Peggy LeClaire bio
Peggy Madeline LeClaire was born to Dick and Marie LeClaire on May 1, 1985, in Royal Oak, Michigan. The eldest of three children, she learned responsibility early in life, frequently caring for her baby sister, Diane, and her younger brother, Rick.
Peggy attended St. Dennis Parochial School in grades 1-12 and graduated with a 2.75 GPA. She took her religion and the teachings of her church so seriously that, upon graduation, she considered becoming a nun. Though her parents were also very religious, they encouraged her to go to college before making such a serious decision. In 2003, she enrolled at Wayne State University, where she majored in English Literature.
To her surprise, she found she had a passion and a flair for creative writing. This discovery opened up a new world for her, and she became torn between her religious calling and her artistic spark. She resolved to make the decision once she had graduated from college, hoping the correct answer would be clearer to her then.
Peggy was always shy with boys and rarely went on dates, so she was utterly unprepared for love when it came her way. In 2006, during her senior year in college, she met Boyd Forbes, who was tall, charming, and the man meant for Peggy. In a word, she was smitten. She wrote love letters to Boyd every day and left them on the windshield of his car. Her dream changed from becoming a bride of Christ to becoming Mrs. Boyd Forbes. Her religion, her studies, her family, and friends all shifted in priority behind Boyd.
Shortly after graduation in 2007, Boyd announced that he was moving to Oxford, Mississippi, for a career opportunity. He invited her to go with him, which she did without a moment's hesitation. Once in Oxford, things changed.
Boyd revealed a side of himself that Peggy didn't like. She didn't approve of some of his friends, who she suspected were involved in shady activities. Boyd took up drinking, and she believed he used drugs, though he always denied it. The final straw was when the police showed up at her door and informed her Boyd was a suspect in a robbery at a local convenience store. She packed her bags and left him, never looking back.
Though she could have returned home to Michigan, she found she had come to like the slower, more laid-back pace of the South and decided to stay in Oxford. She had made a few friends, found a job, and felt she'd found a place she could call home.
She took up writing again but discovered she was very sensitive to criticism and unable to bear the bite of rejection letters. She preferred to keep company with other would-be authors and participated in a number of writing groups over the years. When the Oxford Writing Circle started up, she was one of its first members. There, she was able to gratify her creative urge and find solace and understanding with other struggling writers.
To support herself, Peggy works at Copy Time and also has a home-based business, transcribing and formatting manuscripts for local writers. In her spare time, she works with local charities and sings in the St. John's Catholic Church choir.
