Though I live just outside Philadelphia now, I was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, the youngest child of a textile executive and nurse-turned-architect. My mother is Canadian and my father was born in D.C. so my older brother and sister and I were the first people in our family to have southern accents. The three of us enjoyed a typical 1980s childhood which I mostly remember as a blur of high dives, casseroles, yard work, sleepovers, and cars breaking down, except for that one perfect slow-motion moment when my mom bought us a puppy from some random dude in a McDonald’s parking lot.
After high school, I got a degree in History and Journalism from the University of Delaware, and after a few years sorting mail in DC, I fell into a career in public relations in Philadelphia. As a flack, I represented clients ranging from medical acupuncturists to artisan bakers to the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and after moving up the ranks, decided to start my own PR shop. Along the way, I lucked in to a great relationship and that man and I have been together now for fifteen years. We have a daughter and a son, a dog named Gloria, and a fish named after Alshon Jeffery (Go Birds!).
So where does the novel come in? After fourteen years of writing for other people, when my son was a baby, I began writing THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY. The idea came to me when I saw a photo in a magazine of a man I almost dated years before. After my husband and I had a few laughs about how much better my life would have been with him (yuck, yuck), days later, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. Why do we make the decisions we make? Why does life take us where it takes us? And why do we always imagine the road not taken as far better---never far worse?
Writing this book has given me answers to those questions, and so much more. It has taught me to appreciate not only my own life’s path, but the million and one decisions that kept me on it. It has taught me that those steps are not necessarily random, and that with time, they can be understood. And when needed, forgiven.
But most importantly, writing this book has taught me that the past is just the boring, old past. What lies ahead is the delicious mystery.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope you never look back.
- Leigh
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CONTACT:
Want to get in touch? Email me at leigh[at]leighhimes[dot]com.
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For Media and Publicity Requests: Michelle Aielli, Hachette Book Group
T: 212.364.1223
E: michelle.aielli@hbgusa.com
Agent: Theresa Park, The Park Literary Group
T: 212.691.3500
E: tpark@parkliterary.com
Foreign Rights: Abigail Koons, The Park Literary Group
T: 212.691.3500
E: akoons@parkliterary.com
For Booksellers: ISBN-13: 9780316305730, $26.00 US/$31.50 CAN, Hachette Books, 5/31/16, 384 pgs. Also available in e-book (9780316305723) and audiobook (9781478909491). For more, visit Hachette Books.
Author Photo: Nina Subin.
