances through interviews, guest blogs, and such.  Last year I had one blog - I now have five and do so many guest blogs I often lose track of them all.

      I attract some attention with my prose and my fiction but I don’t know if I can call it “fame” just yet but I like the recognition for my writing.   I hope that at least a little of the “fortune” drifts my way with each royalty quarter but for now, my pleasure comes from reader comments, from those who like my stories and remember them.

      A lot can change in a year’s time, though and I adapt to the changes.  And I look forward to next year with eager anticipation because I've learned you never know just what can happen.

Visit me at my main blog A Page In The Life
http://leeannsontheimermurphywriterauthor.blogspot.com
or my website at http://leeannwriter.weebly.com

If you like book trailers come by my You Tube Channel to view them all:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJoetowngirl