About Me
An educator and writer who has spent a lifetime in classrooms, books, and the pages of independent authors.
Hello, I’m Leonard
I am an educator and writer. I have spent the last 25 years as an English teacher and School Principal. I also have over 25 years of experience as a blogger, editor and freelance writer. I offer my services to various publications.
I am extremely passionate about writing, and the same can absolutely be said about reading. There is nothing I like to do more than sit by the fire and read a great book.
What motivates this site is a simple wish: that unpublished and independent authors find the audience their work deserves. Every review here is written to be honest and comprehensive, so that a reader who picks up a book has a fair idea of what waits inside — and so that a new author has a reason to keep writing.
At a glance
- 25+ years as an English teacher and School PrincipalA career spent reading widely, teaching closely, and guiding young writers.
- Over 25 years as a blogger, editor and freelance writerServices offered to various publications, with the same honest eye turned toward indie authors.
- Personal interestsAnimals, kindness, writing, and reading — in roughly that order of enthusiasm.
- A family sparkMy grandfather wrote five books that were never published because of market difficulties. That experience is part of why helping new authors reach readers matters to me.
Leonard Tillerman is an educator and writer whose life has revolved around classrooms, books, and the pages of independent authors. After more than two decades as an English teacher and school principal, he has also spent a quarter of a century blogging, editing, and freelancing for publications. His motivation for this site is a simple wish: that unpublished authors find readers, and that readers find the stories worth lingering over. The pages here reflect a deep love of reading, spanning literary fiction, historical romance, supernatural thrillers, horror, and short stories from writers whose work often escapes mainstream attention.
My partners
I have shared pages with and written about a number of independent authors whose books I have reviewed. A few of the names you may recognise from the review archive:
- Jennifer Irwin
- Robert Raker
- John F. Leonard
- E.H. Night
- M.N. Seeley
- Ken Fry
- Gemma Lawrence
- S.S. Bazinet
On social media, I can be found at @LeonardTillerma, where I post about reading, writing, and the books making their way through the review queue.
Leonard’s books
The shelves of my own writing sit alongside the ones I review. If a story I’ve written or read stays with you long after the last page, that is exactly the conversation this blog exists to have.
Browse the review archive for recent posts, or start with one of these:
- Invincible by Gemma Lawrence — posted Dec 7, 2021
- Drunks: Love Through a Shattered Glass by Ken Fry — posted Nov 27, 2021
- Traces of Home by S.S. Bazinet — posted Jan 5, 2020
Looking for a review?
Reviews are organised by month and year, covering historical fiction, dystopian, romance, and supernatural stories. If you are an independent author with a book to share, the archive is the place to start.
Read the reviews