About

In Hebrew, Leah is a word which is usually translated as weary or delicate. I was, in fact, named after the biblical Leah who, in the Old Testament, is one of the four arch-mothers of Israel.

On the one hand, my name holds a sense of meaning for me, as if I were a direct or spiritual descendant of the original Leah. On the other hand, I’ve always been anything but weary or delicate, so my name offers me both a chuckle and a sense of irony.

My middle name is Augusta. It’s the feminine form of Augustus and, in Latin, means great or magnificent—which swings the scale over from the weary and delicate side of things.

My last name, McClellan, has Gaelic roots, and it essentially means a descendant of Faolán, which means wolf.

No matter what I’m doing—writing, editing, creating—I pick up stones and look under them. I examine. I probe. I question. I deliberate. I reason. I read, listen, learn.

Just as the student aspires to teach, the master must remain a beginner. Knowledge is not static, and we can never know everything; indeed, the well of the world would be dry if that were possible. And that is what I offer: a breadth and depth of knowledge that comes with time and experience yet, at the same time, the questions and wondering of an inquisitive student.

in 500 words or less offers my observations on writing and the writer’s life. I post as time permits, always in 500 words or less.

Feel free to email me anytime using the form below. And check out my other writing samples here; the above is an example of my academic style.