Lauren’s newest middle grade novel, THE PENUMBRA, is currently out on submission.

“Okay, yes, Josie Wood sees floating orbs. And sure, there was something otherworldly hovering in the hallway outside the orchestra room. But that does NOT mean Josie believes in the supernatural. After all, she’s been helping Mom fake this stuff at their family’s psychic shop for years.

But kids have started disappearing from Mount Holly. When Josie’s big sister vanishes and Mom doesn’t do anything about it, Josie enlists the help of a shop regular and strange new girl in town to figure out where they’ve gone and how to get them back. What they discover brings them face-to-face with a force that's driven by madness and grief, a thing both ancient and reckless. 

THE PENUMBRA is a supernatural thriller about rediscovering what you already know, but don’t want to believe, about yourself.”

Lauren’s short play, RHU, was featured in the 2021 Little Gems Play Festival at Collin College.

The festival was streamed for free, May 5-9, 2021, on the Collin College Facebook page, accessible here.

Lauren was one of six co-writers of a new musical, produced with all Dallas talent and designed for a Covid-restricted environment.

From Imprint: “The Tree aims to be an immersive journey across time and emotion re-examining the “gift” of knowledge and the nature of Good and Evil through an innovative and haunting musical narrative, written by six local playwrights, with music by the band Veteran Children, and featuring original movement by Danielle Georgiou. These ten creators will partner to weave a collective experience that shines a light on human nature and what connects us all. This piece will aim to blend an immersive visual experience across both digital and creative outdoor settings.”

The Tree — An American Rock Musical, October 29 - November 14, 2020

Directed by Tiana Kaye Blair, Music Direction by Ian Ferguson and Aubrey Ferguson. Written by Michael Federico, Jonathan Norton, Lauren LeBlanc, Cameron Casey, Alle Mims, and Franky Gonzalez; with original music by Veteran Children (Ian Ferguson, Aubrey Ferguson, and Drew Wall) and featuring movement by Danielle Georgiou. Tickets available soon. For more information, visit https://imprinttheatreworks.org.

UPDATE: “It is with great sadness that IMPRINT has made the difficult decision to cancel our run of “The Tree: An American Rock Musical.” This decision was made in concert with our co-producer, Shakespeare Dallas.” (10/31/20)

Lauren's middle grade novel, IGGY TOAST, was accepted to two super-helpful-and-fairly-competitive mentoring programs: The Rutgers University Council for Children's Literature One-On-One Plus Conference and Author-Mentor Match.

Lauren wrote the book for the new musical, CAFÉ BROADWÉ, with music and lyrics by Tyler Tejada. The show was workshopped as part of the Serial Musical Project by the good people of ENA Ensemble, and performed the first Tuesday of every month at the Free Library of Philadelphia, downtown branch, from December 2019-April 2020. For more information about ENA Ensemble, CAFÉ BROADWÉ, or the Serial Musical Project, click here.

UPDATE: Because of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, the full-length workshop of CAFÉ BROADWÉ has been postponed indefinitely.

Lauren's chapter book, HOW TO BE A BAD GUY, BY DALLAS BOTTOMLEY, won the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Work-In-Progress Award for chapter books!  To find out more about the award, please click here or here.  (Source: SCBWI, 2016; EasternPennPoints, 2016)

Lauren is a graduate of the Children's Literature Fellowship at SUNY Stony Brook, studiying under Emma Walton Hamilton, Cindy Kane, Patricia McCormick, Ann Whitford Paul, et al. For information on Lauren's work as a "kidlit" fellow, click here. (Source: Pottstown Mercury, 2015)

For Lauren's essay published in This I Believe: On Motherhood, click here. (Source: NPR's The Bob Edwards Show, 2012.)