Remembering Author LA Banks

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Leslie Esdaile, better known to her fans as author LA Banks, died August 2 after battle with late stage adrenal cancer. A popular author of paranormal fiction, she was the author of more than 20 novels. When it was announced in June that she had cancer, her fans rallied around her and help fundraise for her medical bills. Banks had no health insurance.

Remembrances of her, and her writing, are pooling in from around the web. I've grabbed some to share with you.

Sarah Wendell, from Smart Bitches, attended Writers for New Orleans with LA Banks.

I am more sad about this than I can say. I spent a weekend with Leslie last year at Heather Graham’s “Writers for New Orleans” conference, and she was one of the most incredible people I’ve met. Funny and warm, generous and inspirational, with a very healthy dose of “Not taking any crap from anyone,” Leslie was simply amazing. And her “first call” story is still the funniest one.

From Write Black:

On a personal note, the Vampire Huntress series was especially meaningful to me, because I was thrilled in the mid-90s to find a black author writing about smart, tough black heroines in accessible, popular genre fiction. I think her work served as a “gateway drug” for a lot of readers — and indeed, writers — like me.

Reading Rendevouz Reviews:

I met Ms. Banks in Chicago while she was their at Borders at a book signing. I was hosting one of my literary events and one of my volunteer assistants was a fan of her novels. I surprised my friend and took her there about four hours before my event. She was a delightful person to talk with. Very easy going. Me, not a paranormal reader and Ms. Banks traded genre to read. A memoir I had for one of her books. We had to do an review and email It to each other.

BlogHer Book Club Host Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.