Essence Magazine names L.A. Banks "Storyteller of the Year"


 

Ms. Banks is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania Wharton undergraduate program, and alumnae of Temple University’s Master of Fine Arts in filmmaking program. Ms. Banks began her career in corporate marketing for several Fortune 100 firms and worked as an executive for over a decade at Xerox, Hewlett Packard, and Digital Equipment Corporation. She then subsequently evolved her veteran marketing experience into a solid entrepreneurial career as a marketing consultant within the economic development and community-based organization environment.

In 1992, Banks added another facet to her career, entering the publishing industry. She writes under the pseudonyms; L.A. Banks, Leslie Esdaile, Leslie E. Banks, and Leslie Esdaile Banks. She has won several literary awards and has penned over 20 novels and 8 novellas in genres as diverse as romance, women’s fiction, crime suspense, and dark fantasy/horror. She has contributed to magazines, newspaper columns, and has written commercial fiction for five major publishers simultaneously: St. Martin’s Press (NYC), Simon and Schuster (NYC), Kensington Publishing (NYC), BET/Arabesque (NYC), and Genesis Press (MS.)

Banks’ writing career took a new twist in 2000 when she won the coveted contract with Paramount/Showtime in collaboration with Simon & Schuster/Pocketbooks to write a book series for the popular cable network television series, Soul Food. From there, Banks transitioned into another hot genre—the world of vampire fiction, where she is currently penning a six book series for St. Martin’s Press: “Minion,” (June 2003), “The Awakening,” (January 2004), “The Hunted,” (June 2004), and “The Bitten,” (January 2005), “The Forbidden” (June 2005), book#6 to be titled and released January 2006. In addition, Banks was recently signed to a St. Martin’s Press inspired paranormal romance anthology, entitled, “Stroke of Midnight,” contributing with Sherrilyn Kenyon, Amanda Ashley, and Lori Handeland. Banks other works include a crime thriller with Kensington/Dafina released November 2004 (Betrayal of The Trust) and numerous romances and women’s fiction works with BET/Arabesque, Kensington Publishing, and Genesis Press. Banks also contributed her inspirational personal story of triumph over tragedy to the upcoming anthology, African American Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Ms. Banks is a native West Philadelphian and entrepreneur, who is fervently committed to her community. She writes and lives in University City, Philadelphia, with her husband and blended family of four children.
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Related Information Vampire Huntress Legend Series

Facts Behind The Fiction in the VHL Series & Major Themes in The VHL Series
 

Undead on Arrival (Crimson Moon, Book 3)
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Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (March 31, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312949138
ISBN-13: 978-0312949136

Sasha Trudeau knows all about working beneath the shadows, back-alley deals, and things that go bump in the night. She also knows that the world is unaware of the existence of the paranormal—and that the government would like to keep it that way.

As a highly trained Special Ops soldier, Sasha and her team are an elite group of individuals who are survivors of werewolf attacks, now trained to be loyal to only to each other and their government. But when she returns from a solo mission, she finds that her team has mysteriously gone missing. Shocking government conspiracies, double-dealing vampires, and a host of stunning revelations about who—and what—she really is are only just the beginning…

The Ancestors
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by Brandon Massey, Tananarive Due, L.A. Banks

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Dafina (December 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 075822382X
ISBN-13: 978-0758223821
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches

DEAD...
Some evils are so great that they transcend death. In Brandon Massey's "The Patriarch," a young writer travels to the hushed backwoods of Mississippi, where dangerous secrets surface as a generations-old feud comes to bone-chilling new life...

BURIED...
The souls of the mistreated always find a way to be heard. In L.A. Banks's "Ev'ry Shut Eye Ain't Sleep," violent visions haunt a man--until he's handed an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past and prevent unspeakable acts from occurring once again...

FORGOTTEN...
When horrors are covered up and lost, our ancestors must find a way--even in death--to tell their tales. In Tananarive Due's "Ghost Summer," ancestors haunt the nights of two children. And when a grisly discovery is made, these ancestors will make their mark on both the dead and the living...

"All three contributors successfully combine scary themes with rich historical detail."
—Publishers Weekly

Vegas Bites: A Werewolf Romance Anthology
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by L. A. Banks, J. M. Jeffries, Seressia/Natalie Glass/Dunbar

ISBN: 1600430015
ISBN-13: 9781600430015
Format: Paperback, 250pp
Pub. Date: November 2006
Publisher: Parker Publishing LLC

Vegas Bites, a werewolf anthology comprised of four romance novellas, takes place in the French Quarter casino—the only black owned, werewolf casino in Las Vegas. With a backdrop of a weeklong Texas Hold’em tournament, the full moon approaching and the retirement of the alpha couple, battles of love, loyalty, and lust abound.

