Hey everyone,

Today’s feature is on Leanne Anderson, another homegrown author/writer.

ML: Tell us about Leanne Anderson.

LA: Well I was born on the small island of St. Lucia.  My mother raised me to always strive for the best.  She always wanted all her children to go to college because she never had the opportunity to get an education, not even a primary school education.  So that’s just what we all did.  Education is a very big part of my household now.  I have a Master’s Degree in Education, and I am the Director of an Educational Program called Empowering for Excellence.  I love helping young people– that’s just what I do.

Right now I am simply trying my hardest to see how I can give back to a nation that seem to be putting everything else before the well being of our youth.

ML: Please describe what the story/book is about without giving out too many details.

LA: Well I have written two books.  The first Painfully Silent: The Unread Pages Of Her Life, which is about a young college girl who thought she met her Prince Charming, but he turned out to be the monster that she was running away from all her life.  It is focused on Domestic Violence, and its continuous cycle.

The first book was released last year, and the second book, which is a continuation of the first will be released on March 26^th, 2016, in Brooklyn NY.

ML: Briefly, what led up to this book?

LA: It’s a topic that most young people dodge, and don’t want to admit that they are actually going through, or in a relationship where they are either being abused or they are the abuser.  It’s just to bring an issue, a problem that has been swept under the rug to the ears of as many people as I can.  It is a serious problem, and we need to speak up about it.

ML: Where do you write from?  I have always heard of so many writers having writers block, have you experienced that and does your environment play a role in your writing?

LA: Well I write from the voices of many young people, and older individuals who have shared their grief with me.  The thing is most of us don’t realize that in some way and at some point in our life, we were either the abuser or the one being abused.  Are there different levels or degree to it?  I believe so.  But it is still wrong across the board.  Abuse comes in many ways (physical, emotional, psychological, financial).  So in many ways most of us can relate to this issue, and feel some degree of what those individuals are feeling.  So sometimes I feel my story way down in the pit of my stomach.

ML: Best piece(s) of advice for writers trying to break in.

LA: Self-publish, and write from your heart…don’t let anyone change your story – tell your story the way you want it to be told.

ML: Are you self-published, if so why? What are your biggest learning experience(s) or surprise(s) throughout the whole writing or publishing process?

LA: Yes I am self-published.  I am able to tell my story the way I want it to be told, without being a puppet on a string…

ML: Something personal about you people may be surprised to know.

LA: I am a terrible speller.

ML: Where can one purchase your book?

LA: Amazon, Createspace, Kindledirect, St. Lucia Books, Empowering For Excellence in Brooklyn, NY.

ML: Do you do motivational speaking, if so where can you be reached or contacted?

LA: Yes and I can be reached via email at summer143@gmail.com for further information.

ML: What’s next?

LA: On to my next book (Big surprise), and finding new ways to help the youth.

Leanne teams up with a not-for-profit organization (New Life World Wide Ministries) in providing school supplies for the less fortunate.  If anyone would like to donate any type of school supplies, she can be reached through her email summer143@gmail.com.

Here is a picture of the cover of her first book:

Please go support another sister and get a copy of her book..if you don’t like paper books, do like me and get the kindle version: (don’t mind my library doh 🙂 )