Hi, I’m Leslye 👋🏾
I’m an author of fantasy and paranormal romance, as well as a podcaster, teacher, and website developer.
My first novel, Song of Blood & Stone, made the list of TIME Magazine’s Best Fantasy Novels of All Time and also won an award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association for Best Self-published Fiction before it was picked up for publication by a traditional publisher.
I’m still a hybrid author, publishing both independently and with Big 5 houses. I’ve gotten starred reviews from trade reviewers like Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist, and several of my books have been optioned for TV and film.
Why subscribe?
This newsletter began as a way to share the show notes of my weekly podcast, My Imaginary Friends, where I give live reports from the trenches of an author navigating both the self-publishing and traditional publishing world.
I collect links during my online travels with advice, tips, tools, apps, interesting facts, deep thoughts, and more to feed my creative journey. And since I tend to collect more information than I could ever use, I wanted to share them with you.
So even if you're not a podcast listener, if you're looking for some fuel for your creative fire, please sign up! You’ll get a free Worldbuilding Checklist when you join!
Why upgrade to paid?
When you upgrade to paid and become one of my Imaginary Best Friends, you’ll get:
access to exclusive workshops and tutorials on writing and publishing
the Longhand column with deeper dives into topics of writing craft
20% off my courses, including Imaginary Worldbuilding: Creating Fictional Worlds for Writers as well as my 1-on-1 author mentoring
What subscribers are saying
“The newsletter always has super interesting nuggets. I used the one you sent two weeks ago for one of my friends who was struggling with plotting.” - Author, Elodie Nowodazkij
“Footnotes is one of the few newsletters I open every week because I know I'll find a few gems that speak to me.” — Romance author, Rebecca Hunter
“Great tips! I love when this drops into my inbox!!” — Life coach, Tavish Williams
“This newsletter always has practical and inspiring tips. It's a great read!” — Writer, Sonja
“I appreciate the tips, insights and feeling that I have a friend that I hear from via this newsletter.” Author, Bekka Hunsperger
“Leslye is such a wonderful, compelling, immersive writer and storyteller, always empathetically and profoundly connecting with others through interesting ideas and thoughtful viewpoints.” —Writer and editor, Nadia Gerassimenko
