Our guest today: Leslie Lehr
Why we love her: Her writing is heartfelt!
Her latest: What A Mother Knows
The Scoop: Michelle Mason can't remember that day, that drive, that horrible crash that killed the young man in her car. All she knows is she's being held responsible, and her daughter is missing.
Despite a shaky marriage, a threatening lawsuit, and troubling flashbacks pressing in on her, Michelle throws herself into searching. Her daughter in the one person who might know what really happened that day, but the deeper Michelle digs, the more she questions the innocence of those closest to her, even herself. As her search hurtles toward a shattering revelation, Michelle must face the biggest challenge of her life.
A poignant story of the unshakable bond between mother and child, What a Mother Knows is about finding the truth that can set love free.
Our thoughts: You'll be thinking about this one long after you finish!
Giveaway: One SIGNED copy! Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win. We'll choose the winners on Sunday, May 12th after 3pm PST.
Fun fact: Leslie won a student Emmy while attending USC's School of Cinematic Arts!
Where to read more about Leslie: Her website, Facebook and Twitter.
CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...LESLIE LEHR'S 5 FIRSTS AND LASTS
Kiss
First: A boy on the swim team who had braces. I thought it went fine, but he broke up with me five minutes later because I had braces too. He was afraid we would get our lips locked.
Most recent kiss? When my husband was passing by my office, I asked him what to write about that and he came in and kissed me. He has really soft lips.
Book
First: Are You My Mother - the one where the little bird asks everyone, even a tractor, if it his mother. So sad – and so happy when he finds her. Hmm. Maybe that’s why I write about mothers so much. Wanting one, being one, needing one.
Most recent book? Is This Tomorrow, by Caroline Leavitt. The release is the same day as What A Mother Knows. She’s an amazing storyteller and a real sweetheart. We are hoping to do some events together.
Risk
First: Hitting Send on an email to invite a man I hadn’t seen in twenty years for a cup of coffee. I was networking at a lot of coffee meetings, so I told myself it was just business, but secretly I hoped he was single. I stared at the Send button for a good ten minutes before I clicked it.
Latest risk I took? When he emailed back and said he’d buy the coffee, I dressed up in black sundress and high heels. Our coffee lasted three hours. He was single.
Aha! Moment…after that
I’d made it clear on that coffee date that I would never get married again, and he had never married at all, so four years later, when I told him I changed my mind and I didn’t want to keep dating unless marriage was a possibility, he started laughing. He said not getting married was my idea, and he showed me an old newspaper article he had clipped a month after that coffee meeting, entitled “How to Buy A Diamond Ring.”
Latest Aha! Moment:I just finished chemo for breast cancer and lost all the things that me feel beautiful – especially my long hair. I felt guilty, as though I had seduced my husband by looking as beautiful as possible - ever since I strolled into that coffee shop in my black sundress. But he still thinks I’m beautiful. So the aha moment is that he saw more in me than I did. And that there really are good guys out there. And good people as well - so many people have reached out to me, it’s been a revelation. We are beloved and we are not alone.
Hell ya moment
First: When I learned to read, it felt like playing hooky. I got a book for my ninth birthday and hid out for the rest of my party to read it. My mom was mad, but I got away with it. Now when I read, I still feel like I’m playing hooky, and I still get away with it. But now I get to call it ‘research.’
Recent Hell ya moment- A book reviewer emailed me halfway through reading What A Mother Knows and said she was laughing and crying and couldn’t put it down and her boyfriend was getting annoyed. She emailed again in the morning, excited about the ending - she read it in two days. At first I was bummed that I spent years getting the story right, and she read it in two days. Then I thought, isn’t that the point? Hell ya!
Thanks, Leslie!