Join L.A. Banks, J.M. Jeffries, Seressia Glass and Natalie Dunbar in exploring this high roller fantasy world of feuding werewolf packs, high-stakes thieves, a sexy djinn and a mystical medallion.
 

Voices from the Other Side: Dark Dreams II
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by Eric Jerome Dickey (Contributor), Tananarive Due (Contributor), L.A. Banks (Contributor), Brandon Massey (Editor)

ISBN: 0758212321
Format: Paperback, 336pp
Pub. Date: April 2006
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation

Book Description
BEYOND THE SHADOWS...they linger, showing themselves only to those brave enough to perceive them...willing to see beyond human existence and into the heart of darkness. Feel the racing pulse in the primal desire of werewolves. Embrace the aura of two gifted women as they unleash power beyond imagining. Savor the aroma of otherworldly flora planted in a unique patch of earth.

THEY WALK THE NIGHT...prepared to face terrors humans were never meant to confront. Chant with an African mystic as he protects his people from an entity of unbridled malice. Ride the dusty trails of the Old West in pursuit of monstrous legends. Sail on a ship of damned souls as it languishes in the depths of forbidden waters. From the untamed wilderness of ancient times to the concrete jungles of today, these seventeen excursions into nightmares will keep you awake long past the midnight hour--and praying for daylight...
 

The Forbidden (Vampire Huntress Legend Series #5)
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ISBN: 0312336225
Format: Paperback, 480pp
Pub. Date: July 2005
Publisher: Griffin

"Fifth in the Afro-American hip-hop Damali Richards Vampire Huntress series. Damali's lover, Carlos Rivera, was turned. So what's a Vampire Huntress gonna do when her lover's on the other team? In Bitten (2004), Carlos was led by the chairman of the Vampire Council, on the Dark Force's sixth level of Hell, to impregnate Damali (after having bitten her) and thus to cause the Neteru (Damali), a creature born once in a millennium, to give birth to an Antichrist who will fight for the Dark Force when Armageddon bursts forth. But Carlos is lured by angels to fly into the Light and hence gets reduced to ash. Now, Damali plunges the powerful Isis blade into the heart of the ashes and Carlos bubbles up, rebuilt and confused but human once more. Damali has a miscarriage, bloodying herself, and Carlos vows revenge against the chairman. But Hell's in turmoil. While Carlos, their master, was still ashes, many of his pack's top vampires also turned to ash. And so the chairman has his problems. The seductress Lilith, next in power to the Devil, rises from the seventh and deepest level and tells the chairman that the Devil, fed up with him, has issued a bounty on Carlos and has freed were-cats and other demons from the upper five levels to hunt him down and return the Neteru so that a new Antichrist may be born. Carlos, no longer a master, worries that he's human again, with no income and seemingly no superpowers. And he knows that Damali is the Neteru. About to be sterilized on a plane to the Vatican, Damali is carried off in an electric cloud to a conclave of goddesses in Philadelphia, among them the Eve whose Adam was seduced by Lilith, who then gave birth to demons. Now Lilith's stolen Damali'smiscarried fertilized egg and will herself give birth to the Antichrist. The goddesses assign Damali one task: smoke the bitch. Wow. Gripping. But smoke Lilith? Not likely. Next: The Damned."
—Kirkus Reviews (via B&N)

The Bitten (Vampire Huntress Legend Series #4)
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ISBN: 0312324081
Format: Paperback, 448pp
Pub. Date: February 2005
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

The vampire civil war has been averted, deadly were-demons have been beaten back and now it Damali Richards and Carlos Rivera (now a Council level vampire) will finally have the chance to settle in and explore their deeper, sexier love. But Carlos and Damali should know by now that there is no rest for the saviors of the known world. One of the four topside Master vampires has stolen one of the Keys-the living blood of Christ---that opens the sixth seal as foretold in Revelations. He who possesses the Key and the Seal can decide to the outcome of the Final War, a.k.a. Armageddon. With a vampire in possession of the Key, the balance between the Light and the Dark have been thrown off and even Damali is deeply effected. She is now sporting a pair of fangs. In order to retrieve the Key, Carlos and Damali are quickly thrust into a web of vampire politics and intrigue. And when Carlos's secret drug, Oblivion, finds its way into the hands of the enemies, even the seventh level of Hell comes calling.

