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"Beautifully written, immediately immersive, and scary as can be."
Lee Child

My Books

L.D. Smithson
Stand Alone Thrillers
The book 'The Escape Room' a crime thriller by L.D. Smithson

"What fun!"  - Guardian

 

"The pace is relentless,  meaning there's plenty to keep you entertained throughout." - Belfast Telegraph

 

"Wow! What a page-turner.  I'm a Celebrity meets Lord of the Flies." - Emma Curtis

"The pace never slackens." -  Faith Martin

"Dark, disturbing and addictive." -  L. C. North

 

"The Escape Room is thrilling,  thought-provoking and exciting enough that you might – like me – tear through it over the course of one train journey." - My Weekly
The book 'The Shame Game' a crime thriller by L. D. Smithson

To be released 31.07.2025

 

All it takes to turn your life upside down is one notification on your phone.

Someone knows what you did, what you spent years trying to forget. Now they're going to make it public. Unless you do exactly what they say.

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"Wow! What a page-turner...

The nicest people turning on each other when the going gets tough." - Emma Curtis

Leona Deakin
Dr Bloom Series
The book 'Gone' crime thriller by Leana Deakin

"Dark, with a focus on psychopathy,  this is undoubtedly our favourite thriller of 2019." - Woman & Home

 

"Fabulous. Beautifully imagined, beautifully written, immediately immersive, and scary as can be." - Lee Child

The book 'Lost' a crime thriller by Leona Deakin

A brilliantly paced, imaginative thriller with plenty of dark twists that had me turning the pages well into the night."

-  Heidi Perks

 author of NOW YOU SEE HER

The book 'Hunt' a crime thriller by Leona Deakin

"A well-crafted tale from a talented author, weaving strong characters and curious personalities together into a satisfying and pacey thriller."

J M Dalgliesh

Kindle bestselling author of ONE LOST SOUL​​

The book 'The Imposter' a crime thriller by Leona Deakin

"Stylish, glamorous, and clever, The Imposter had me hooked, right from its killer opening,  Leona Deakin is the real deal." -  Andrea Mara

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"A gut-wrenching read." - Woman's Own​

Becoming an author

“You know most writers never get published…”

This was the most common reaction I received back in 2008 when I told people I had written a book. It would have been easy to agree and not to risk the knock-backs but I decided this was my chance to practice what I preached. 

 

It all started with the credit crunch when all my client work from summer to Christmas was cancelled. One morning I awoke to find my dog nudging me to take him for a walk. The first thought I had was, ‘I can just let him out in the garden,’ the second was, ‘Ah oh!’

 

I could feel the helplessness creeping in and professionally I knew it’s buddy depression wouldn’t be far behind. I had to do something productive to stave off the darkness. I needed a purpose.

 

My solution was to write a story for my two younger sisters as a Christmas present. They had requested handbags and perfume, so it is safe to say they were a touch underwhelmed with my efforts, but I had fallen in love. I knew I had to do this for the rest of my life, and I knew that meant I needed a publishing deal to justify all the hours it would take.

 

But most writers never get published (or so people said…)

 

The next decade was a grind. I wrote story after story, faced years of rejection and decided to give up numerous times.

 

And then I would remember: the brain is a muscle – ten thousand hours of practice are needed to make you a master, and  success requires GRIT – a growth mindset, resilience, and a truck load of tenacity.

 

It became my own personal experiment into whether the right mindset can enable you to achieve your dreams.

 

I now have six books published with Penguin Random House and have sold into 14 countries. It’s not been easy and it’s not been quick…but it has proved the point.

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