Author Spotlight: Welcome Romantasy Writer Leslie Ann Moore

I really love learning about new-to-me authors through social media, which is why I’m really loving Threads and BlueSky. That’s how I discovered author Leslie Ann Moore and I’m so happy to introduce you to Leslie and her magic today.

Leslie Ann grew up in Los Angeles and has always been a storyteller. She is the author of the award-winning romantic fantasy Griffin’s Daughter Trilogy, the award-winning science-fantasy series The Nuetierra Chronicles, and with her husband, novelist and screenwriter Aaron Mason, Littoral Magic, the first book in the furry-friendly fantasy series All Oceans Aglow,  now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Leslie Ann is the past Vice President of The Greater Los Angeles Writers Society and a past member of Costumers Guild West. She has appeared at numerous conventions and conferences as a panelist, speaking about her own works, the creative and business aspects of writing, cosplay, and fandom in general. She and Aaron make their home in Southern California.

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Remaining Creative in Challenging Times

These last few months been a real roller coaster ride of emotions for me. Without going into too much detail, I will tell you that every day has been a struggle not to let negativity and despair overwhelm me. So, how do I cope?
I sit down at my desk, open my laptop, open the file of my latest manuscript, and I write.

Remaining creative in challenging times requires work. And by work, I don’t just mean a project to work on. One must do the mental work to keep in the headspace that allows for the creative forces to flow.

We live in a time where we are inundated with external negativity. It’s like a firehose, powerful, relentless. It can so easily sweep us away, and many are lost in the flood. I was lost for awhile and I didn’t think I’d ever resurface. But, thanks to a strong, loving partner, family and friends, I tamped down my fear and vowed to do whatever it took to regain my balance.

When I write, I enter into a world of my own making, and I interact with people who I know and love. I immerse myself in their problems, and the problems of the world they live in. While I’m living in their world, which is, in fact, my world, I forget about the real world.

To stay creative with my writing, I engage in other activities that are equally creative. I am an avid sewist and cosplayer, so I always have a costume project in progress. The majority of my cosplay has been in the Star Trek universe, and ST continues to be my favorite but I’ve also done cosplay from other franchises—Dr. Who, DC (Cat Woman), Game Of Thrones—as well as steampunk and historically accurate Victorian ensembles. As of this writing, I’ve just completed a recreation of a famous gown from a classic Star Trek episode (for my fellow Trekkers, it’s Droxine’s blue ensemble, featured in “The Cloudminders”), and I’ve begun work on what will be my most ambitious costume project to date—Emperor Georgiou’s throne room ensemble, complete with crown and sword, from ST-Strange New Worlds. If this one turns out as I hope, it will be a competition piece. We’ll see! Fingers crossed!

The Nuetierra Chronicles, my science-fantasy retelling of the Snow White fairy tale (from a feminist perspective!) has a definite steampunk aesthetic, and I have a costume in mind that will recreate one of the ensembles worn by the villainess of the story. Her name is Lourdessa, and she has such style, such wicked panache, that I can’t not wear her clothes!

Hmmm. I see a pattern here! Cat Woman, Emperor Georgiou, Lourdessa Hernaan…I guess I just love to cosplay Bad Girls!

To sum up, the strategies for maintaining the creativity that drives my writing all involve remaining creative in other ways. To be a creative person in these very challenging times takes a lot of strength and courage. Making something that will connect with the humanity of others, that is beautiful and true, and sharing it with the world is my way of fighting back against all of the darkness and negativity.

A quote from the musical artist Lenny Kravitz—“We’ve got to let Love rule!”

Skein of Fates

Nuetierra. An alien world where twin moons light the night and massive air-breathing jellyfish float through the violet skies trolling for prey. Nue Bayona. A gaslit, steam-powered city caught between the iron fist of a despot and the bloody fist of a terrorist… Four hundred years have passed since The Great War toppled the technologically advanced colonial civilization created by refugees fleeing a dying planet.

Since its fall, the descendants of the survivors have gradually rebuilt a new society on the bones of the old. Deanna Hernaan, daughter of Eduard, the former Alcalde of Nue Bayona, spends much of her time caring for her mentally damaged younger sister, Ceilia. Six years ago, her stepmother Lourdessa led a brutal political coup against their father. With the consent of the city’s elite, Lourdessa rules through patronage and oppression while Deanna’s father languishes in prison. The common citizens chafe beneath Lourdessa’s yoke and yearn for their lost democracy. Many in Nue Bayona support a resistance movement led by the mysterious figure known only as Faustin, despite the fact his violent tactics have left innocent people dead. Threatened by Deanna’s popularity, Lourdessa jealously arranges for her assassination.

But the attempt fails and Deanna escapes from the city. Cast adrift in a hostile wilderness and near death, she is rescued by a band of diminutive hunters, members of a mysterious race she knows only from history books—the Tiqui. Recovering in their distant village, Deanna meets a remarkable woman—the Tiqui chieftess Yellow Bird. The chieftess possesses the shamanic gift of foresight. Her visions have revealed that a girl of the tall folk would one day come, a girl whose fate is inextricably linked to that of the Tiqui.

When Deanna’s safe haven is destroyed in a night of horrific violence, she must make a choice: leave the Tiqui for a life of exile, or dare to embrace her destiny by embarking on the road to revolution. Dangerous and uncertain, disaster or salvation waits at its end—for both Tiqui and tall folk alike. Skein of Fates is the first book in the Nuetierra Chronicles.

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