The Hunted (Vampire Huntress Legend Series #3)
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ISBN: 0312320302
Format: Paperback, 502pp
Pub. Date: May 2004
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Each millennium brings a new Neteru, a vampire huntress whose mission is to vanquish evil from the world. This millennium's savior has come in the form of Damali Richards, a hip-hop diva with the heart of a warrior and an attitude to match. But a war in Hell has cost Damali both her powers and her past love, Carlos Rivera. Still, Damali can't let her grief stand in her way. Several gruesome deaths, starting with an American research team, have come to Damali's attention in Brazil. The nature of the deaths leads Damali to believe that the killer is anything but human...

Unknown to Damali, the life of Master Vampire Carlos Rivera was saved by a most unlikely group: a band of monks also dedicated to fighting the Dark Realm. In exchange, they want Carlos to help stop the inhuman murders plaguing Brazil-and they will use Damali as bait if they have to. Reunited, Damali and Carlos give in to the erotic passion they have fought for so long. Together, they are a powerful force. But Damali has made a terrifying enemy who won't rest until the beautiful Neteru is dead...

The Awakening (A Vampire Huntress Legend Series #2)
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ISBN: 0312316836
Format: Paperback, 304pp
Pub. Date: December 2003
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

There is a vampire war brewing in the underworld and at the center of it all is Damali Richards, spoken word artist and Vampire Huntress. But she is not just any Vampire Huntress, she is the millenium Neteru. A woman so potentially powerful that the vampire world is about to invoke a bloody battle that threatens to spill over onto her streets in order to posses her. It's just a matter of who will get to her first. Fallon Nuit, a rogue vampire, is one of the most powerful Damali has ever encountered and he has allied himself with the deadly Amanrath demons in order to claim her. But the Vampire Council has plans for her as well. And now an unlikely variable has entered into the equation, an ex-lover now turned vampire with an agenda of his own. And she must risk trusting him once more if they are to survive.

Minion: The Dark Legends Begin (A Vampire Huntress Legend Series #1)
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ISBN: 0312987013
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 320pp
Pub. Date: April 2004
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

All Damali Richards ever wanted to do was create music and bring it to the people. Now she is a Spoken Word artist and the top act for Warriors of Light Records. But come nightfall, she hunts vampires and demons-predators that people tend to dismiss as myth or fantasy. Damali and her Guardian team cannot afford such delusions, especially now, when a group of rogue vampires has been killing the artists of Warriors of Light and their rival, Blood Music.

When strange attacks erupt within the club drug-trafficking network and draw the attention of the police, Damali realizes these killings are a bit out of the ordinary, even for vampires. Instead of neat puncture marks in the neck showing where the blood has been drained from the body, these corpses are mutilated beyond recognition, indicating a blood lust and thirst for destruction that surpasses any Damali has encountered before. Soon she discovers that behind these brutal murders is the most powerful vampire Damali has ever met-a seductive beast who is coming for her next...

_________________

More Books by Leslie Esdaile Banks

NO TRUST
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Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Dafina (September 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0758213328
ISBN-13: 978-0758213327
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches

Financial genius Laura Caldwell seems to have it all--beauty, brains, wealth, and love with her courageous husband, detective James carter. But between nature's wrath and criminals who just won't give up, will these newlyweds ever have peace in their marriage?

Between bringing down Philadelphia's corrupt power brokers, surviving its mean streets, and recovering from a devastating natural disaster in the Cayman Islands, Laura and James are no strangers to danger. At last, they're ready to enjoy an idyllic retreat in maui. but enemies of the past seem to have an endless appetite for revenge.

This time it's Laura's Uncle Akhan whose life is being threatened--and Laura is in the line of fire as well. As the hits keep coming, with no clue to their source, it's all James can do to keep the woman he loves alive. And when the devastating truth is revealed, Laura and James know they must act quickly before their lives are shattered forever...

Betrayal of the Trust
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ISBN: 0758207344
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 304pp
Pub. Date: August 2004
Publisher: Dafina Books

Veteran author and Philadelphia native, Leslie Esdaile-Banks, turned in a hot new crime/suspense thriller manuscript to Kensington Publishing, entitled Betrayal of the Trust, eight months before the FBI‘s “Blackberry” probe of Philadelphia’s City Hall.

