Meet the Author
Leslie Simon is an LA based author with a passion for historic drama and a deep love of fresh narrative voices. Leslie's literary work often explores themes of otherness, found-family, and elements of the supernatural and macabre. Her poems "The Suicide of Lucretia", "The Tragedy of Paint-Bound Love", and "If I Were a Man" were published in the 2021 and 2022 editions of Utah Tech's Southern Quill Literary Journal. Her poem, "What Damned Creatures are We?" will be published Summer 2025.
Leslie's poetry chapbook, "Wicked Women", a collection of poems told from the perspective of history's most hated women, was published by Wipf and Stock publishers in February of 2025. From Eden's Eve to Marie Antoinette and every bank robber, pirate, shoplifter, poisoner, and serial killer in between, "Wicked Women" challenges readers to reflect on what makes women villainous in a world where men are the monster-makers.
When Leslie isn't writing, she can be found acting, modeling, doing makeup artistry, and singing. Her favorite characters to bring to life are those that reflect the unwilling heroes and tragic villains she enjoys writing about. Most recently, Leslie starred as the Bride in Black (Insidious: Into the Further) at Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights with guest appearances on select event nights as Saskia Van Helsing (Eternal Bloodlines) and Parker's Mother (Insidious: Into the Further).
About Me
I was raised in Phoenix, Arizona, in a middle-class suburban home with a green lawn in back, and a cement drive in front. Growing up as one of six children - and a triplet! - reading became an escape from my loud, bustling homelife. From a very young age I was drawn to stories of monsters and outcasts. In particular stories of vampires, rebellious female pirates, and revolutionary teens. Hunger Games, Vampirates, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and The Book Thief were just a handful of the books that shaped me into the writer I am today, but I would be no writer at all without my father's love of storytelling. As a child, bedtime stories were a regular treat. Tales of buccaneer bunnies, bed-jumping monkeys, and puddle-hopping princesses were the perfect fodder for sweet dreams. When my dad wasn't reading from a page, he was telling tales of his fable-like father, his near-death run-in with an axe murderer, and his foolish childhood dog, Hans. His love of storytelling grew into my love of storytelling, and I discovered words have the power to change worlds and invent new ones.
Over the years, my love of storytelling evolved into a love of creating. I began telling stories in as many mediums as I could, most notably on stage, on a page, and onscreen; learning all the while, that stories are not bound to a single medium, but the breadth of an artist's imagination.
Today, my life is made of stories. I read stories, I write stories, I act and sing and breathe stories. And I wouldn't have it any other way.