Genre:
Poetry, Romance, Other Fiction
Websites:
ELehnerAuthorSite.com
Amazon Author Page
Social Media:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram: lehnered
Other Contact Information:
Email: elehner@frontier.net
Bio
I am a retired professor from Iowa State University of Graphic Design and presently a luthier, musician, poet, and novelist. When not writing, I repair stringed musical instruments, hike, bike, do yoga and Tai Chi in our San Juan Mountains or in the desert canyons.
More About Ed
I was an avid reader in my early days, having read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Moby Dick, Treasure Island, many of Zane Grey’s books, and many others by the time I finished eighth grade. I went to a boarding high school which had a wonderful library from which I always had a novel to read. Senior year, I was assigned to read The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins for an English class. I remember struggling with writing a paper on it, and the teacher tried to help me grasp the deeper meaning of the writing, but to no avail. However, when after serving in the Navy, I began college and in my first college class in literature, I was again assigned to look at the deeper intricacies of the writing in the book Sister Carrie by Theodore Driesser. With the guidance of the professor, it was like a light came on. In that same class, I was inspired to start writing poetry after being introduced to Robert Frost, the first poet I had ever really read. Around that same time, I did a transcendental meditation class during which the instructor suggested I start a journal which I dove into and continued to do for many years after. I was inspired to write San Juan Sunrise during the winter of 2016–17 while recovering from pneumonia. The Awakening of Russell Henderson came shortly after. At the moment, I have no other books in progress, but am writing, and frequently posting, short stories, essays, and poetry on my blog.
Books
Title: Sunset in Paris (Jennifer Morse Series, Book 2)
Publisher: Alkira Publishing, NSW, Australia (April 28, 2025)
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Jennifer Morse is now a successful author who has been required by her publisher to spend a lot of time away from home on book tours. Consequently, her health and relationship with her boyfriend, Chris, has deteriorated. She finds out that he has been in a relationship with another woman and she throws him out of her house. Recovering from her breakup and health issues, she decides to visit her grandparents who are spending several months in in Paris. On a side tri to Monte Carlo, she meets race car driver Jean Luc Bonnet. He becomes smitten with her and, although attracted to him, she is not yet ready for another relationship. All her doubts about men and betrayal from her abusive past, which she worked so hard to overcome, are stirred up by Chris’s deception and Jean’s pursuit.
An unpleasant encounter in a Paris back alley further stirs up the childhood trauma Jenny thought she’d dealt with. Returning to the U.S., she decides to embark on a road trip to the California coast to try to escape and focus on writing her new novel. There she discovers something from her father’s past which sets her off into a new direction. On a return trip to France and to Paris, she finds focus to her life and she at last settles into a new life.
Available for Sale
Title: San Juan Sunrise (Jennifer Morse Series, Book 1)
Published: April 17, 2025 (re-release)
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
After a childhood of sexual abuse and bullying, Jenny has become a recluse, roaming and camping in the San Juan Mountains in summer and staying in an old cabin for winter. Coming down for winter one year, she finds the cabin has burned to the ground. With an incoming storm and completely exhausted, she gets permission to camp in a man’s yard. The storm becomes a snowstorm and she is welcomed in to this man’s house where she feels like a caged animal. As it turns out, this man, William, becomes a close friend and mentor. Through his help and his contacts, Jenny begins counseling and her healing. Along the way there are pitfalls where her trust issues again push her away. Then she is finally able to reconcile with her father. With her perseverance and support from friends, she at last finds healing and peace.
Available for Sale
Title: Grandpa’s Horse and Other Tales
Publisher: AIA Publishing (March 4, 2022)
Genre: Contemporary Short Stories
This anthology of short stories and two novelettes contains embellished memoirs, fanciful flights concerning climate change and the Covid epidemic, and stories of romance and mystery.
Available for Sale
Title: The Awakening of Russell Henderson
Publisher: AIA (2018)
Genre: Fiction
Russell Henderson, newly divorced and a failure in his own and in his parents eyes, causing him to suffer from depression. When his work as an investment banker in Chicago begins to suffer, he is asked to take a sabbatical, subsequently leaving on an ill conceived camping trip to explore the western United States. It was then his life began began to unravel, especially after picking up a woman hitchhiker somewhere in Iowa who has her own dark past.