Peggy LeClaire bio
Peggy Madeline LeClaire was born to Dick and Marie LeClaire on May 1, 1989, 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 from grades 1 to 12 and graduated with a 2.75 GPA. She was so committed to her religious beliefs that she considered becoming a nun after high school. Though her parents were also very devout, they encouraged her to go to college before making such a serious decision. She enrolled at Wayne State University, where she majored in English Literature.
To her surprise, she discovered she had a passion and a flair for creative writing, which opened up a new world for her. She became torn between her religious calling and her artistic spark. She resolved to decide once she 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. During her senior year in college, she met tall and charming Boyd Forbes and was smitten. She wrote him love letters every day and left them on his car. Her dream changed from becoming a bride of Christ to becoming Mrs. Boyd Forbes. Her studies, religion, family, and friends all shifted in priority behind Boyd.
Shortly after graduation, Boyd announced 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. Boyd took up drinking, and she believed he used drugs, though he always denied it. She also suspected some of his friends were involving him in their shady activities. The final straw was when the police showed up at her door with a search warrant, saying Boyd was a suspect in a local convenience store robbery. 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 took up writing again but discovered she was very sensitive to criticism and unable to bear the bite of rejection letters.
She enjoyed spending time with other would-be authors and participated in several writing groups over the years. When the Oxford Writing Circle started, 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.
