Leslie Esdaile Banks ( Peterson; December 11, 1959 – August 2, 2011) was an American writer under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s of Leslie Esdaile, Leslie E. Banks, Leslie Banks, Leslie Esdaile Banks and L. A. Banks. She wrote in various genres, including

African-American literature African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of slave narratives, African-A ...

, 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. ''leslieesdailebanks.com'' August 2006

Biography

Leslie Ann Peterson was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She married Michael Esdaile,; they had one child, a daughter, Helena Esdaile. The couple divorced and she remarried, to Al Banks, in 2000. Banks contributed to magazines and newspaper columns, and wrote commercial fiction for five major publishers: St. Martin's Press (NYC),

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

(NYC), Kensington Publishing (NYC), BET/Arabesque (NYC), and Genesis Press (MS). Books 1 and 2 of ''

The Vampire Huntress Legend Series The Vampire Huntress Legend Series (VHLS) is a twelve book series written by Leslie Esdaile Banks under the pen name L.A. Banks. The series centers around a young "twenty-something" year old woman named Damali Richards who is a spoken word artist ...

'' (''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").

Illness and death

In June 2011, it was announced on Banks' website that she had been diagnosed with late-stage

adrenal cancer An adrenal tumor or adrenal mass is any benign or malignant neoplasms of the adrenal gland, several of which are notable for their tendency to overproduce endocrine hormones. Adrenal cancer is the presence of malignant adrenal tumors, and includes ...

. 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. Authors including

P. N. Elrod Patricia Nead Elrod (b. 1954) is an American novelist specializing in urban fantasy. She has written in the mystery, romance, paranormal, and historical genres with at least one foray into comedic fantasy. Elrod is also an editor, having worked on ...

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy ''License to Drive'' (1988), followed by the critically acclaimed ...

and

Charlaine Harris Charlaine Harris Schulz (born November 25, 1951) is an American author who specializes in Mystery fiction, mysteries. She is best known for her book series ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', which was adapted as the TV series ''True Blood''. The ...

donated books and services to raise funds for Banks, as did others in the literary community. Banks' official website was updated to reflect her death from cancer on August 2, 2011, at the age of 51. 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, TV adaptation novels

* ''Soul Food: For Better, For Worse'' (October 1, 2002) * ''Soul Food: Through Thick and Thin'' (March 1, 2003) * ''Soul Food: No Mountain High Enough'' (September 30, 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 and suspense

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

As L. A. Banks

Crime and suspense

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

Paranormal

=
The Vampire Huntress Legend Series The Vampire Huntress Legend Series (VHLS) is a twelve book series written by Leslie Esdaile Banks under the pen name L.A. Banks. The series centers around a young "twenty-something" year old woman named Damali Richards who is a spoken word artist ...

= # ''Minion'' (trade paperback) (2003) (mass market) (2004) # ''The Awakening'' (trade paperback) (2004) (mass market) (2004) # ''The Hunted'' (trade paperback) (2004) (mass market) (2005) # ''The Bitten'' (trade paperback) (2005) (mass market) (2005) # ''The Forbidden'' (trade paperback) (2005) (mass market) (2006) # ''The Damned'' (trade paperback) (2006) (mass market) (2007) # ''The Forsaken'' (trade paperback) (2006) (mass market) (2007) # ''The Wicked'' (trade paperback) (2007) (mass market) (2008) # ''The Cursed'' (trade paperback) (2007) (mass market) (2008) # ''The Darkness'' (trade paperback) (2008) (mass market) (2008) # ''The Shadows'' (trade paperback) (2008) (Book 11) (2009) # ''The Thirteenth'' (trade paperback) (2009) NOTE: ''The Darkness'' (10), ''The Shadows'' (11), and ''The Thirteenth'' (12) are called The Armageddon Finale to The Vampire Huntress (trademark) Legend Series.

Neteru Academy

# ''Shadow Walker: A Neteru Academy Novel'' (trade paper back) (2010) (mass market) (2010)

=Crimson Moon novels

= # ''Bad Blood'' (2008) # ''Bite The Bullet'' (2008) # ''Undead on Arrival'' (2009) # ''Cursed to Death'' (2009) # ''Never Cry Werewolf'' (2010) # ''Left for Undead'' (2010)

=Dark Avengers Series

= # ''Finders Keepers'' (2008) # ''Loser's Weepers'' (2008) The Dark Series # Surrender the Dark (2011) # Conquer the Dark (2011)

=Paranormal novellas

Articles

Fiction Factor – Building Characters Through Realism

References

External links

*
The Vampire Huntress Legend Series Website

Crimson Moon Novels Website

Official Leslie Banks MySpace

*

Interviews

Reviews

Paranormal romance ReviewsThe Best Reviews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Leslie Esdaile 1959 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists African-American non-fiction writers African-American novelists American crime fiction writers American romantic fiction writers American women novelists Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania Deaths from adrenocortical cancer Philadelphia High School for Girls alumni Urban fantasy writers Writers from Philadelphia Women science fiction and fantasy writers Women romantic fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Black speculative fiction authors Women crime fiction writers Novelists from Pennsylvania American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American writers African-American women writers

Biography

Illness and death

Bibliography

As Leslie Esdaile

Romance novels

Romance novellas

Alexis Grant

Non-fiction

As Leslie E. Banks

Drama, TV adaptation novels

As Leslie Banks

Non-fiction

As Leslie Esdaile Banks

Crime and suspense

As L. A. Banks

Crime and suspense

Paranormal

=The Vampire Huntress Legend Series The Vampire Huntress Legend Series (VHLS) is a twelve book series written by Leslie Esdaile Banks under the pen name L.A. Banks. The series centers around a young "twenty-something" year old woman named Damali Richards who is a spoken word artist ...

Neteru Academy

=Crimson Moon novels

=Dark Avengers Series

=Paranormal novellas

Articles

References

External links

Interviews

Reviews

=
The Vampire Huntress Legend Series The Vampire Huntress Legend Series (VHLS) is a twelve book series written by Leslie Esdaile Banks under the pen name L.A. Banks. The series centers around a young "twenty-something" year old woman named Damali Richards who is a spoken word artist ...