LaFoy, Leslie

views updated

LaFOY, Leslie

PERSONAL: Married; husband's name David; children: one son. Education: Attended college.

ADDRESSES: Home—KS. Agent—c/o Author Mail, St. Martin's Press, 175 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Worked for two decades as a history teacher in high school; former public television station director; former police liaison officer.

WRITINGS:

It Happened One Night, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Lady Reckless, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Daring the Devil, Fanfare (Philadelphia, PA), 1999.

Maddie's Justice, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Dangereuse Alliance, J'ai lu (Paris, France), 2001.

Jackson's Way, Bantam Book (New York, NY), 2001.

Come What May, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Perfect Seduction, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 2003.

The Perfect Temptation, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 2004.

The Perfect Desire, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to The Scandalous Bride, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: "My life is full of love and adventure, which always carry into the historical romances I pen," noted former schoolteacher Leslie LaFoy on her Home Page. A multi-published author of romances, LaFoy commented on her novels' characters in an interview on the Historical Romance Club Web site: "All of my books are character driven. Each has a unique hero and heroine that I come to know and truly appreciate in the course of writing their story."

In It Happened One Night, LaFoy tells the story of Alanna Chapman, a Colorado CPA who goes to Ireland to fulfill an aunt's final wish and finds herself transported to the year 1803, where she is believed to be a seer who can tell the future. During the course of her adventure, Alanna meets Kiervan des Marceaux, a sea captain with whom she both battles and falls in love. A Publishers Weekly reviewer commented on the author's adept characterizations but felt that LaFoy uses prose that is "occasionally purple" and provides "too much sexual tension and too little payoff." Nevertheless, the reviewer noted, "She uses her almost mythic setting well, and her narrative smartly balances action with a subplot."

Lady Reckless is LaFoy's sequel to It Happened One Night and features Alanna Chapman's son Carrick des Marceaux and Glynis Muldoon, a Kansas cowgirl who makes the leap in time and finds herself in the year 1832. Glynis comes upon the forest hideaway of Carrick, who is a fugitive known as "the Dragon." The two become involved, and Glynis eventually risks all to save Carrick from the hangman's noose. A Publishers Weekly reviewer called LaFoy a "competent writer," but also felt that the novelist "often tells what's happened rather than shows it."

Set in 1835 in Charleston, Massachusetts, Daring the Devil focuses on the adventuresome romance between pickpocket Darcy O'Keefe and Aiden Terrell, a man searching for Jules, his insane, murdering stepbrother. When Darcy tries to pick Aiden's pocket, he catches her and then blackmails her into helping him find Jules. Writing in Publishers Weekly, a reviewer called the dialogue "plodding," but added that "the conflict is fresh, and the dramatic tension among the interesting cast of characters won't disappoint."

In Maddie's Justice Maddie Rutledge is sentenced to prison by a corrupt judge for a murder she committed in self-defense. Marshall Rivlin Kilpatrick has come supposedly to transport Maddie to Leavenworth. In reality, he is taking her to testify against those who sent her to prison and who are abusing their power as Indian agents on a reservation where Maddie taught school. Before long, Maddie and Rivlin find themselves targets for murder and also fall in love. Rivlin has chosen the lonely life of a U.S. marshal because of demons from his past that are connected with the U.S. Civil War, and both know that their relationship is unlikely to survive, even if they do. Writing in Booklist, Patty Engelmann commented that "LaFoy has crafted a charming and entertaining historical romance with a touch of humor."

Jackson's Way is the story of 1838's Texan Jackson Stennett, who finds trouble in New York and falls for Lindsay MacPhaull after he informs her of her father's death. Booklist contributor Engelmann noted that "LaFoy transcends the mundane in this sparkling historical romance."

In Come What May Claire Curran of London travels to colonial Williamsburg carrying a private correspondence for her uncle's solicitor. Unknown to Claire, the letter is offering her up for marriage as a debt payment due to her uncle from Devon Rivar, who is trying to amend for his brother's gambling debts. The two soon become attracted to each other but Claire is then called back to London. Writing in Booklist, Engelmann noted, "LaFoy's wonderful romance is set against the backdrop of America's burgeoning quest for independence."

The Perfect Seduction tells the story of the destitute Seraphina Treadwell, who is caring for three orphans when their uncle, Carden Reeves, sends for them. Although from different ends of the social strata, Seraphina and Carden find each other irresistibly attractive. Engelmann, writing in Booklist, said that "LaFoy's remarkable characters utterly seduce the reader." LaFoy is also the author of The Perfect Temptation, and The Perfect Desire; and she contributed the novella titled "The Proposition" to My Scandalous Bride.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, 2000, Patty Engelmann, review of Jackson's Way, p. 70; September 15, 2001, Patty Engelmann, review of It Happened One Night, p. 208; September 1, 2002, Patty Engelmann, review of Come What May, p. 66; December 1, 2003, Patty Engelmann, review of The Perfect Seduction, p. 654.

Publishers Weekly, August 4, 1997, review of It Happened One Night, p. 72; July 6, 1998, review of Lady Reckless, p. 57; August 9, 1999, review of Daring the Devil, p. 349; May 3, 2004, review of My Scandalous Bride, p. 177.