Leigh K Cunningham

Leigh K Cunningham is a lawyer with a career as a senior executive for a number of public companies in her home country of Australia. She has three master’s degrees in law (Master of International Trade & Investment Law) and commerce (Master of Commerce) and an MBA (International Management) where she graduated as ‘Top Student’.

Leigh has won seven awards for her four titles with her latest title, BEING ANTI-SOCIAL chosen by IndieReader as one of the Best Indie Books for 2013. BEING ANTI-SOCIAL also won gold at the Readers' Favorite Book Awards (Chick-Lit) and gold at the Reader Views Literary Awards (Humor).

Leigh's other title for the adult fiction market, RAIN, won gold at the 2011 Indie Excellence Awards (Literary Fiction) and silver at the Independent Publisher Awards (IPPY) in the Regional Fiction: Australia/New Zealand category. RAIN was #1 on the Amazon bestseller list for Women’s Fiction.

THE GLASS TABLE and its sequel, SHARDS - Leigh's titles for the children's market, won silver medals at the Mom's Choice Awards (2010).

Leigh's next title, REWRITTEN, a story about second changes.

Website: http://www.leigh-k-cunningham.com/
Twitter: @leighcunningham
Facebook: Facebook profile
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/myprofile?trk=hb_side_pro

http://www.amazon.com/Leigh-K-Cunningham/e/B002RKB8DO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

• Promised Valley War on June 16, 2012
  
  Promised Valley War is the much-anticipated sequel to the award-winning Promised Valley Rebellion, and the second book in a four-book series. Prehistoric farmers inhabit a fertile river valley that their gods promised them in return for good behavior and obedience. Their enemies, the hill people, also believe they are entitled to the valley, and so an ongoing battle absorbs and consumes those who inhabit the land and sets the stage for yet another horrific war. You don't need to be a lover of books like Clan of The Cave Bear and The Land of Painted Caves to be drawn into the world Fritsch creates. He achieves this with believable, detailed characters who effectively engage us as if we were there with them. Readers will also enjoy the portrayal of societies, how they organize themselves and how rules and laws bring order to communities. And Fritsch cleverly incorporates modern day issues into these prehistoric times. Promised Valley War will no doubt follow on the heels of its predecessor with awards to its credit.
  
• Promised Valley Rebellion on June 16, 2012
  
  There's so much to enjoy and love about Promised Valley Rebellion. First, it is chock full of well-developed, unique characters, and in case you get lost with the number of players in this suspense-filled historical piece, the author has kindly included a Character List, which I read after I had finished the novel as a way to re-cap the story. I also really enjoyed the way Fritsch incorporated gay issues into prehistoric times - this has to be a first I'm sure, and created a fascinating juxtaposition as we tend to have a preconceived notion of prehistoric man. I'm interested to see what other current issues Fritsch might incorporate in the series. In summary, Fritsch has managed to merge historical fiction, suspense and gay issues in a character-filled novel set in prehistoric times. It's no wonder Promised Valley Rebellion has gold medals to show for his efforts. Do yourself a favor and read it for yourself.
  
• Promised Valley Conspiracy on Jan. 08, 2013
  
  When you read the writings of Ron Fritsch, you get a sense immediately that you are sitting around a campfire listening to a great storyteller passing on the truth about legends of a time long ago when Blue Sky, Early Harvest, Spring Rain, Fair Judge, Thunder Hunter and their people - the hill people and the valley people – fought wars in prehistoric times, but which resonate with us today if you’re paying attention to the words Fritsch carefully places on the page. It is artistry; artistry quite uniquely coupled with intensive action – there’s no time for the reader to take a breath – you hold it from start to finish anticipating yet always surprised. Promised Valley Conspiracy is the third book in a four book series by award-winning author, Ron Fritsch. You do not however need to have read books one and two to understand Promised Valley Conspiracy although you’ll soon want to. Each book alone and the series in particular is a moving saga about people, relationships and love. Sometimes to move forward, we can learn best from the past. Look firstly to the dawn of humanity when life was simple and it seems causes worth fighting for made more sense; a time when ironically tolerance and acceptance, honor and respect, were truths not ideals. “Heroes aren’t merely people who do what they’re expected to do.” We should all be heroes, and push ourselves to do the unexpected. A work of epic proportions, Ron Fritsch and his Promised Valley series will not disappoint. It combines the awfulness and tedium of endless conflict with illustrious descriptions and a myriad of wonderful literary images. Do yourself a favor.
  
• Promised Valley Peace on Dec. 29, 2013
  
  Rebellion, War and Conspiracy, and it all begins with disaffected youth who rise up against the king and his officials when a prince is not allowed to marry the daughter of a mere farmer. Into the boiling pot, you have the classes: farmers, city dwellers, royalty, bureaucracy and you might be mistaken for believing you are reading a dissertation on life today and the risks to society that simmer below the surface until a seemingly innocuous event brings about conflict that has no way to end ie until Peace. We are introduced to the prehistoric people of the fertile river valley and their enemies, the hill people in the first book in the Promised Valley series, Promised Valley Rebellion. While this story is filled with an incredible array of complex, interesting characters like Blue Sky, Early Harvest, Spring Rain, Fair Judge (all aptly named), the author has thoughtfully provided a character list to keep it all in check. As we progress through to Promised Valley War, the second book, we start to see society from an objective viewpoint and although thousands of years may have passed, not a lot has changed – the same structures, division, hierarchy, discrimination, angst yet in spite of it all, there is still some hope. The onslaught of war and the overwhelming threat to life and the beauty of the valley have an effect on the characters that Fritsch delivers with a deep knowing of our humanness. It’s all too real. If you were not already feeling that the story, setting, and characters are epic in every proportion, you certainly know this is true by the end of book three in the series, Promised Valley Conspiracy. Comparisons with Homer’s Iliad are fitting. Other than war mongers, no one believes war is anything other than devastating for everyone involved and its reach extends far beyond those at the forefront. We certainly get that in a heart-felt way from Conspiracy. I for one have always hoped, especially through Promised Valley Conspiracy, that the war would end and peace would once again return to the valley. It was difficult to see how this might happen, but still we hoped, we hoped for a promise of peace. Then Fritsch honored his readers with this satisfying conclusion, which was no easy feat – we were heavily invested in the people and their conflict, and we wanted to see the youths who started it all in Promised Valley Rebellion come into age, and be the ones to achieve what did seem impossible. Congratulations, Ron Fritsch on an epic, multi-award winning series (deservedly so). I’m only sorry that it had to end, but thank you for the incredible journey.