L.H. Leonard's Blog

Raveler is now available for review on Booksprout. If you’re a frequent fantasy reader and Booksprout reviewer, please check it out. Review promotion runs through August 1. Here’s the link. Not a Booksprout reviewer? Raveler is available in Kindle Unlimited and for purchase as ebook and print on Amazon. Raveler is a standalone novel set in […]

Assassin’s daughter. Sorcerer’s son. Nothing in common but being on the run. Fang assassins eliminate challenges to the Ari Empire. Amryn has trained in the killing arts since she was old enough to hold a blade, but science is her calling. As an Acolyte of the Unraveling, she might pursue knowledge instead of dispensing death. […]

Yeah, I know. I haven’t posted progress on the reading challenge since March. Why? I went through a spate of book choices I found disappointing compared to the gems I found in earlier months. It happens. On a more positive note, I had less time for reading because my own work-in-progress consumed most of my […]

So, how is that next book going? Take the fact I’ve gone quiet as a good sign. The story of the Endless Ocean has reached the proofing stage. No, not proofreading. I said proofing. Any bread bakers out there? That golden, savory loaf starts out as flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and water. Let the dough […]

Meeting the reading goal for March was a breeze. Here are this month’s recommendations. In keeping with the precedent of making this a monthly check-in instead of a book review platform, here’s the list of books I enjoyed the most this month, in order of my Sparks the Imagination storytelling factor. Gods of Jade and […]

The Amryn and Hobi story is five chapters along now. Though I started this one determined to adhere to the “plotter” method for once, the earlier pace with which the book came together, as I focused on outlining and structure, has slowed. These are great characters, but they just aren’t cooperating. They can’t seem to […]

Month two of this year’s reading goal — explore more diverse settings and cultures in fantasy literature than the swords-and-castles stories I usually gravitate towards. Some surprises in this month’s top three reads. One I’d never heard of was, in my opinion, the best told story. February reads I finished and liked, listed in order of how […]

A strange thing happened on the way to joining the hip crowd. On this blog, I’ve been chronicling the writing process while working on the new novel, as I’ve tried reinventing my approach to the whole beautifully painful, chaotic ordeal of crafting a novel. And cutting an accusing side-eye at my muse. The first series […]

This year, I set a reading goal — to venture away from the comfortable, familiar fantasy tropes I typically gravitate towards, and to explore more diverse settings and cultures. By posting what I finished reading for the prior month, I hope it will keep me focused on that goal. Not being a proponent of more […]

What a glorious finish to a first-ever Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Yes, you read that right. First. Ever. About a year ago, my son wrangled us into trying the iconic RPG as a family. Then the pandemic, quarantines, and work-from-home turned our lives upside down. Those weekly D&D sessions became the reality-escape we all needed […]