Lesley wrote Umbrella in Time when her two daughters were seven and eight years old and they are now in their forties! She would put them to bed then write until 2am, completely absorbed in the plot and the characters. She had a fascination for time travel and wondered if the past and the present and even the future, could exist together. Einstein said that time wasn't absolute, and would depend on how slow or fast you were going. This debut children's novel had time travel with an umbrella as the main theme and featured a young girl called Rachel, who finds a green Victorian Umbrella in her father's office. It takes her through time to the Second World War and Victorian Liverpool, where she finds the previous owners, who are strangely connected to her family in the present day. The future owner finally appears, to solve a mystery and help Rachel's parents with their financial problem.

Lesley had the book illustrated by her friend and illustrator, Tessa Pickering. They had a couple of hundred copies printed and W H Smith sold quite a few in the first few weeks. They also advertised and some were sold and sent through the post. No computers in those days! A teacher friend of Lesley's, let her class read the book and they all wrote a letter to her, telling her how much they loved the story.

Years passed, and her own children grew up and moved out of the family home. Computers were now available in many homes, and she was contacted by a man who now lived in America, who had read her book as a child and loved it. He now had an eight year old of his own, and he wanted another copy for her. It was a wonderful surprise which prompted her to self publish the book with CreateSpace on Amazon. It has had a modest amount of sales and some lovely reviews which you will find in the reviews section of the website. Children have again been enjoying the book.

In 2020 during lockdown, Lesley decided to update the cover, with the agreement of her illustrator Tessa, whose illustrations are still loved and remain inside the book. Lesley's daughter Emily is also an illustrator and designer, and she designed a wonderful cover which you can see above.

Lesley has updated the book to refer in the text to computers and the technology of modern times. She intends to give some to schools to be read and reviewed, and to approach the main book sellers too.

Umbrella in Time is available from Amazon

Lesley has done a reading of a part of the book on YouTube and that can be accessed here:
Lesley reads from Umbrella in Time