That's It Jack - Why I Watch Duck Commander and write about real people!

From the desk of author Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

 

Photo courtesy of AETV and the Robertson family

            Ever seen a family where most of the members dress in camouflage at least part of the time, carry guns into the woods, love to fish, prefer the country over town, and seem capable enough to live off the land? I married into one so watching Duck Dynasty is more like a family get-together than reality television for me.  Like the Robertson clan, my husband’s family hails from the great state of Louisiana and like patriarch Phil, the Duck Commander, the Murphy family migrated from northwest Louisiana in the heart of the Ark-La-Tex to the other side of the state.  I could stop in for a visit with Miss Kay and feel right at home. 

            I’m particular about what television programs I watch. I watch virtually no network shows and haven’t for several years.  I’m more into movies and a few quirky shows found on some of the cable/satellite channels.  I’m not a huge fan of reality television in general because the shows always seem to eventually veer away from any semblance of realism into scripted, carefully planned programs.  Now I have no doubt that the episodes of Duck Dynasty are planned around an event or situation but so far, the Robertson family appear to remain open and honest so that what you see is what you get.  And after I got around to watching the show everyone seemed to be talking about, I got hooked.  Besides, any show opening with ZZ Top music (Sharp Dressed Man) would get my attention!

Photo courtesy of AETV and the Robertson family

            Even if the Robertson bunch didn’t seem familiar, almost like relatives, I’d watch the show because I love Louisiana.  I’ve made many visits to the state and it always has felt like home to me.  Although my kids were all born in Missouri, none of them were conceived in the Show-Me-State and I often tell my son he’s my Bossier City kid, because that’s where he was made.  Since my husband comes from a large family and if you go back several generations, the numbers go viral fast, it’s even possible he could be connected somewhere along the family tree to the Robertsons. I’ve been to West Monroe and throughout the state. 

            I dined on wild turkey the first Thanksgiving after I married my husband, one my late father-in-law shot in the woods near their home.  I’ve eaten my weight, at least, in spoonbill and other delicacies including venison too. On holidays, including Thanksgiving, my husband’s bunch often have a shooting match, something my son enjoys more than the turkey, dressing, or pie, more than anything except maybe the biscuits.

 

            So for those who wonder if the way of life depicted in Duck Dynasty is real – you bet it is, jack.  Except for the fact my husband’s family didn’t luck out and make millions with duck calls and net a reality television show, they’re a lot like the Robertsons. Yeah, that's it, jack!

            We live in the Ozarks, in the far southwestern corner of Missouri but my romance novels are set everywhere from the Ozarks hills to my hometown of St. Joseph, Missouri into Oklahoma and Arkansas and the Ark-La-Tex (for those who aren’t familiar, the Ark-La-Tex is the corner where Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana come together, near Texarkana and Shreveport).   Witness Protection Program is one of them and also one of my titles which remains popular with readers.  A lot of readers and reviewers think my books provide a realistic look at Americana and small town America and even the South.  Some of those titles include The Sin Eater’s Redemption, Love Never Fails, Kinfolk, Sing We Now of Christmas, Heart of the Ozarks, Devlin’s Grace and Dust Bowl Dreams.  You can find them all here on Amazon, also on All Romance Ebooks, Barnes and Noble, Bookstrand, and some titles at Coffee Time Romance.

 

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

You can always keep up with what’s going on in my writing life here:

From Sweet to Heat: The Romance of Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

https://www.facebook.com/pages/From-Sweet-To-Heat-The-Romance-of-Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/287540748010934?ref=hl

A Page In The Life: http://leeannsontheimermurphywriterauthor.blogspot.com

Rebel Writer: Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

http://leeannsontheimermurphy.blogspot.com