Exclusive: Author Lesley Eames 7 things my readers should know about me

by Matt Shine | 16 November 2023

Lesley Eames, author of The Wartime Bookshop series (The Wartime Bookshop, Land Girls at the Wartime Bookshop, and Christmas at the Wartime Bookshop) shares seven interesting facts with her readers

Author Lesley Eames

I was accused of cheating in a Brownie test. This was for the Writer badge for which I’d written a story. Looking back, I can see there was an unintentional compliment in the question, ‘It’s a good story but where did you copy it from?’ At the time I was just outraged and mortified. I was awarded the badge but the experience had been soured.

My mother was bombed in World War II. She was at her grandmother’s house in Birkenhead, not far from the docks when the bomb fell. She was unhurt but a 14 year-old aunt was killed and another aunt’s legs were crushed. When I was a child and heard that the aunt’s legs were held together by pins, I pictured safety pins running down her shins. It was hearing about my mother’s wartime experiences that triggered my interest in writing about the home front.

I can tap dance. Sort of. My daughters went to numerous dance classes as children and when an adult tap class was offered, I joined it. I even performed in the dance school show. Not in a leotard, though. Not with my legs and my bum.

I used to feed a one-legged partridge. I only had to shake the bag of birdseed and he’d come hopping. I never knew what became of him. He simply stopped appearing. I hope he (or she?) reached old age.

I have had a lot of jobs over the years. Waitress; barmaid; shop assistant; cinema usherette; exam invigilator; solicitor; Groups and Corporate Manager for an events company; Marketing and Fundraising Development Manager for a charity … I always wanted to be a writer, though.

I have had breast cancer. Patient support and the quest for better treatments and a cure are therefore causes which are close to my heart so I have been utterly thrilled to have two of my books selected for Asda’s Tickled Pink fundraisers for breast cancer charities.

I love dressing up. Not the glam sort of dressing up (I’m low maintenance that way) but fancy dress. At parties I’ve been a windmill, a cuckoo clock …