Leigh Eddings (30 September 1937 – 28 February 2007; née Judith Leigh Schall), was the wife of

David Eddings David Carroll Eddings (July 7, 1931 – June 2, 2009) was an American fantasy writer. With his wife Leigh, he authored several best-selling epic fantasy novel series, including ''The Belgariad'' (1982–84), ''The Malloreon'' (1987–91), '' The ...

and co-author of many of his later works and uncredited co-author of his early works, and married him 27 October 1962.

Biography

Born Judith Leigh Schall in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, USA, she met Eddings in Seattle. According to her husband she was part Choctaw. She had been in the Air Force and had been described by her husband as a world-class cook, a highly skilled fisherwoman and an excellent markswoman. Leigh married David Eddings in 1962, and adopted one boy in 1966, Scott David. They adopted a younger girl between 1966 and 1969. In 1969 they lost custody of both children and each were sentenced to a year in jail from separate trials after pleading guilty to

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

. Though the nature of the abuse, the trial and the sentencing were all extensively reported in South Dakota newspapers at the time, these details of the Eddings' life never resurfaced during their later successful joint career as fantasy authors, only reappearing several years after both had died. After both served their sentences, David and Leigh Eddings moved to Denver in 1971, where David found work in a grocery store. She co-authored '' High Hunt'' (1973) with David, and all of David's subsequent books, but was not credited as a co-author until the publication of ''

Belgarath the Sorcerer ''Belgarath the Sorcerer'' is a fantasy novel by American writers David Eddings and Leigh Eddings. Set in the same universe as the Eddings' ''The Belgariad'' and ''The Malloreon'', it is a prequel to the other series, although the framework stor ...

'' in 1995. It was

Lester del Rey Lester del Rey (June 2, 1915 – May 10, 1993) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the author of many books in the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series, and the editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science ...

who believed that multi-authorships were a problem and that it would be better if David Edding's name alone appeared on the books. Suffering a series of strokes, Leigh died 28 February 2007 in Carson City, Nevada.

References

External links

Interview
with Mr. and Mrs. Eddings a
sffworld.com
* American fantasy writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers American women novelists 1931 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American novelists American people of Choctaw descent People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Pennsylvania {{US-fantasy-writer-stub