Leslie Esdaile Banks

Leslie Esdaile Banks, née Peterson (December 11, 1959 – August 2, 2011) was an American writer under the pennames of Leslie Esdaile, Leslie E. Banks, Leslie Banks, Leslie Esdaile Banks and L. A. Banks. She wrote in various genres, including African-American literature, romance, women's fiction, crime suspense, dark fantasy/horror and non-fiction.

She won several literary awards, including the 2008 Essence Literary Awards Storyteller of the Year.^[2][3]

Biography

Leslie Ann Peterson was born and raised in Philadelphia. She married Michael Esdaile, ; they had one child, a daughter, Helena Esdaile. The couple divorced and she remarried, to Al Banks, in 2000.

Leslie Banks contributed to magazines and newspaper columns, and wrote commercial fiction for five major publishers: St. Martin's Press (NYC), Simon & Schuster (NYC), Kensington Publishing (NYC), BET/Arabesque (NYC), and Genesis Press (MS).^[4] Books 1 and 2 of The Vampire Huntress Legend Series (Minion and The Awakening, respectively), have been optioned for Hollywood films by GothamBeach Entertainment and Griot Entertainment. Originally a nine-book series, The Vampire Huntress Legend Series has been expanded to twelve (the last being called "The Thirteenth").^[5]

Illness and death

In June 2011 it was announced on Banks' website that she had been diagnosed with late stage adrenal cancer. It was revealed that due to the extreme costs of her medical care, her family opened up a charitable fund in her name in one of the local Pennsylvania banks. The literary community also rallied around the ailing author, with several supporters starting a series of auctions where the proceeds went towards Banks' medical care.^[6][7][8] Authors including P.N. Elrod, Heather Graham and Charlaine Harris donated books and services to raise funds for Banks, as did others in the literary community.^[9]

Banks' official website was updated to reflect her death from cancer on August 2, 2011, at age 51.^[10] She is survived by her daughter, Helena Esdaile.

Bibliography

As Leslie Esdaile

Romance novels

• Sundance (1996)
• Slow Burn (1997)
• Love Notes (2001)
• Love Lessons (2001)
• River of Souls (2001)
• Love Potions (2002)
• Still Waters Run Deep (2002)
• Tomorrow’s Promise (2002)
• Through the Storm (2002)
• Sister Got Game (2004)
• Keepin’ It Real (2005)
• Take Me There (2006)
• Better Than (June 2008)

Romance novellas

• “Home For The Holidays” in Midnight Clear (et al.) (2000) (*)
• “Time Enough for Love” in After the Vows (et al.) (2001) (*)
• “Valentine’s Love” in Candlelight and You (et al.) (2003) (*)
• “Shameless” in Sisterhood of Shopaholics (et al.) (2003) (*)
• “A 'No Drama' Valentine's” in Valentin's Day is Killing Me (et al.) (2006) (*)

Alexis Grant

Men of the Delta Force Series

• Sizzle & Burn
• Locked at Loaded

Non-Fiction

• How To Write A Romance For The New Market (1999) (*)

As Leslie E. Banks

Drama, T.V. Adaptation Novels

• Soul Food: For Better, For Worse (Oct. 1st, 2002)
• Soul Food: Through Thick and Thin (Mar. 1st, 2003)
• Soul Food: No Mountain High Enough (Sept. 30th, 2003)

As Leslie Banks

Non-Fiction

• “Light at the End of the Tunnel” in Chicken Soup for the African American Soul (2004) (*)

As Leslie Esdaile Banks

Crime/Suspense

• Betrayal of the Trust (2004)
• Blind Trust (2005)
• Shattered Trust (2006)
• No Trust (final book) (September 2007)

As L. A. Banks

Crime/Suspense

• Scarface, The Beginning, Volume 1 (2006)
• Scarface, Point of No Return, Volume 2 (TBD)

Paranormal

The Vampire Huntress Legend Series

1. Minion (trade paperback) (2003) (mass market) (2004)
2. The Awakening (trade paperback) (2004) (mass market) (2004)
3. The Hunted (trade paperback) (2004) (mass market) (2005)
4. The Bitten (trade paperback) (2005) (mass market) (2005)
5. The Forbidden (trade paperback) (2005) (mass market) (2006)
6. The Damned (trade paperback) (2006) (mass market) (2007)
7. The Forsaken (trade paperback) (2006) (mass market) (2007)
8. The Wicked (trade paperback) (2007) (mass market) (2008)
9. The Cursed (trade paperback) (2007) (mass market) (2008)
10. The Darkness (trade paperback) (2008) (mass market) (2008)
11. The Shadows (trade paperback) (2008) (Book 11) (2009)
12. The Thirteenth (trade paperback) (2009)
13. The Shadow Walker: A Neteru Academy Novel (trade paper back) (2010) (mass market) (2010)

NOTE: The Darkness (10), The Shadows (11), and The Thirteenth (12) are called The Armageddon Finale to The Vampire Huntress (trademark) Legend Series.

Crimson Moon Novels

1. Bad Blood (2008)
2. Bite The Bullet (2008)
3. Undead on Arrival (2009)
4. Cursed to Death (2009)
5. Never Cry Werewolf (2010)
6. Left for Undead (2010)

Dark Avengers Series

1. Finders Keepers (2008)
2. Loser's Weepers (2008)

Paranormal novellas

• Stroke Of Midnight (et al.) (2004) (*)

(New York Times bestseller extended list 2004)

• Dark Dreams (edited by Brandon Massey) (2004) (*)
• Voices From the Other Side: Dark Dreams 2 (edited by Brandon Massey) (2006) (*)
• Love at First Bite (et al.) (2006) (*)
• My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding (edited by P.N. Elrod) (2006) (*)
• Vegas Bites (et al.) (2006) (*)
• Creepin' (edited by Monica Jackson) (2007) (*)
• Dark Delicacies 2 (et al.) (2007) (*)
• On the Line (et al.) (2007) (*)
• Hotter Than Hell (edited by Kim Harrison) (2008) (*)
• The Darker Mask (edited by Gary Phillips and Christopher Chambers (2008) (*)
• The Ancestors (et al.) (2008) (*)

(*) Indicates story was featured in an anthology.

Articles

• Fiction Factor – Building Characters Through Realism
• Authors Supporting Authors Positively

References

External links

• Leslie Esdaile Banks Website at the Wayback Machine (archived January 10, 2014)
• The Vampire Huntress Legend Series Website
• Crimson Moon Novels Website
• Official Leslie Banks MySpace
• neteruacademy.com
• L. A. Banks at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Interviews

• Romance in Color
• The Sister Circle Book Club
• WritersNewsWeekly.com Literary Spotlight

Reviews

• Paranormal romance Reviews
• The Best Reviews