Born
19 February 1977 in swingin' Dudley, 'capital' of the Black Country
Started writing
At
primary school, I was forever doing silly little stories about friends and teachers
- and then aged seven, I won a
school competition which invited us to compose a tale with the title The
Magic Ring.
This had nothing to do with Hobbits (or any other sort of 'ring' - but let's
not go there, eh!!!) - the 'ring' in question
was in fact a talisman my characters (who I recall were jungle animals - don't
ask, OK, just don't ask!!!)
rubbed to escape trouble.
The glory and prize (about 50 zillion house points) were a huge spur, even at
that age.
Early ambitions
Then
came GCSE option time when 14-year-old minds are turned to what careers they
might pursue
when they metamorphose into grown-ups.
My calling, I decided, was journalism - because how else could I get to write
for a living?
I cut my hack teeth reporting on field trips and truancy levels for the school
magazine -
whilst churning out fiction and poems in my spare time.
First published
At
16, a pocket money-boosting £35 was my fee from Bunty magazine for
The Magic Garden,
which they printed in their annual.
In this kiddies' fantasy, a neglected orphan named Clarissa befriends a group
of animal-shaped hedges,
which come to life under a magic spell!! Gladly, the surreal creature theme
was
not to continue through into my adult writing.
Go West
1995
took me to Gloucester for a year's journalism training. As I practised my shorthand,
the city's
most infamous resident, Rosemary West, went on trial for the murders she and
husband Fred
committed just yards from my college gates!! Grisly.
First job
Back
home in my college hols, I did frequent work experience at the local weekly.
My manic persistence paid off when they gave me my 'big break' in 1996.
And boy, didn't I think I was It - a fully-fledged journo at 19, getting paid
to be read!
How keen and perky I was...until cynicism set in.
The daily grind
After three cosy-ish years
on weekly papers, I made the steep progression to dailies. Here the work was
tough,
thankless and make me ache for a 9-5 routine. Being good at writing was all
very well, but frankly,
I couldn't hack it as a hack. Mangled metaphors aside, I lacked the prerequisite
rhino-hide, iron nerves and two faces.
Deciding that reporting on midnight killings and car crashes was not for me
after all, I quit and signed up
with a temping agency for secretarial jobs. It was the most impulsive thing
I had ever done at the time.
Plan B:
Leigh's Life - Take 2
Temping
proved a fantastic experience. Living hand to mouth, earning less - yet being
frazzle-free,
having a life outside the office and no longer detesting Monday mornings (in
fact any weekday mornings).
You could say that, after journalism, it was like emerging from one serious
relationship and having
flings before plunging into the next one. (I funnily enough apply the same analogy
to my writing nowadays:
novels are serious relationships, short stories are flings.)
I learned so much, and after six months finally landed a permanent post as a
legal secretary.
I loved - and continue to love - this second career, but was lazily neglecting
my writing...
With
Nath and my lovely mum on our wedding day
Bold Writers
Until
2002, when I picked up my pen again and joined a creative writing evening class.
It was the best thing I ever did.
The course proved a life-enriching experience: teaching me indispensable story
skills and introducing
me - at last - to like-minded friends, with whom I subsequently set up a writing
group.
Infused with much-needed confidence, I finally achieved my lifelong ambition:
to write a novel.
Classmates
This
first novel, which took me about a year to do, is an 80s nostalgia fest which
was GREAT fun to write.
I can honestly say that without the feedback and motivation of my writing group
mates, I would never have written
a word of it. I used to think my work was drive of interest to no-one - and
maybe it is, but it's an ace hobby and I'm luvvin' it!!
All the Rage
My second novel is the saga of Chantal, Faith and Justine, alias
All the Rage, who hope to become
Willenhall's answer to the Sugababes!! It was a challenge, being far less autobiographical
than Classmates.
Gap Year
My
third in part centres around Emily Smeed and her relationship with a Water Mitty
character by the name of 'Dominic' - but it also features a few of the eccentric
characters who
populate Emily's leafy, gossipy home village of Lower Bratchley, a fictional
place but based
on a certain village in which I grew up.
The
Four Matthews
In February 2008 I commenced work on my fourth book,
a 'walking' novel featuring eight folks who undertake
a 10-day, 40-mile footslog from Alveley in Shropshire (which eagle-eyed readers
will recall was the venue of
my wonderful wedding) to Tissington in the Peak District, taking in 'The Four
Matthews' - four hills
(entirely of my own creation) set at equidistant intervals along the route -
on the way.
However...it's on hold for the time being...
The
future
An atrocious review from the Romantic Novelists Association for
my third novel Gap Year (see the Updates 08 section)
severely dented my confidence
but has also sent my writing ambitious rocketing off in a different direction.
I decided that perhaps my talents do not lie in novels. I am rather an impatient
person, and adore the instant
gratification that comes from producing short stories and receiving instant
feedback.
So I am currently concentrating on writing short stories for women's magazines.
I also intend to enrol on an Open University course in Creative Writing, so
that I can 'go back to the drawing board'
and hone my craft. It's quite an exciting time. I refuse to let one bad critique
beat me. Instead it has forced me
to reconsider the options open to me.
My
hubby - doing what he does best
Significant other
My husband Nathan
Mathers (not Eminem's brother!), an ex-Brian May lookalike (until he had his
curls cut)
and guitarist with a brilliant Queen tribute band called Queen on Fire.
We got wed in a beautiful civil ceremony at the Mill at Alveley, Shropshire,
on 30 June 2007, best day of both our lives.
Kiddywinks
Ah, the burning question. It's taken me a lot of courage to admit this, but
I'm a 'love kids but not for me' person.
