Location: United States
Member Since: Dec. 20, 2015

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Patricia A. Leslie

Biography

Patricia A. Leslie is left-handed, and a Virgo. She loves dogs (and cats are her least favorite animal - which is a departure for a writer of speculative paranormal fiction). Her degree from UC Berkeley is in cultural anthropology. An interesting fact is that her admiration for Ursula K. LeGuin is what finally led her to studying anthropology in her forties (since Ms. LeGuin's work is all very deeply informed by anthropological ideas). And when Patricia did get an opportunity to go to college to study anthro, she in fact got her degree in the very anthro department that was founded and developed by Ms. LeGuin's father, Alfred Kroeber.
Sadly, it's become clear to me that as far as eBook readers are concerned, they are only interested in my work if I give it away for free. Well, I am done with selling myself and my talent short. So, I am already in the process (by end of May 2023) of bringing out ALL my Elfin Scots AND Valedictoria novels in new print editions. This will include the newest Elfin Scots novel, never published as an eBook (The Elfin Scots - Aeva Waterfall: 1967) and the newest Valedictoria (Valedictoria Scott and the Land of Glamour), as well as my as-yet unpublished Y-A steampunk spinoff, "A Boy and His Monitor Lizard", and the novelette collection, "For the Dark Season".
My in-print fiction will always be available online, on the AbeBooks website, at the seller's link specified in this section (Quailcottage Books). I am leaving ONE novel (The Elfin Scots, Janet Dunbar: 1790; Part One) up for free here, so that anyone who really loves the series, or my other works, will be able to find this update, and the link to the print editions. To read the whole novel (including Part Two) will require purchasing a paperback edition through AbeBooks.

Smashwords Interview

What are your five favorite books, and why?
"Bambi" and "Bambi's Children" - because Felix Salten was a very talented writer, and a dedicated naturalist. His books were done a terrible disservice by Disney. And I learned a lot about both Nature and human nature, from the two books. Then there's Sir Terry Pratchett's "Monstrous Regiment", which is perfectly brilliant in the way it satirizes militarism, international politics, and patriarchy, all while providing laughs on just about every page. A close runner-up, for me, is his "Hogfather", which even got made into a TV film in the UK. Last, only because I'm being limited to five books, I guess It'll have to be "Cold Comfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons. She satirized ChickLit decades before anybody knew the term or the concept. I only left out many favorite authors, because it's impossible to single out "favorites" from among their entire body of excellent work.
Describe your desk
It has a computer and a printer, a mug with a broken-off handle, full of pens and a letter opener; one of my credit cards, some folders containing works in progress; a clipboard; many half-sheets of paper with notes about stuff I'm buying, people's addresses, etc.; and Katharine Briggs's "An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogles, and Other Supernatural Creatures".
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Patricia A. Leslie online

Website: http://www.LeslieBookCommunity.com

Where to buy in print

https://www.abebooks.com/quailcottage-books-el-cerrito-ca-u.s.a./72355788/sf

Books

The Elfin Scots, Janet Dunbar: 1790 - Part One by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 97,900. Language: Commonwealth English. Published: February 25, 2021 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Paranormal, Fiction » Romance » Paranormal » General
Told in a spirited Regency comedy-of-manners style, inspired by traditional Scottish lore, readers will appreciate Ms. Leslie’s well-paced storytelling, and her insightful, witty explorations of human nature. Being a coming-of-age tale, the central theme is, inevitably, love.
Valedictoria Scott and the Secret of Triumphia by
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 66,770. Language: Commonwealth English. Published: December 15, 2020 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Steampunk & retropunk, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Satire
(1.00 from 1 review)
Valedictoria is a modern young woman of alternative 1870s England. Having realised her dream of attending a Secretarialist Academy, the former kitchen-maid is now eagerly pursuing the dream job and independent life that should be possible for a smart, ambitious woman. This time, she tries Haute Couture in glamorous Parisia! Surely no uncanny adventures await her in such a civilized, cultured city?
Valedictoria Scott and the Diplomatic Mission by
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 56,180. Language: Commonwealth English. Published: October 30, 2020 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Steampunk & retropunk, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Satire
Valedictoria joins a diplomatic party on a daring journey across the Atlantic, to the Union of Columbian States of Americia, and soon finds herself a guest at Sir Anthony Harrow's aunt's mansion! Not the best timing for a break-up with that gentleman, in this strange new land of spies and politicians, trade-unions and secret societies, fanatics and fantastic creatures, romance and treachery!
Valedictoria Scott and the Scotian Adventure by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 54,240. Language: Commonwealth English. Published: September 30, 2020 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Steampunk & retropunk, Fiction » Romance » Sci-fi
Valedictoria begins her first job as a professional secretarialist with Barkingmede Ventures Ltd., Finest Tea Importers. Almost at once, the work whisks her to a remote island off the coast of Scotia, north of Anglia. In her second plucky adventure, Ria finds herself in a world of many wonders: slightly mad science, amazing mechanical inventions, pirates of the air, and monsters of the deep!
Valedictoria Scott and the Unexpected Legacy by
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 37,970. Language: Commonwealth English. Published: August 31, 2020 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Steampunk & retropunk, Fiction » Romance » Paranormal » General
On her twenty-first birthday, in 1870, orphaned scullery-maid Valedictoria unexpectedly receives the deed to gloomy, heavily-cobwebbed Ravensdale Manor, and soon finds herself on a steam-powered airship, heading to the rural northern province of Eyorke, where secrets, danger, bad weather, and romance await. first in a new lighthearted, satirical Steampunk/Gothic Romance novella series.

Patricia A. Leslie's tag cloud

1800s steampunk romance    airships    alternate 1800s history    alternatopian scifi    celtic folklore    comedy of manners    comedy satire scifi    corsets goggles top hats    fairy folklore    fantasy romance    feisty female lead character    gothic romance satire    historical fantasy    humorous gothic romance    novella series    paranormal romance    regency romance    romantic comedy    satiric gothic romance    satiric novella    satiric novella series    satiric romance    satiric steampunk    scifi comedy    scottish folklore    speculative fiction    steam power    steam punk    steampunk    steampunk lite    steampunk novella    steampunk romance    steampunk satire    steampunk series    steampunkish    victorian era scifi    victorian scifi    victorian steampunk