This tale of corruption, scandal, contract fixing, and sordid relationships amongst Philadelphia’s black elite was supposed to be “just fiction,” according to the author.  Esdaile-Banks thought she was only creating “A Black version of Dallas… like the old TV show”—that is, until the newspapers hit and the headlines touted betrayal after betrayal of the public’s trust, as if the reporters had researched the back-story for her novel.

Having penned 17 novels and 6 novellas, Esdaile-Banks is no stranger to fiction, and has a huge following of readers and fans.  A Wharton grad, much like her main heroine in the saga, she also worked in the city’s economic development community for years—where she claims she met “characters” galore.  Esdaile-Banks also thought she was writing a fictive tale about the “old” Philadelphia, replete with scams and corruption from yesteryear.  Betrayal of the Trust pulls its rich characters straight from this experience, and weaves political office and media assassinations together at a pace that leaves readers breathless. Believing that things had changed since new politicians were put in office, she made the erroneous assumption that it was a safe bet to work with character prototypes of the past in this current drama.  However, this was not the case, and it seems that the smarmy underbelly of Philadelphia politics was still in full effect. 

Ironically, life imitates art in this scintillating tale that mirrors the currently unfolding investigation plaguing City Hall, replete with under-the-table deals, not-so-philanthropic foundations, greedy entrepreneurs, and shady real estate developers. When asked what she thinks about the eerie coincidence, Esdaile-Banks laughs and says, “I guess I’ll have to move to Jersey now!”

Betrayal of the Trust is in stores now. The sequel Blind Trust, due out in the summer of 2005, will delve into the new casino gaming charters coming to the state of Pennsylvania… We can only imagine what she’ll do with that rich backdrop as fodder for her new thriller.

Soul Food: For Better, for Worse
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ISBN: 0743457390
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 272pp
Pub. Date: September 2002
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group

First the hit movie.
Then the groundbreaking television show.
Now the smart and sassy book series.

Sisters at heart. Sisters through it all....

Baby sister Bird and her husband, Lem, are having a rough time. Lem has a secure job with his brother-in-law Kenny, but he still feels like the charity case of the family -- and he wants to make it on his own with his own business. But with his checkered past, Lem knows it will be tough to find anyone to front him the cash -- legally, at least.

Lem's attempt to get the money on the sly brings him into conflict with Bird's eldest sister, Teri, who finds out that Lem may be slipping into his old, shady habits. When Bird learns of this, the stress of worrying about her husband, her business, and her future proves too much, and her health begins to suffer badly -- bringing her family together, and forcing Bird and Lem to decide how much they mean to each other, and whether they're willing to risk losing their dreams and everything they've worked for.

Blind Trust
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ISBN: 0758207352
Format: Paperback, 304pp
Pub. Date: September 2005
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation

From the hurricane-ravaged Caribbean to Philadelphia’s halls of power, this suspenseful sequel to Betrayal of the Trust follows gutsy Laura Caldwell, a financial genius and brilliant beauty who is ready to put a dangerous chapter in her life behind her—but whose enemies clearly are not…

When Laura set out to bring down Philadelphia’s most prominent—and most corrupt—families, she wasn’t sure she’d survive. But now she’s ready to enjoy the fruits of her victory—millions in the bank, a sumptuous villa in the Cayman Islands, and a steamy new romance with detective James Carter, who is ready to make her his wife. However, fate deals a harsh blow as natural disaster devastates her new-found paradise and James goes AWOL. The loss of her home, her man, and something even more precious has Laura reeling. It seems her adversaries have started taking their revenge—and they’ll do worse if given half the chance...

When her cousin’s car explodes in a Center City parking lot and her uncle is implicated as the prime suspect in a high-profile murder, Laura knows her past is coming back with a vengeance. These multiple threats are meant to be a hateful message from the City of Brotherly Love: the families want their money and their power returned—and they want to destroy Laura in the process. Now Laura, James, and their allies will have to outsmart—and expose—the murderous extortionists behind the scenes. But can they do it without anyone paying the ultimate price? When sinister casino mob bosses enter the equation, the prospects seem doubtful. It’s the biggest battle of Laura’s life—because it’s the first time she has so much to lose…

 

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For more information about the author and her book signing schedule, visit
her website at: www.leslieesdailebanks.com

 

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