Get to Know HFC: Leslie S. Thompson moonlights as an author

After years of working contract jobs for the military and the government, HFC has provided Scanning Clerk Les Thompson stability and job security.

“I’ve been doing this kind of work on and off since the late 1990s. I’ve worked all around the United States – Florida, Virginia, New York, and Michigan – but the jobs have always been on a temporary basis,” explained Thompson. “I needed something stable. The College was the perfect choice because there will always be documents to scan.”

Thompson has worked at the College for five years and reports to HFC Assistant Director of Financial Aid Stephanie Latzke.

"Les is reliable and has great attention to detail, which makes him good at his job," said Latzke. "He is friendly and personable. We love having Les as part of our team."

Prior to HFC, Thompson worked as a contractor for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for two years. Then he worked for several months at Bodman PLC, a Detroit-based law firm, before joining HFC in late 2018.

“HFC has provided me with job security, especially through the pandemic,” he said. “I was fortunate the College was able to allow me to work from home. Everyone here at the College has been friendly and supportive.”

"Call Numbers" novels based on his experience at the New York Public Library

The youngest of four, Thompson was born in Upper Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood. A graduate of the Samuel Gompers Career and Technical Education High School in the Bronx, he studied computer information systems at Baruch College in New York City. He lives in Dearborn Heights with Krista, his wife of 14 years.

Under the pseudonym Syntell Smith, Thompson is an author. His writing career began in 2004 when he began blogging about his hectic everyday life experiences. Finding an audience, he branched out, studying screenwriting, playwrighting, and novel-writing.

“Syntell is my middle name, and Smith is my mother’s maiden name,” he said.

In 2019, he self-published Call Numbers: The Not So Quiet Life of Librarians. This was the first of three novels in the Call Numbers series.

“I worked as a library page and library clerk from 1992-97, so the series is loosely based on my experiences,” he said.

The second book in the series is Book Endings: Loss, Pain, and Revelations, followed by the third Hold Circulation: Trial and Redemption. Set in 1994, Call Numbers features the debut of protagonist Robin Walker, a college student who works part-time at the New York Public Library on 58th Street. His coworkers, who treat him as an outsider, deal with their own personal problems as Robin navigates his.

“The Call Numbers series is a workplace drama focused on the characters' lives as they serve the public. They work together, there are various cliques and rivalries, leading to some conflict,” explained Thompson. “All of them are trying to get along while having different ideas about how to get things done. Genre-wise, you could call it contemporary fiction. There’s plenty of drama, romance, humor, and even intrigue as all the employees have devastating secrets to hide.”

The first copy of the first book

Thompson has won four awards for Book Endings, including:

• Shelf Unbound 2021 Best Indie Book: Notable Indie
• 2021 Big NYC Book Award: Distinguished Favorite in General Fiction
• Author Shout 2022 Reader Ready Award Honorable Mention
• 2021 Silver Global eBook Award in New Adult Fiction

“I’ve been self-published since 2019 and I’ve won several book awards, sold more than 300 physical copies in paperback and hardcover while also selling more than 1,000 ebooks. I have my first audiobook available on Audible,” said Thompson.

In late 2024, Thompson’s fourth book, Redeye, will be released. It is a standalone novel.

“The best part about being an author is holding that very first physical copy of your book," he said. "It really makes all the work you’ve put into it worth it, no matter how many copies you sell.”