I remember the first time somebody told me I was quirky, I was absolutely appalled. 

 

Like, I'm sorry, I'm just like everyone else who obviously also had 3 imaginary animal friends as a child. Mine were Harry the Hippo, Mo the Monkey, and (most importantly) Looie the Llama, who inspired my very real adult decision to have alpacas at my 2025 wedding. I make up nonsensical songs for my dogs while finishing household chores with the family, involving exaggerated and wildly offbeat rubber leg dance movements. Just like everyone else.

 

I was truly shocked to learn that no, in fact, not everyone is like this. It took me some time, a lot of masking, and a bit of fake-it-til-you-make-it, but I can finally say,"Wait, heck yeah. I'm QUIRKY." Even better, you can call me unorthodox. I'm peculiar, a straight up WEIRDO. I'm your basic backyard rock with rough edges, but if you dig deeper, you'll find a fighter, a shoulder to cry on, and someone will always ride at dawn for you (and that includes you, newest lurker). I hope you learn to embrace your quirkiness and join my Collective Weirdos Extravaganza.

 

I will now resume the traditional third-person bio that you were expecting...

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Presenting: Leah Channas. She writes Young Adult fiction, and is currently revising her Young Adult Portal Fantasy novel, Society 57. Society 57 features a strong, sassy protagonist known for quick dialogue and witty comebacks, even in the midst of chaotic events.

 

Leah is based in Manhattan and spends her days (and sometimes nights) working in strategy consulting. She loves to bring corporate lingo into her writing life, telling friends and family that she is going to "circle back" on her YA Fantasy novel's first draft in order to produce a compelling second draft. To do this, she's going to "put a pin in" mindless social media scrolling in order to "deep dive" into novel writing techniques.

She loves making her entire personality revolve around her hobby of the week (the latest: teaching herself to code HTML on Neopets) but also enjoys timeless pastimes like traveling and collecting half-filled notebooks. On an average day, you can find her (not) cooking, (sometimes) attending group fitness classes, (definitely) watching reruns of Gossip Girl, and (LOL) ignoring the incessant whines from her sassy English Bulldog, Mabel.​

 

You can also check out the Writing Blog, Plotting the Weird Path, for musings of Leah's writing journey, drafting and revision tips, and spontaneous tidbits (like a detailed account of why Mabel is the light of her life).