Book BFF Melissa: Harley's Hall of Bookish Fame #2: Leigh Talbert Moore

Leigh Talbert Moore

Everyone, I'd like to introduce an author that I've worked with a few times and absolutely adore!

Hi Leigh! Thanks for stopping by today. I love when authors share playlists for books they wrote...did you make one for any of your books? Yes! I actually made one for Rouge, one for The Truth About Letting Go, and one for a science fiction book I wrote called 21 Days. They help me keep my scenes straight--I kind of imagine them as music videos.
That's awesome! What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten? Just keep swimming. It's actually my advice to me and other writers. This is a tough business, you'll get bad reviews, you'll have writer's block, you'll have setbacks of all kinds... But you have to just keep swimming! :o)

I love the Nemo reference! Do you have any advice for dealing with rejection from agents?
Keep in mind it's just one person's opinion on what they can sell. For agents, it's about being able to make a deal with the editors they work with, and the agent knows what those editors want. So don't take it personally! And by all means, if you get constructive feedback, use it! I mean, unless it feels wrong...

Personal note: The Truth About Faking was requested and rejected by 20+ agents. Then when I landed an agent for Rouge, she shopped TTAF to 12 editors, and they all passed. It has currently sold 25,000 copies.

My Point = those guys aren't always right! If you believe in your book and are willing to work hard to polish it and get it shiny, self-publishing is always an option.

Great advice! Some authors have blogs in addition to a website. Do you have one?
Yes! It's leightmoore.blogspot.com. Please visit and consider following!

And finally, What's the best part about being an author?

The absolute best part is when a reader leaves a review for one of my books and it shows he or she really got the point or the message of my story. LOVE when that happens.

Where are you from?

Baton Rouge, La.

Never been there. That's where Mardi Gras is right?! Name one book on your wish list.

SO many books! At the moment, Gone Girl--because it's my book club's selection for next month.

That one's on my to read list too! How often do you read?

I'm kind of a slow reader, but I'm always reading a book. When I finish one, I pick up another to start.

What TV shows do you watch?

Community, 30 Rock, Smash, Carrie Diaries, Vampire Diaries, The Office, Duck Dynasty, Dog with a Blog, Jessie... I have two little girls. :o)

I just got into Vampire Diaries (Love me some Daimon!!!) What is your favorite book to movie adaptation?

This is so hard because usually they don't adapt very well, but I thought the Harry Potter films were perfectly adapted. I mean, sure, they left out a lot, but otherwise, the tone was just right and they had that magical feel... I loved them!