Fictional work based on the historical story of five Navy TBM bombers that disappeared.

Marie Wadsworth, Hobbs News-Sun, Sept 26, 2001

Lovington---Leslie Bond grew up wanting to be a writer.  Although he's never worked in a writing profession, Bond said he's been writing off and on since age 7. Born in Kermit, Tx., and raised in Jal and Eunice,NM, Bond worked in the oilfield as a general oilfield service and construction hand and was the last charter pilot and flight instructor for Marshall Aviation at Lea County Regional Airport.
          After Marshall Aviation closed in 1991, Bond freelanced as a flight instructor and a restaurant cook.
          Currently, the Lovington man works in the landscapeing business. Bond and his wife Abby, also serve as care givers for a vietnam veteran.
          Bond published his first novel "Bermuda Voyagers: The Fangs of Fire" with 1st Books Library in May 2001.
          According to Bond, the novel is fictional, but the characters and their personalities are named and based on himself and his friend, Darrell Holt, with whom Bond flew when they were in their 20's. The plot is based on a historical fact of five Navy TBM bombers which were mysteriously lost without a trace in Bermuda, Bond said.
          In the story, Holt and Bond find the bombers. In reality, the planes were never found. Bond began writing the story at age 20 as a hobby and has rewritten it four times over the years.
          Bond said the publisher contacted him after getting his name from the copyright office in Washington,D.C.
          After editing thr novel himself, Bond sent a copy of the manuscript on a computer disk to the publisher, who accepted his novel for publication.
          Bond said his novel is a print-on-demand book. It is available for order at Barnes and Nobles bookstores and at barnesandnoble.com, 1stbooks.com, amazon.com, amd Bamm.com on the internet. There's also an e-book which can be read online, Bond added.
          Bond explained he does his own promotions for the book. He uses search engines to place ads on the Internet, tries to organize book signings at Hastings and other local book stores and works with news papers and radio and TV stations to promote sales of his book.
          Aside from his book, Bond has had five poems published online and in anthologies published by the International Library of Poetry.
          When he's not writing, Bond plays banjo in a bluegrass band that performs in Monument and other communities in New Mexico and Texas. He is a member of the Church of God in Lovington, where he plays guitar and banjo.