Joe Lee 1965
Major Works
- On the Record 2002
- Dead Air
- Judgment Day 2007
- The Magnolia Triangle, 2009
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Photo right: Joe Lee displays his newest book
The Magnolia Triangle
Biography of
Joe Lee (2002)
By Stephen Jordon (SHS)
(See update below)
The author Joe Lee (Joseph Thomas Lee II) was born in Jackson,
Mississippi, in June of 1965, to Joe and Rose Reynolds Lee.
Joe Lee also has a younger brother, Stuart. When Joe Lee
was five years old, his family moved to New Jersey and lived
there until he was eight. In 1973, they moved back to
Jackson, Mississippi, where Lee attended St. Andrew’s
Academy. Three years later, his family moved to Starkville,
Mississippi,  where
Lee attended Starkville public schools. Joe Lee graduated
from Starkville High School in 1983 and enrolled at Mississippi
State University that same year. He graduated four years
later with a degree in Communications. He has since worked
in journalism, radio, and television. Currently, he is
a weatherman for WAPT-16 in Jackson and the host of "Time Warp,"
a popular program on WTYX 94.7 radio station.
Joe Lee is married to Leslie Staehle from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
She graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in political
science and later graduated from law school. Currently,
Leslie is the Special Assistant Attorney General at the Mississippi
Attorney General’s office, but from 1990 to
1995, she served as the Consumer Protection Director.
This last job was the inspiration for On the Record,
which is the story of Maureen Lewis's fight to stop
corruption by car dealerships
Joe Lee has always been a creative person. In high school
and college, he enjoyed writing papers and essays, but
he really became interested in writing for publication
after meeting his cousin at a family reunion in 1986.
His cousin was a missionary kid who spent her school years
in Ghana, Africa, and who, “youthful, fragile, and
innocent,” was entirely unprepared for college and the
culture of work. Lee visualized a story about a jock-type
student (he had his roommate in mind) meeting his cousin and
eventually falling in love with her. Lee wrote around
forty pages, but stopped, not knowing where he wanted to go
with the story.
 The
idea for Joe Lee’s debut novel, On the Record,
came from his wife’s duties as Consumer Protection Director.
Lee took what his wife thought was a boring job and turned it
into a page-turner. Lee began writing On the Record
in 1997, but because he was working full-time in television
until the end of 1999, it was not until 2000 before he committed
all of his time to writing. Most of 2000, Lee spent working
with an editor, revising what he had already written.
In 2001, he began searching for an agent or publisher.
In early 2002, he decided to publish his own novel and established
Dogwood Press, his own publishing company. Since then he has
been busy doing book signings. In December, 2002, he visited
Starkville High School and talked to the English classes of
Mrs. Jacobs about the process of writing and publishing books.
Lee is currently working (2002) on a second novel, entitled
Dead Air, which is a murder mystery set in Jackson,
Mississippi, and which follows the murder of a television anchor.
Lee has already written one-fifth of the novel, and he hopes
to have it published by the end of 2004.
As of this date (2002), Joe Lee lives in Brandon, Mississippi,
with his wife, Leslie, and four year old son, John.
2010 UPDATE: Joe
Lee owns and operates Dogwood Press, a small but traditional
publishing company in Brandon, Mississippi. In addition to his
own works, he has published fellow Mississippi authors John
M. Floyd of Brandon, Jim Ritchie of Canton, and Mike Windham
of Brookhaven. This spring (2010) Dogwood Press will publish
an autobiography written by Barbie Bassett, the chief meteorologist
at WLBT-3 in Jackson. Lee published his second novel,
Dead, in 2004 and his third novel,
Judgment Day, in 2007. Recently his fourth
novel, a suspense thriller called The Magnolia Triangle
( 2009), was published. The book is the second volume of
the series that began with Judgment Day,
according to Joe Lee. “This one picks up seven months
later and features characters that readers will remember from
Judgment Day. Because it’s set in a small
town in northeast Mississippi, I’m hopeful that mystery
fans who enjoy Southern-based suspense will like it,”
says Lee. He visits libraries and classrooms discussing writing,
his books, and the business of publishing at Dogwood Press,
which hopes is on its way to becoming a regional presence as
a publishing house.
