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Some memories evoke the essence of our childhoods and condense the summer sunshine into something to savor. During the bleak winter months I often find myself recalling moments from the past and when I do, I often think about the first boy I fell in love with at the age of 9. Call me an early starter, but at the tender age of 9, I fell hard for the boy just a little older than me who lived next door to my aunt in my hometown of St. Joseph, Mo. His large family filled their home with noise and they had enough team members from their family alone to field an ongoing baseball game in the back yard. Their mother baked snickerdoodle cookies, the first I ever tasted, and I spent as much time as possible trailing after one of her sons. I dreamed of growing up to marry him and although it never happened, I’m left with a few fond memories, enough for inspiration.
When “A Patient Heart” debuts this week from Rebel Ink Press, some of those who knew me best during my childhood may recognize the inspiration behind my hero, Connor Donavan. Now Joe isn’t Connor and I’m certainly not Catherine, my heroine, but every idea must begin somewhere and the idea behind my Valentine’s Day contemporary romance started in my memories.
The story itself has little to do with my own past. The novel is set in our Neosho so it probably owes just as much to my present. Rather than attempt to describe it, here’s the blurb:
As a little girl, Catherine dreamed she'd marry Connor Donavan one day and as teenagers, that dream seemed within reach. Until Connor ended their relationship by leaving town and breaking Catherine's heart. Ten years later, far from the old hometown, Catherine reports for work as a nurse one snowy January evening and learns that her new patient is none other than her old love, Connor. When he recognizes her, all the old feelings stir but a few sparks fly, too. As Connor recovers from an accident, Catherine realizes she loves him more than ever and he seems to love her as well. But after he leaves the hospital and convalesces at her home, his real life intrudes into their quiet time together. Then Connor leaves Catherine behind and she stays until a message sends her speeding to Kansas City, to Connor's club... On Valentine's Day.
Some memories evoke the essence of our childhoods and condense the summer sunshine into something to savor. During the bleak winter months I often find myself recalling moments from the past and when I do, I often think about the first boy I fell in love with at the age of 9. Call me an early starter, but at the tender age of 9, I fell hard for the boy just a little older than me who lived next door to my aunt in my hometown of St. Joseph, Mo. His large family filled their home with noise and they had enough team members from their family alone to field an ongoing baseball game in the back yard. Their mother baked snickerdoodle cookies, the first I ever tasted, and I spent as much time as possible trailing after one of her sons. I dreamed of growing up to marry him and although it never happened, I’m left with a few fond memories, enough for inspiration.
When “A Patient Heart” debuts this week from Rebel Ink Press, some of those who knew me best during my childhood may recognize the inspiration behind my hero, Connor Donavan. Now Joe isn’t Connor and I’m certainly not Catherine, my heroine, but every idea must begin somewhere and the idea behind my Valentine’s Day contemporary romance started in my memories.
The story itself has little to do with my own past. The novel is set in our Neosho so it probably owes just as much to my present. Rather than attempt to describe it, here’s the blurb:
As a little girl, Catherine dreamed she'd marry Connor Donavan one day and as teenagers, that dream seemed within reach. Until Connor ended their relationship by leaving town and breaking Catherine's heart. Ten years later, far from the old hometown, Catherine reports for work as a nurse one snowy January evening and learns that her new patient is none other than her old love, Connor. When he recognizes her, all the old feelings stir but a few sparks fly, too. As Connor recovers from an accident, Catherine realizes she loves him more than ever and he seems to love her as well. But after he leaves the hospital and convalesces at her home, his real life intrudes into their quiet time together. Then Connor leaves Catherine behind and she stays until a message sends her speeding to Kansas City, to Connor's club... On Valentine's Day.
“A Patient Heart” will debut from Rebel Ink Press on Friday. On some sites, it will be available even earlier and like most of my novels, it will debut as an eBook. Readers who prefer a paperback may be glad to know a third novel with my byline is now also available as a trade paperback. My first time travel romance (first because another is coming Feb 17) “A Time To Love” is now also available in a paperback you can hold in your hands.
And for those who like reading my fiction set in familiar places including Neosho, “In Love’s Own Time,” my second time travel novel, is set in Neosho and will be out from Rebel Ink Press on Feb 17th. Among my other scheduled releases in 2012, my first full-length historical novel, “In The Shadow of War” will be released on May 17 from Rebel as well. “In The Shadow of War” is a World War II era historical love story set here in Neosho.
Every story begins somewhere. Although they all evolve from my imagination, some begin here in Neosho, others spring from my memories of another time and place.
But the common denominator is romance that lives and breathes the power of love.
Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy writes a weekly column for the Daily News.
