Leslie Compton

Leslie read her first book, Gone with the Wind, as a junior in high school. Her Mother let her stay in pajamas all of Christmas vacation, thrilled her daughter had finally picked up a book and was totally engrossed. She had had learning problems in school, making reading and spelling difficult and cumbersome. (Some years later Leslie was diagnosed with dyslexia which answered a lot of her questions.) Reading Margaret Mitchell’s famous novel was a catalyst that encouraged her to push herself to read better and faster, enabling her to be accepted into and graduate from college.

Home computers came on the market in the 1980’s. Spelling errors were highlighted with their corrections only a ‘mouse’ click away. A new creative spark was born. She no longer had to be embarrassed with her spelling errors; Leslie could put her writing ‘out in the world’ with confidence.

Leslie began writing her first book twenty years ago after discovering a large section of her postcard collection, inherited from her Grandfather’s cousin, originated from a sailor on the USS Virginia. He wrote to his sweetheart while sailing with Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet. A longtime lover of American history, she quickly became fascinated with this major event. She spent years researching, visiting libraries and museums up and down the east and west coasts, and meeting like minds on the internet.

This book, Dearest Minnie, is now a reality. And it awakened seeds that had been dormant for years; the need to write, to teach others about her writing, help people through difficult traumas...and sometimes to simply entertain and make people smile. Non-fiction and memoir writing sparked a passion, a desire to uncover information others might have missed. At this time Leslie feels as Winston Churchill did when he said, “The only thing that really scares me now is getting to the end before I finish”.

Most of Leslie’s adult life was spent as a professional musician while teaching elementary school, music, childbirth education and/or memoir writing. She loves to share and bring new insights to others and her books provide a path for that.

Besides writing, attending writing conferences and facilitating a critique group, Leslie both teaches and attends OLLI classes. When time allows you will find her with a book in hand, working with fabric art or quilting for kids in need and always making sure her humming bird feeder is full. What does she do for a mindless break? She plays solitaire on the computer while listening to soft melodic music when no one else is around.

Leslie has lived in Southern Oregon for the last fifteen years and enjoys the many walking trails available in her area. She has two wonderful, talented grown sons living outside the area and she is currently working on her fourth book.