Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

I figured it was a typo the first time I saw "lead" being used for "led" - a past tense verb indicating setting a path by being first in line.   The author did it three times, though in a novel with fairly clean writing.

Maybe it's a habitual brain fart for her; I have a couple of those.   Or perhaps it's geographical.   The novel is set in Australia, and I think the author lives there.   Does "to lead" get conjugated oddly when it's upside down?