We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emma Leigh Reed. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emma Leigh below.

Hi Emma Leigh, thanks for joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Without a doubt, perseverance is needed to be successful. Many times we feel defeated and beaten down when things don’t seem successful. What what is success? That is a very individualized answer. My dream of being a fiction writer has been with me since I was a child. This dream had many starts and stops to it. It seemed obstacle after obstacle was thrown at me. But with perseverance and hard work, the dream is attainable, and has been attained. I started out my writing journeying with poetry and was published in a few anthologies, but it was not my passion. I found my passion when I wrote my first fiction story. From that point on, I knew there was nothing that would be able to fully stop me from writing. There was a time in my life where I took a few years off from writing, figuring this would be the breaking point for me. What I found out instead was that although I wasn’t actively writing, my mind continued to spin the plot lines and new story ideas that I continue to write today. Success cannot be achieved without perseverance.

Emma Leigh, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a fiction writer who has published in the genres of romantic suspense and women’s fiction under Emma Leigh Reed, and in crime thrillers under E.L. Reed. The crime thrillers are a series based on female serial killers. Each book is a stand alone, but the detective and medical examiner continue through each story.

I can be found at emmaleighreed.com and elreedauthor.com

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love being able to create fiction books. Not only do readers love to “escape from reality” and read fiction, but they also require a sense of realism within the story. I love being able to create characters that my readers can relate to. My characters have so many elements of me in them. I am one who has endured a lot of heartache and tough times. Those give me a unique set of tools for my characters. There is nothing like receiving an email from a reader stating how much they can relate to one of my characters.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One of my romantic suspense books was based on domestic violence. When I wrote this, I had just gotten out of an abusive marriage and this book was extremely cathartic for me to write. Not only was I able to process my own emotions while writing this book, but I received a handful of emails from women who were experiencing the same situation and told me that this book made them feel less alone and gave them the courage to get out of a bad situation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emmaleighreed.com https://elreedauthor.com
• Instagram: @emmaleighreed
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaLeighReedAuthor
• TikTok: @emmaleighreed and @e.l.reed2023

Image Credits
Racine Photography Kenny Holcomb (book covers)