Leanne Shea Langdown

I learned something powerful while writing The Champagne Cartel: the importance of beta readers… of all ages. Beta readers are magic. This book didn’t begin as a book at all. It started as a screenplay ... an idea I chatted about with friends over coffee. They were the first to say, “Make it a book.” My daughter chimed in with, “I’d read that,” while my son shrugged and said, “I’ll watch it when it comes out on TV.” Equal parts encouragement and realism. From there, I invited people into the...

(A family project, a decade in the making) If you’ve been with me since my early Deep Fried Fruit blogging days, you might remember a little free PDF I created called “7 Ways to Get Children Excited About Reading.” It lived quietly on my Cheer Chick Charlie™ website and on my lifestyle blog back when I was writing about the art of ageing positively. At the time, it was simply a helpful resource I’d put together after hearing from parents who were desperate for ideas to get their kids reading....

There are some stories that arrive slowly. A whisper, a nudge, a gentle idea that grows over time. And then there are the stories that hit you like a champagne cork to the forehead. The Champagne Cartel was both. Most people assume the title came after the plot, but the truth is the name existed long before the book did. It was born inside one of my girl‑gang group chats. The kind where the only agenda is When is our next champagne sesh because we need to discuss our macros. Those chats...