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A Review
of On the Record
by Stephen Jordon (SHS) 2002
On the Record
is a story of a woman’s fight to get to the bottom of the truth,
revealing a world of corruption, affaires, and deceit. On the Record follows
Maureen Lewis, the director of Consumer Protection in Jackson,
Mississippi. After the Consumer Protection Act is signed into
law, Maureen is given more power to rid Jackson of the con artists and
fraudulent business practices that fester in the city. However,
after subpoenaing her first target, a car dealership, she is forced to
take a different position in the office or leave Consumer
Protection. Suspicion then leads her into a web of corruption
involving embezzlement, affairs, and deceit within the Consumer
Protection office itself.
Joe Lee delivers a believable story with a southern flavor. Set in Jackson, Mississippi, On the Record involves places, people, and dialogue a
southerner can relate to and understand. However, Joe Lee’s
descriptions draw an accurate, detailed picture of places and people so
that everyone can
relate and understand.
I thoroughly enjoyed On the Record. Joe Lee has built a believable story with characters I felt as if I knew. Once the plot began to unfold, I found
myself not wanting to put the book down. There is a small
amount of profanity and sexual content, but I think that On the Record is a must-read for just about
anybody who likes intrigue and mystery.
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2002 Interview
with Joe Lee
by Stephen Jordon (SHS)
Where and when were you born? What schools did you attend growing up? What college did you attend?
Born in Jackson, Mississippi, in June,
1965. Lived in New Jersey from 1970-1973. Returned
to Mississippi in 1973 and attended St. Andrew's Academy from
1973-1976. Moved to Starkville and attended Starkville
Public Schools. I graduated in 1983. Attended
Mississippi State University from 1983-1987. Graduated
in May of 1987 with a Communication degree (radio/TV emphasis).
Photo above right: Stephen Jordon,
student researcher
What
are your parents' names? Do you have any brothers or sisters, if
so what are their names? What is your wife's name? What is
your son's name?
My
father is also Joe Lee (I'm actually Joseph Thomas Lee II). He
and my step-mother Marilyn are realtors and live in Dallas,
Texas. My mother passed away in 2000. Her name was Rose
Reynolds Finley. She lived in Starkville from 1977-1997. I
have a brother, Stuart. He graduated from SHS in 1987 and from
MSU in 1992. He and his family live in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
Who is your favorite author/authors?
Favorite authors are Scott Turow, Pat Conroy and Greg Iles.
What author/authors has influenced you the most?
Authors
with most influence (not in any particular order): Stephen King
from early on, since most of the fiction I read in the 1980's was by
King. Normally associated with horror, but a very good
storyteller with some fine non-horror novels (i.e. The Dead Zone, The
Body--the basis for the movie "Stand By Me" and "The Shawshank
Redemption").
John
Grisham is a great role model because of his spectacular success.
Also a fine storyteller with a knack for writing compelling, hooky
legal mysteries. Many folks ask if I want to be the next
Grisham. Richard North Patterson writes very good legal mysteries
and (usually) layers in interesting political scenarios. A fine
writer. Pat Conroy is a truly brilliant
writer. Brings the South alive in his depictions of Savannah,
Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. Critics complain that
his plots drag and are always dealing with family dysfunction, but his
prose is often breathtaking I find his introspection fascinating,
revealing and inspiring.
Scott Turow, in my
opinion, is the best writer of popular fiction of this
generation. A great knack for making his setting (always
fictional Kindle County, a.k.a. Chicago) come alive, and he writes
complex but not difficult mysteries with compelling, fully-realized
characters and beautifully conceptualized plots. The best of the
best.
Greg Iles, from Natchez, of course, is very close to
the rarified air of Turow. He wrote a truly great book
several years ago called The Quiet Game, and he is
just about as good at doing for Natchez what Conroy does for
Charleston and Savannah. Iles is a very versatile writer,
having tackled the supernatural in his most recent book, Sleep
No More, as well as historical fiction (Black Cross
and Spandau Phoenix) and Grisham-type suspense (48
Hours). But he excels in character development.
A great writer.
 Other
Mississippi writers, like Martin Hegwood, Larry Brown (both
of whom I've met), Bill Fitzhugh, Jill Conner Browne and many
more. It's always interesting and enlightening to read
other Mississippi writers.
When did you become interested in writing? What got you interested in writing?
I told your (English) class about meeting a missionary
kid cousin at a family reunion in 1986--don't know if you
remember that story or not. She was youthful, fragile
and innocent after spending her high school years in Ghana,
West Africa (Mobile, Alabama, was their sabbatical home),
and she was completely unprepared to start college (she was
eighteen) or work in any kind of office or store...the culture
was such that her level of sophistication was almost zero.
