Leslie Esdaile Banks


Leslie Esdaile Banks, née Peterson, was an American writer under the pen names 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.

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, Simon & Schuster, Kensington Publishing, BET/Arabesque, and Genesis Press. Books 1 and 2 of The Vampire Huntress Legend Series, 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.

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. 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.
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.

As Leslie Esdaile

Romance novels

Men of the Delta Force Series

Drama, TV adaptation novels

Non-Fiction

Crime/Suspense

Crime/Suspense

[The Vampire Huntress Legend Series]
  1. Minion
  2. The Awakening
  3. The Hunted
  4. The Bitten
  5. The Forbidden
  6. The Damned
  7. The Forsaken
  8. The Wicked
  9. The Cursed
  10. The Darkness
  11. The Shadows
  12. The Thirteenth
  13. The Shadow Walker: A Neteru Academy Novel
NOTE: The Darkness, The Shadows, and The Thirteenth are called The Armageddon Finale to The Vampire Huntress Legend Series.
Crimson Moon novels
  1. Bad Blood
  2. Bite The Bullet
  3. Undead on Arrival
  4. Cursed to Death
  5. Never Cry Werewolf
  6. Left for Undead
    Dark Avengers Series
  7. Finders Keepers
  8. Loser's Weepers
The Dark Series
  1. Surrender the Dark
  2. Conquer the Dark
    Paranormal novellas

Articles

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