Wicked Women is an illustrated collection of poems written from the perspective of history’s most hated women. Everyone has heard stories of Lizzie Borden, the Blood Countess, the Black Widow, and the Pirate Queens—stories of their wicked deeds, wanton ways, and wretched manners. But in a world where men are the monster-makers, what makes women evil? What truths linger behind the sensational stories that have come to define them? And what, if anything, do we owe these women for daring to do the unthinkable? Wicked Women imagines a world in which women are defined not by the opinion of the men who wrote their legends but through their own words. Witches, serial killers, gangsters, shoplifters, pirates, con-women, and evil queens—the world loves to label women who misbehave, but what if the villains in question wrote their own tales? And what if, this time, history listened? "Leslie Simon's debut collection of poems is equal parts thought-provoking and visceral. Be warned: the clamorous voices of her protagonists will stay with you long after you have closed the book's pages." --Justin Somper, author of Vampirates Leslie Simon is an LA-based makeup artist and author. Sometimes she is a poet. Sometimes she is an artist. Most of the time she is ""too much."" Her favorite stories center on women who redefine feminine strength by shattering glass ceilings and smashing manmade boxes. Her poems ""The Suicide of Lucretia"" (2021), ""The Tragedy of Paint-Bound Love"" (2021), and ""If I Were a Man"" (2022) were published in Utah Tech's Southern Quill literary journal. She dreams of publishing a novel. One day, she will.