Lesley Cordell

Hi – my name is Lesley Cordell. I’m based on the Herts & Beds border and I live with my husband and a very old Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Tiny Tiff. 

For as long as I can remember books have been very important to me. I loved writing stories at school. As a teenager, on a Saturday morning I would ask for my pocket money, then catch the bus into Hitchin, spend my pocket money in the book shop and then pass several hours in the library. 

I did not have a happy family life and books were definitely my escape from reality. 

My love of books continued throughout my working life and into my retirement and that is when I saw a writing course advertised at a local adult education centre and thought I might as well give it a go. Every week on a Monday, we had two hours in the classroom followed by some homework. One of the homework assignments was to write a story involving ‘anthropomorphism’. I was delighted. One of my favourite TV programmes as a child was ‘Animal Magic’, in which presenter Johnny Morris provided voiceovers for all the animals in the zoo. 

The story I wrote for homework that week was Angus The Little White Fluffy Cloud Who Fell in Love With The Sun. 

When I read it out in class the following week there was universal praise from my fellow classmates, most of whom had an educational background. To cut a long story short… Despite my protests one member of the class took it upon himself to find a way to get Angus illustrated and published. 

So that is how I became an accidental author. Gordon The Little Ghost and Travis The Little Tractor soon followed Angus, and now the adventures of Mrs Marmalade too.  I’m currently writing a sequel for Mrs Marmalade who is a good witch with a magic coat. 

So despite a somewhat reluctant start, I’m doing something that I have always loved: telling stories. 

Instagram: @LesleyCordell