Meet Leslie
Author of the Lucy Stone Mysteries
I started writing in the late ‘80s when I was attending graduate classes at Bridgewater State College. I wanted to become certified to teach high school English and one of the required courses was Writing and the Teaching of Writing. My professor suggested that one of the papers I wrote for that course was good enough to be published and I sent it off to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine’s Department of First Stories. I got $100 for the story and I’ve been writing ever since. The teaching, however, didn’t work out.
My books draw heavily on my experience as a mother of three and my work as a reporter for various weekly newspapers on Cape Cod. My heroine, Lucy Stone, is a reporter in the fictional town of Tinker’s Cove, Maine, where she lives in an old farmhouse (quite similar to mine on Cape Cod!) with her restoration carpenter husband Bill and four children. As the series has progressed the kids have grown older, roughly paralleling my own family. We seem to have reached a point beyond which Lucy cannot age–my editor seems to want her to remain forty-something forever, though I have to admit I personally am dying to write “Menopause is Murder!”
I usually write one Lucy Stone mystery every year and as you can tell, my editor likes me to feature the holidays in my books. Of course Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year and my newest mystery “Eggnog Murder,” is included in an anthology with two other Christmas novellas by Barbara Ross and Lee Hollis. I’ve long been a fan of the classic English country house mystery, and was a faithful watcher of “Downton Abbey,” so I couldn’t resist trying to write one. I think I succeeded rather well, if I do say so myself, with “British Manor Murder,” which came out in October, 2016.
My books are classified as “cozies” but a good friend insists they are really “comedies of manners” and I do enjoy expressing my view of contemporary American life.
Now that the kids are grown — we have five fabulous grandchildren — my husband and I are enjoying dividing our time between Braintree and Cape Cod, along with our cat, Sylvester.
185 Responses
Please write some more books when Lucy’s kids are younger! The domestic life of her family is what makes this “Cozy”. Also, it would be great to have more of Miss Tilly included!
I would LOVE for Bill to finally stop treating her so poorly and her to stand up for herself and stop blaming herself for her kids and husband’s issues. And menopause is muder would be really good, since she constantly is saying things and doing things that sound exactly like perimenopausal women. I do like the series but some of these characters need a “come to Jesus”
I recently discovered your Lucy Stone books. I am enjoying them very much. Thank you for sharing your gift of writing. Cheryl in Riverside California
Hi Leslie!
My name is Rincon Thompson from Pennsylvania. I was doing some early spring cleaning when I came across a small treasure trove of some of your novels, which took took me through nice stroll down memory lane. Thank you so much for writing your stories as they were a big part in my early life, and sparked my fascination and love of reading, writing and murder mystery’s!
thank you for sharing your gift ? of writing. I have enjoyed reading since a wee girl with my grandma. I can NEVER read or have enough books ?.
when I find an author who’s writing I appreciate I buy Everything ?? Series are do delicious. I was ill and diagnosed needing an oncologist to watch my blood levels and told to stay out of crowds. Luckily my life long love of reading and huge yard is the best thing to huddle up in with beloved husband if 45 years & fur kid’s and a son.
Starting over with Mistletoe Murders
so Fabulous ?????