It was hard for her to relate to other young people her age
because emotionally she was so far behind. After being
around her, I envisioned a jock-type on a college campus (my
then-roommate was who I had in mind) meeting her, laughing
at her...and ultimately falling in love with her. The
story ended after about forty pages because I hadn't thought
about where to go with it after they fell for each other.
But while I was writing I was envisioning it being an actual
novel that was sold in book stores...that was the first time
I ever consciously wrote for publication.
I
enjoyed writing essays and papers in high school and college. I'm
a creative person, which I discovered as I matured. It was always
challenging to find different (and better) ways to construct sentences
and paragraphs. And as I became a better writer, it became a challenge
to write compelling narrative and dialogue.
How long did it take you to write On the Record? Where did you get the idea for this book?
The idea for On The Record came from my wife's duties as Consumer
Protection Director (i.e. shutting down conmen and fraudulent
ad campaigns and business practices). I took what she
felt was a somewhat boring job and let my imagination run
wild.
I
began the first draft in 1997. However, since I worked full time
in television through the end of 1999, it was 2000 before I devoted
full time work to it. Much of 2000 was spent working with an
editor as I revised the novel. Most of 2001 was spent looking for
an agent or publisher. In early 2002 I decided to publish and my
own and started Dogwood Press as a vehicle to release the novel.
Did you base the characters in the book On the Record
on people you know or knew?
No characters in any work of mine are cut directly
from real people. My characters are hodgepodges of people
I've known. The character descriptions in the book were
supervised by my wife (for staff in the Attorney General's
office and other political types) and through my own work
experience (media types).
Joe Lee visits Mrs. Jacobs'
classroom at Starkville High School in 2002.
Are you currently working on a new book? Do you have a title for it yet? What is it about?
The next book is underway (2002). It will be
called Dead Air. This will be a murder
mystery set in Jackson which deals with a slain television
anchor. It's difficult to say when it will come
out. I wrote about sixty double-spaced, typed
pages (approximately 20% of the length of On The
Record, for the sake of comparison) in 1998
and 2001. It would take at least three to four
months to do the necessary interviews and research, outlining
and writing to finish the draft. And that's before
I began working with an editor. I'd like for
it to be out before the end of 2003, but that may be a
bit optimistic. Certainly by sometime in 2004.
How has living in Mississippi influenced your writing?
Living in Mississippi has had a profound effect on my writing.
The political backdrop in On The Record greatly
shaped the book. But the book has a Coast flavor
as well as a Jackson flavor, since there are scenes in
both places. Therefore, there are lots of sights
and sounds I've absorbed over the years which found
their way onto the pages.
There's also the reputation Mississippi has for its
writers..jpg)
There's tremendous appreciation for and encouragement
of Mississippi writers. Lots of folks, when I'd
tell them I was writing a book, would mention everyone
from Grisham to Hemingway with lots of pride.
What kind of student were you in high school and college?
I
was a very ordinary student in high school, although I did reasonably
well with writing assignments in English classes. Ditto for college...lackluster grade,s but I did well in major-related work. I worked 40
hours a week most of the time I was in college (and during my senior
year in high school), for what that's worth. But my average
grades were a direct result of my below-average study habits.
Didn't really learn to study until midway through college. Didn't
learn much about motivation until much later, which would have played a
definite role in my study habits.
Do you have any advice for students today or for future writers?
 Advice
for future writers: Don't be shy about expressing yourself
on paper. Solicit the opinions of as many teachers,
professors and fellow writers you can who'll read your
work. Read as many other writers as possible,
because this provides a variety of perspectives and will inspire
your own writing. Whatever you do, don't take no
for an answer when the time comes to shop your work.
Remember that every successful writer has a cabinet full of
rejection letters. All it took was one person believing
in them. Find that person!!!
Joe Lee from Starkville High School yearbook.
Have you received any literary awards for your writing (either in high school, college, or recently)?
No awards yet, but Rome wasn't built in a day!
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Related
Websites
Online short story
by Joe Lee on USA DeepSouth.
Joe
Lee's page on Amazon.com
Beckwith review of
Lee's The Magnolia Triangle
Page about Dogwood
Press authors.
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Bibliography
Lee, Joe. Email interview. 13 December 2002.
Lee, Joe. On the Record. Brandon, MS: Dogwood Press, 2002.
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