Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome 1st time guest Leisl Leighton to the blog today. Leisl, can you please share with us a little about yourself
I am a tall red head with an overly large imagination. As a child, I identified strongly with Anne of Green Gables. A voracious reader and a born performer, it came as no surprise to anyone when I did a double major in English Literature and Drama for my BA, then went on to a career as an actor, singer and dancer, as well as script writer, stage manager and musical director for cabaret and theatre restaurants (one of which I co-owned and ran for six years).
After starting a family I stopped performing and instead, began writing the stories that had been plaguing my dreams. My stories have won and placed in many competitions in Australia and the US, including the STALI, Golden Opportunities, Heart of the West, Linda Howard Award of Excellence, Touch of Magic and many others.
I live in the leafy suburbs of Melbourne, Australia with my two beautiful boys, lovely hubby, overly spunky dog, Buffy and improbably named white cat, Ezmerelda. I love to spend time with family and friends, sometimes sing in a choir and perform solo and have a penchance for trying unusual x-treme things. I work as a swim teacher in my day-to-day job.
Have you always wanted to be an author?
I always wanted to do something creative. Having a family put a halt on me performing on stage as often as I wanted to and I’d written scripts on and off for years which I always loved doing. English was always one of my favourite subjects, creative writing a bliss, so it wasn’t too far-fetched a stretch from that to writing the stories that inhabited all my dreams.
What is your most interesting writing quirk?
Ooh, tough one. I think, probably, I always write really interesting and fun secondary characters that always threaten to steal the scene. But that’s okay because that just means I’ll need to give them a book sometime soon.
Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?
Dark Moon is the first in a paranormal series, The Witch-Were Chronicles. It is about a reluctant Witch and an Alpha Were torn by his loyalty to Pack and his budding feelings for the woman who would be his mate.
Blurb:
Lately, Skye Collins has been unable to shake the feeling that she’s being watched. After a lifetime spent hiding her true nature, she knows that any unusual attention is something to be wary of. And the only attention she’s been receiving lately is from the intense and attractive Jason McVale.
Jason claims to know things about Skye that can’t be true, and it’s obvious he’s hiding secrets of his own. Yet despite herself, Skye can’t resist the attraction between them, and her surrender will set in motion a chain of events that will have consequences for everyone she holds dear.
Gradually, Jason convinces Skye that she has to trust him if she is to solve the riddle of her past and learn the truth about her power. But believing Jason means that her entire life has been based on a lie.
As her enemies gather strength and the danger increases, Skye is forced to accept who she really is. Will she risk everything and fight for those she loves? Or save herself and let them be destroyed by the forces of darkness?
How did you come with the idea for this story?
It actually just started as a scene where a woman was knocked down on the ski slopes by an out of control snowboarder (something that had happened to me many a time). But in the dreams that I had about this, the snowboarder (unlike the reality of what had happened to me) was unbelievably gorgeous and the girl felt an instant spark of reaction to him. As I wrote her story, it soon became apparent that there was a paranormal aspect to my characters and that spark she felt was something more than just sexual attraction.
Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?
I am currently working on the 2nd and 3rd in The Witch-Were Chronicles series, Healer Moon and Blood Moon.
Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?
If I could go back in time, it would have to be Shakespeare. He had a fascinating mind, an ability to create his own language and to take old stories and make them into something new. He was also prolific and incredibly visual.
If I couldn’t go back in time, hmm…
I am lucky in that I’ve met quite a few of my favourite Australian authors already (and a lovelier, more generous bunch of writers you’d be hard-pressed to meet), but I think I’d like to meet Nora Roberts or Raymond E. Feist. Nora, because I’d like to find out how she manages her time, how she comes up with so many stories and makes her characters so convincing, and Raymond simply because he is my favourite fantasy author and I’d love to just chat to him about Pug, Jimmy the Hand and all their cohorts and find out where they’ve gone now he’s finished with the series.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?
Read. Write. Read some more. Write some more. Go to workshops. Read some writing books. Learn from them. Keep reading. Keep writing. Try out some comps. Get yourself a good critique partner or two. Join a writing group. Join something like RWA and just keep going. Talent is part of the equation, but persistence is also in there too.
Can you share with us something off your bucket list.
I don’t really have a bucket list. I’ve always made a point to try the things I want to do. I’ve travelled overseas, have been parachuting, have done white water and black water rafting, climbed up a volcano (although I’d like to go up one that was a little more bubbly), have been caving, done abseiling, I horse ride, ski, and last year did a rap jump (forward abseiling down a 6 story building) with my sister. I would love to travel more, though, travel back to some of my favourite places in the world (I love Italy) and visit more places in the world to experience their flavor, their history, would therefore be on any bucket list that I have.
What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?
I can’t wait to sink my teeth into Nalini Singh’s next book in the Psy-Changeling series (still not out yet, but soon), and also MJ Scott’s next one in her Half-Light City series. And Anne Gracie’s next novel is high on my list too – I just love her stories set in a much more gracious world than ours – if harder.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Thank you so much for having me as a guest on your blog. It’s been a lot of fun answering your 10 questions.
I would also like to give away a kindle copy of Dark Moon to one of your readers. Being in Australia, there is a little bit of a region problem – so I can send anyone outside Australia an Amazon gift voucher so they can buy Dark Moon in whatever region they’re in.
Dark Moon is out on March 15th. You can buy it here:
Amazon | Kobo | Destiny Romance | iBooks | Google Play
Leisl’s romantic suspense, Killing Me Softly is out now:
Amazon | Kobo | iBooks |Destiny Romance | Google Play
You can follow Leisl and find out more about her and her books on her website: www.leislleighton.com
Facebook| Goodreads | Follow her on Twitter @LeislLeighton
Giveaway Time:
I would love to read this book. It sounds very good. Thanks for the awesome giveaway.
Thanks for stopping by, Victoria and good luck in the giveaway.
Shakespeare would be interesting to meet
I agree. Although, probably smelly – bathing not such a big thing back then. But he’d be so interesting (hopefully) I wouldn’t mind. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
You’ve lead an interesting life…is there something else you would like to try in the future?
Good question, Diane. At the moment, life is pretty well full of good things (mostly), but I would love to travel more. I’d especially love to share some of my favourite places and experiences with my sons. That would be truly special. Thanks for stopping by.
I always loved ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. This series sounds like it’s going to be amazing.
Anne of Green Gables is a series I return to over and over again, and I appreciate it in ways now I’m an adult that I didn’t when I was a child, and the love of Anne and all her friends grows.
I’m really excited about Dark Moon and its series, so it’s lovely to hear someone else say they think it sounds good too. Thanks for visiting here and leaving a comment, Mary.
What an interesting way for the story to develop. It is always interesting to read about the inspiration for an author’s book.