Leanne Leeds writes sweet, fun, often romantic but always fast-paced paranormal mysteries, fantasies, and romances. She lives in rural Texas with her husband, daughter, and a house full of cats that would sound like Samson if they could talk.
Thanks for stopping by! I guess you want to know a bit more than the standard blurb above, hmm? Well, okay then.
I wrote my first book when I was eight years old — it was, essentially, Trixie Belden fan fiction. Written in pencil and stapled together with a sketch on the front, I was quite proud of my ragged little chapbook of a mystery. The desire to write books followed me all the way to The College of Staten Island, where I majored in English with an option in Writing…
…until I dropped out to join the circus. Because, like, why not?
Okay, well — not the circus. I was a production assistant for a stage hypnotist, as well as a carnie worker in a variety of food joints touring the Eastern seaboard fair circuit. The experience was relatively short but incredibly impactful on my worldview. Though I went limping back to my apartment in New York broke and had to get a "real job," I kept a lifelong fascination with eccentric, alternative, and extraordinary lifestyles.
That came in handy in my forties, when I was laid off from a large publicly traded company in the middle of mass layoffs that massacred the careers of nearly everyone I knew — at least for a short while. It was a frustrating end to a 20+ year career in an industry I had once loved but now… didn't. And it made me realize I was ready to leave management and tech behind and do something different.
So I returned to my childhood dream of being an eccentric storyteller and living my best weird life. The Magical Midway series was written as a nod to the showmen of the East Coast and their incredible influence on me. I have plans for plenty more paranormal-themed cozies, fantasies, and romances as time goes on, and most months I release a new book. (They have minimal sexual content, in case that's important to you.)
When I'm not writing, I'm usually filming cats. Mine, mostly — but also a colony of strays in my neighborhood that we're working to trap, neuter, and return through the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter's Feral Cat Surgeries program, so they can live out their lives without adding to the problem. If you'd like to follow along, the videos go up everywhere I post: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Fair warning: the cats are far more photogenic than I am.
For dedicated readers, my newsletter is where new releases land first — along with the occasional free story and a little cozy behind-the-scenes fun. If you like getting there first, come sign up.
Thanks for going on this journey with me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
— Leanne
P.S. I've been asked so many times that I just wanted to let you know: the keyboard in so many of my photos and videos is a Max Keyboard Nighthawk Z, the 104-key large-print version, with Cherry MX Clear switches.