Leslie Kirby DeVooght writes women’s fiction with faith, love, laughter, and a lot of Southern charm. Her stories are inspired by romcoms, coastal Georgia, and fried okra!
They say, (whoever ‘they is’) to write what you know. With that in mind, Leslie began setting her books on Georgia’s Coast. As a native of St. Simons Island, Leslie knew the natural beauty of the Golden Isles and South Georgia would be the perfect setting for her stories. Add in some Southern charm, a dash of humor, and a heavy dose of romance and she found the right ingredients for her brand of books and flash fiction.
After graduating from Glynn Academy, Georgia’s second-oldest high school, Leslie attended Florida Southern College. She majored in Political Science and minored in English with a lot of time spent in the theatre department. Choosing the courtroom over the stage, Leslie graduated from the Walter F. Georgia School of Law at Mercer University. She returned home and began a career as a prosecutor in the Brunswick Judicial Circuit. She took over the appellate brief writing for the entire five-county circuit, always happy to be writing.
However, without some romance her story would be boring. While interning in her hometown, Leslie’s best friend set her up on a blind date with one of her brother’s law associates. By the next spring, Leslie was engaged and has now been married for nineteen years.
Of course, a good story needs a few twists. At twenty-nine years old and almost nine months pregnant, Leslie was appointed to the bench as an Associate Magistrate Judge. The position was part-time, so Leslie spent a lot of time with her two children and soon after (this was a real twist) a third child. During this time, Leslie began writing fiction. Her first book was a young adult novel that still needs extensive edits, but completing it was like finishing a half marathon—now she knew she could do it and was ready to start her next project.
But wait…there’s another twist. Leslie’s husband got a job an hour south of the Island in Jacksonville, Florida. The family of five packed the minivan and headed south, moving into the close-knit San Marco neighborhood. With the change, Leslie decided to stay home full-time and write seriously. After attending the American Fiction Writers’ Conference, Leslie found her genre in contemporary romance and wrote her second book.
This book changed everything, helping Leslie find a literary agent with the prestigious Steve Laube Agency. Since completing the story, Leslie has written many more books and over a dozen flash fiction stories.
Life happens in the plot twists, and after years of developing her craft and learning the publishing business, Leslie made the decision to explore the world of indie publishing. On May 20, 2025, Leslie’s debut novel, Stealing Magnolias, will release. But that’s not the twist, Harlequine’s Love Inspired imprint will traditionally publish Leslie’s short-novel, Taking a Second Shot.
Leslie’s path to publication is best described as an epic saga with so many accomplishments to celebrate and so many side characters to love. One of those subplots has been Leslie’s work with Spark Flash Fiction. As a co-owner, Leslie has helped hundreds of authors earn publishing credits and given readers delightful, romantic short, short stories four times a year.
In 2023, Leslie won the ACFW Genesis contest for her book, The Heartfelt Formula after being a three-time semi-finalist in 2017, 2019, and 2021. Leslie was also a 2018 and 2019 ACFW First Impressions Finalist. In 2018, Writer’s Digest Short published Leslie’s story, Avoiding the Bouquet, in its short-short story anthology. In 2017, Leslie was awarded first place for overall fiction and first place for Contemporary Romance at the Florida Writer’s conference and second place for Contemporary Romance at the Blue Ridge Writers Conference. Leslie placed first in the Write-to-Publish contest for Contemporary Fiction, and at the Ohio Christian Writers Conference, she placed second.
Leslie is living her happily-ever-after in Jacksonville, Florida where she cheers on her three children and enjoys date nights with her always inspiring husband, who loves that she researches kissing.
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