I love being an aunty, I totally adore my nephews - and 'pretend' nephews (have
no nieces at present) - but
can't see me ever feeling maternal. I do know myself very well, and know what
is and isn't right for me.
Some people seem to have a problem with that, call me every name under the sun,
and even suggest I go for counselling!
To those people I say: you are not living my life, I can't force myself to have
feelings, the feelings I have do NOT make me an evil monster,
and if my husband and I had children simply to please other people it would
only end in tears all round.
Distinguishing marks
Tattoo
of ginger cat on right shoulder
Hobbies
Writing
(of course), walking (locally and in the Peak District), reading,
tai chi, cycling, cooking, eating out, aqua aerobics, Scrabble, card games,
Trivial Pursuit, travel (as far as time and budget permit - would love to do
a great deal more),
swimming, visiting places, designing this thing, general t'internet browsing,
live music, theatre,
spending time with my husband, family and friends
Smoke/Drink?
No/Yes
Religion
I
have no time whatsoever for religion, so anyone who makes attempts to 'convert'
me, or
forgive me for mythical 'sins,' is liable to be given a few suggestions on where
to shove their Bible!
Being a hardened atheist makes life so lovely and uncomplicated, I feel.
Our
first dance - to More Than Words by Extreme
Musical tastes
Eclectic, to
say the least (a long list, but I couldn't leave anyone out)
Queen
Frank Sinatra
Michael Bublé
Kylie
Erasure
ABBA
The Darkness
Amy Winehouse
Scissor Sisters
Eva Cassidy
Katie Melua
Elvis
OMD
Will Young
Madness
Robbie Williams
Steps
Shania Twain
Aerosmith
Yazoo
Extreme
Bon Jovi
Bryan Adams
Dean Martin
Sammy Davis Junior
The Beatles
Dusty Springfield
Blondie
James Brown
Nat King Cole
Ella Fitzgerald
Marc Almond
Midge Ure
Pink Floyd
Hayley Westenra
Any 80s cheese
Songs from the shows (espesh any Andrew Lloyd Webber or Cole Porter ones)
I am currently also getting into classical music as I have this sudden urge
to
become cultured - amazing how many pieces I know now whose names once didn't
mean
anything to me but were familiar from adverts and film soundtracks
("Oh, that's Cavalleria Rusticana," I can now namedrop if I wish to impress)!!
TV
Strictly
Come Dancing
Little Britain
Phoenix Nights
Fawlty Towers
Gavin & Stacey
Watching
The Fast Show
The Office
Rising Damp
Steptoe & Son
Dad's Army
Bullseye
Rainbow
The Sooty Show
Sooty & Co
Mr Bean
Creature Comforts
The Royle Family
The Catherine Tate Show
The Muppet Show
Hotel Babylon
Waterloo Road
Hi-de-Hi
Allo Allo
Victoria Wood - As Seen On TV
The Hotel Inspector
Only Fools and Horses
Extras
The Simpsons
Films
The Commitments
Anita & Me
The Blues Brothers
Singin' in the Rain
High Society
Titanic
The Life of Brian
Mr Bean's Holiday
Chicken Run
Airplane
When Harry Met Sally
The School of Rock
Love Actually
The Naked Gun series
The Wedding Date
This Is Spinal Tap
Any Wallace & Gromit ones
Meet the Parents
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Any Carry Ons
Essential reading matter
Anita
& Me by Meera Syal
'Shopaholic' series by Sophie Kinsella
Most chick-lit really
The Harry Potter series
Walking books
Short stories with a killer twist
Biographies
Anal trivia books
Cookery books
Magazines of the OK/Heat ilk (but only in the hairdressers when
such a lust for gossip can be excused)
The occasional wander into dark and seedy crime novels
Leigh loves
My husband
My friends
My family
I am passionate about walking, and when not writing am at my happiest in my
cagoule and
filthy boots yomping across a muddy hill in the Peak District or Shropshire
Books
Cats
YouTube
I also unashamedly adore TV - yes I do have a life outside my living room, and
no I don't just watch any old
crap that's on, but I do have a particular fondness for retro kids' shows, game
shows, sitcoms and adverts)
The hilarious Alan Carr
Classic comedy - Carry On, Hancock, Steptoe, Round the Horne, etc
Useless information
Sunshine
Weeknds away - especially when they are sponteneous and booked only the day
before
Health spas (I totally love going to Hoar Cross Hall with my mum for pampering
weekends)
Musicals
Any live music really
Cheesy things - which includes cheese itself as I am mildly obsessed with that
particular dairy product
and in sampling regional and rare varieties thereof (current faves are Mexicana
cheddar and
Wallace (as in Gromit)'s fave, Wensleydale, with mango and ginger!!!)
Good food in general in fact
Good alcohol
Peter Kay
Cuddly animals
The Rat Pack
The countryside - though I'm glad I don't live there anymore
Shopping
In general, I am a person who loves life and lives it to the full.
Having ‘experiences’ is much more important to me than acquiring possessions.
Should I ever come into money,
I would spend it on travel and holidays rather than houses and cars, which don’t
interest me at all.
Leigh loathes
Christmas
Dogs (though with three exceptions: Sooty's friend Sweep, Gromit - as in 'Wallace
&'
and my brother-in-law's rather lovable hound Josie)
Sprouts
Cabbage
Bible-bashers
People in general who like to force their views upon others
Simply Red
Westlife
Football
The Wizard of Oz (those flying monkeys terrified me as a child - never
got over it!)
Clowns (ditto)
Call centres
Being late/rushed
The cold
Tequila
Big Brother
People assuming I'm a bloke because of my name
My favourite pic of all: Nath (pre-haircut) and me with a few friends