The youngest of nine children, Leanne believes that her talent is genetic and credits her big, wonderful family for encouraging and even pushing her to excel in writing. From her father who gave up his dreams of being published to take care of his family, to brothers and sisters who have all succeeded in so many different arts and professions of life, she's thankful to them all. Leanne wrote her first romance in junior high school and continued writing with ballpoint and spiral-bound notebook all through high school and beyond. Not until she worked a job that gave her a lot of downtime to write did she consider the possibility of getting published, and the dream was born.

While going through a severe dry spell where writing was concerned, Leanne's big brother read her first completed manuscript (not the one from junior high, mind you). He hounded her and hounded her through several years of non-writing to edit the manuscript and get it out there. He, along with a few other family members, were the first to ever read anything she wrote and liked it. With her brother's not so subtle shoving and her husband's quiet understanding, she gained the backbone to get out there and lay forth her babies for the wide world of editors. Of course, it helped considerably when other people--non-family members--also enjoyed her writing.

It's a long road and not an easy one, but she's no quitter! For three years she wrote steadily, editing and submitting to editors. In the summer of '06, she contracted with an agent, and now the daunting task of submissions is off her shoulder so she has even more time to write. (This in addition to her day job as Senior Editor for Cobblestone Press) 2006 saw her first published book with Witch Hunt from New Concepts Publishing. It seemed once the ball got rolling, it took off at full steam! Between her mainstream and lightly sensual romances she writes under her "real" name of Leanne Karella, and sensual and erotic romance she writes under the pseudonym Anna Leigh Keaton, she published 13 books in 2006 and has 15 scheduled for 2007, with many more to come in 2008

Leanne is a proud member of Romance Writers of America and the online romance writer's chapters From The Heart Romance Writers and Passionate Ink, as well as the Great Vancouver chapter of RWA. She treasures her friends and critique partners at DARN-IT Romance. A proud (and homesick) Alaskan, she now lives in Lower Mainland British Columbia with her daughter and Canadian husband.