About Leah

I strive to live an honest, passion-filled, positive life and I constantly remind myself to appreciate every moment I’m gifted. I’m blessed with a beautiful and healthy 12 year old daughter, who I homeschool and single parent. We laugh a lot – the kid has a wicked sense of humor – and I cherish every day I get to be her mom. Even when I can’t convince her Star Wars is awesome and scary movies are fun.

My Work

I’m self-employed as a virtual assistant (VA) and have a degree in accounting. I really enjoy the variety of tasks I get to perform on a day-to-day basis, which range from website development to bookkeeping to editorial services. The key to longevity and success in my career, besides variety, is enjoying the work I get to do. And while I do enjoy the virtual assistance business, I never lose sight of my goals and dreams.

My Dream

I long to put pen to paper and scribble the crazy tales my muse whispers to me. Okay. Sometimes she whispers, sometimes she yells at the top of her lungs. Sharing those stories with the world, getting paid to write my fiction, will be a dream come true!

I’ve been writing since the third grade, so about 25 years. And I still have nearly every piece created – yes, the good, the bad and the hideously freaky – including the first book written, illustrated and published by moi in the 5th grade. I plan to upload a scan of it at some point in the future because it’s cute and brings back fun memories from my days in elementary school.

However, for most of my life, I’ve struggled with setting and maintaining a routine for my creative writing. I don’t know what it is; I can churn out non-fiction and technical writing like nobody’s business, but give my imagination free reign and all wheels stop turning. My muse just stands around, biting her nails, and giggling like an idiot. Not for lack of ideas. Just plain, old-fashioned fear of rejection, hecklers, and overall negative reactions to my work. I will overcome that negative self-talk!

I am getting better though. I realize I don’t have to write to please everyone all of the time. I write because I have to unload these stories or else my head might pop off. Also, I’ve learned that I don’t have to produce pages of gold every time I sit down, but the act itself keeps the creative fires burning, and let’s face it, my muse needs all the warmth she can get when she’s hiding at the bottom of her hole.

UPDATE 2/26/10: I now write every day at 8 AM and 10 PM for at least 500 words each.

UPDATE 6/8/11: The daily writing continues. I guess the above schedule helped. Yay!

UPDATE 11/9/11: Must force self to submit finished stories. Why am I dragging my feet on this step?!

My Blog

You can subscribe to posts via RSS or e-mail.

Please feel free to leave a comment on any post that tickles your fancy. I blog about a wide array of topics including, but definitely not limited to, my fiction, movies I’ve watched, books I’ve read, causes I support, and other rants you’ll just have to discover for yourself. I’m a very passionate person, so given the right topic, I can write far more than some may want to read. Consider yourself warned.

If you’d like to contact me directly, please send an e-mail to leahabney [at] gmail [dot] com. I will do my best to respond to every e-mail in a timely manner, but please be patient as my plate is rather full.

Thank you for stopping by!

Awards a.k.a. You Mean Someone Reads This Stuff?