Lesli Langtry

Thanks for agreeing to chat with Enchanting Reviews about your books, Lesli. Big fan!

1.What made you want to be a writer?
I’ve always enjoyed messing around with words and stories. As a kid, I would tell myself stories out loud for hours. I think maybe there’s a creative side it is impossible to repress.

2. How did you go from unpublished to published?
I got involved in Romance Writers of America and my local chapter. I worked and worked at it, writing four complete novels before selling. I attended RWA national workshops and it was at my third conference where I met my editor. She liked my idea and asked me to send it. The rest is history!

3. What do you like best about being a writer?
Getting paid to make stuff up. That’s pretty cool. My eight-year old asked me to define the word “fiction.” I told him it is something invented. He wanted to know if fiction was the truth. I said no. He then announced that I got paid for lying. I’m still trying to figure out if he’s right about that.

4. Do you have any writing rituals?
Not really. I sit with my laptop either in my office or any other room in the house and open up a file and go. There’s a lot of procrastination involved. But really, I just have to sit down and do it. I tend to eat and drink when I write. Usually Dove dark chocolates and tea. Some people can write while having a glass of wine or something like that. I’ve never tried it. I figure if I drank while writing, there’d be a whole lot of nothing on that page.

5. How did you come up with the idea to write about a family of assassins?
I had a dream about them. I was working on something totally different at the time. But the Bombays invaded my dreams and wouldn’t leave me alone until I started writing. Part of it too is that I’ve always loved adventure movies and books. And I like taking something normal - like widowed soccer mom Gin Bomba - and give her a job you couldn’t possibly imagine for her.

6. What sparked the idea for STAND BY YOUR HITMAN?
I’m a Survivor fan. In fact, I include a brief mention of the show in each book. And with Missi Bombay being an ingenious inventor, I thought “How cool would that be?” It turned out to be pretty cool after all.

7. What is your favorite quality of Missi's?
I like how she can look at something like dryer lint or a bobby pin and think, “You know what? I could kill someone with that.” She’s not fettered by the “rules.” Anything and everything has infinite possibilities. I love that.

8. What do you have in common with Missi?
I’m a chaotic thinker like her. The parts of the book where her mind wanders from work to Pop Tarts in two seconds are what I most relate to. I think just like that.

9. What do you like best about Lex?
He’s so laid-back and thoughtful. He really looks after Missi. I think that’s what we all want, isn’t it? I based his character on Det. Lee Scanlon from Medium. He’s just so amazing!

10. What was your favorite scene to write?
I loved writing the challenges, especially the ropes course/zip line one. I based that course on the set-up from my local Girl Scout camp. Every time I use it now, I smile.11. What's next for you?Coney Island Bombay’s book, I SHOT YOU BABE, comes out in July so I’ve been finishing that up. After that, who knows? I get fan mail asking for books on everyone in the Bombay Family from Paris to Grandma Maryland . And there are some other ideas I have for alternate series. We will just have to wait and see!

Can't wait to find out what's next in the crazy, fun series. Thanks for the interview!

Interviewed by Lisa
December 2008