Leslie Garland did not originally pursue a career in writing. Instead, he qualified as a Chartered Civil Engineer. In this capacity, Garland worked for several years on various projects across the UK, the Far East, and Africa.

During his engineering career, he won the Institution of Civil Engineers 'Miller Prize' for a paper on tunnelling, which might be considered his first foray into writing, albeit a technical one. His experience in tunnelling has since inspired him to develop an exciting story idea, which he anticipates will be far more enjoyable than his engineering paper.

As times changed, so did Garland's professional direction. He later qualified as an Associate Member of both the British Institute of Professional Photography and the Royal Photographic Society, eventually establishing his own stock photography business.