Mark Leslie is a writer, editor and bookseller who lives in Southern Ontario. In 2005, Mark joined the blogging bandwagon and started posting random thoughts and musings on writing, bookselling and being a father.
Showing posts with label Canadian Werewolf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canadian Werewolf. Show all posts
On May 24, 2022, the latest novel in my Canadian Werewolf series launches.
LOVER'S MOON was co-authored with my friend Julie Strauss and is the first full length romance novel I have written. (Well, to be honest, I could NOT have written it without Julie's help. I did try, for the longest time, to write it. But I wasn't able to get that done without Julie's help in both the conception of the story itself, as well as her handling of Gail's perspective)
This book, which can be read as a stand-alone, tells the back-story of how Michael and Gail first met and fell in love back in 2011.
Because we enjoyed the collaboration so much, Julie and I decided to create a podcast version of the novel, with us reading alternating perspectives. (Yes, there will be a professionally narrated audiobook produced - it's in the works right now. But we thought a serialized weekly version would be an interesting way to celebrate the book's launch).
Here's the first episode. A trailer, or teaser, if you will.
He’s an alpha wolf and a beta boyfriend.
She’s dated every monster in New York City.
It’s time for their Meat-Cute.
Michael
Andrews, a Canadian living in New York, is learning to live with the
side effects of lycanthropy. Other than waking up naked and bloody in
Central Park once a month, he’s managing just fine. If only he could
finish the book he’s supposed to be writing. If only he could find
someone he trusted enough to tell the truth to.
Gail
Sommers may not have her love life in order, but at least she’s smart
about things that really matter. She runs the coolest occult shop in the
city, and is a pre-eminent scholar of the occult. She’s made a vow of
celibacy so that she can spend this year focusing on her work and her
self-care. She’s even been hired to help out a very famous and very sexy
horror author.
As a new era in the Canadian Werewolf
saga begins, Lover’s Moon flashes back to the romantic and comedic
story of how Michael and Gail met and fell in love back in the summer of
2011. Told through both Michael and Gail's unique perspectives, it also
explores Gail's past, introduces new characters, and reveals some of
the deeper secrets of both of their lives.
A special Canadian Werewolf tale co-authored by Mark Leslie and Julie Strauss.
On Aug 31, 2021 Burlington Public Library is hosting an event with me.
During the event I'll be sharing my journey through writing and publishing, the inspiration and origin of my "Canadian Werewolf" series, and an excerpt from my most recent novel in that series:Fear and Longing in Los Angeles.
The event is free, but you'll have to register online in order to attend.
I was beyond thrilled to see how much Nichi, the host of Dark Between the Pages, enjoyed my Canadian Werewolf books.
In this video review, part of her Recent Reads video, she shares her thoughts on my character Michael Andrews and the situations he ends up finding himself in in A Canadian Werewolf in New York, Stowe Away, and Fear and Longing in Los Angeles.
The part where she talks about my books starts at about 6:30.
I had the opportunity to chat with Nichi of Dark Between Pages the other day during an hour long live chat. Okay, we went one hour and eighteen minutes. But that's because the chat was so fun, and the folks watching and commenting during that chat were so lively and entertaining.
We spent quite a bit of time talking about my Canadian Werewolf series . . .
Though we talked about all kinds of other writing things too, including my background helping authors steer clear of the predators and thieves trying to trick authors out of their money using a combination of "smoke and mirrors," false promises, and highly exaggerated "results" from their useless marketing packages.
It was a load of fun. It's always a grand time talking to someone who adores books.
Today is the release day for the latest full length novel in the Canadian Werewolf series.
It all started back in 2006 when I attempted to turn the short story "This Time Around" into a novel called A Canadian Werewolf in New York. It took me almost ten years to finish writing the book, which was originally published in 2016.
But in the summer of 2020, after spending a few years working on the characters and considering the other adventures that Michael Andrews, the main character and werewolf in the story, might get into, I decided to invest in the Canadian Werewolf brand as a series with new covers.
In August 2020 I launched Stowe Away an approximately 20,000 word novella adventure.
And, on Feb 23, 2021, Fear and Longing in Los Angeles, the second novel in the series.
Fear and Longing in Los Angeles takes Michael Andrews to Hollywood where he is working as a script consultant on the set of one of his books that is being turned into a movie.
He is using the trip as a chance to clear his head and get away from his frustrating love-life. The only woman he has ever loved, Gail, has made it clear that there's no chance of ever returning to the previous relationship. That, at best, they would only be friends.
When in LA, Michael encounters a mysterious woman he is compelled to get to know, and she turns out to be the perfect distraction for him. But while he's there, he also encounters some a nefarious hate group cult that is growing and threatening innocent people. And the woman he is getting involved with seems to have ties to that group.
Perhaps because it's about a man with enhanced strength and senses (a la the character of Wolverine) on a cross-country road trip with a young girl who is he trying to protect; but with some of the misadventures, detours, and slight humor of the John Hughes classic.
Stowe Away (Book 1.5) is a novella length story that takes place about one year after the events in A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1), and about another year before the events in Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2), which is releasing in Feb 2021.
Michael Andrews is an Alpha Wolf and Beta Human trying to live a normal life in the Big Apple while living with the side-effects of being a werewolf. During the right phase of the moon, he turns into a grey wolf, with no control, or memory of the experience from his human brain.
In the novel, Michael is desperate to get to Stowe, Vermont, to be there for his best friend, Gail. Without a driver's license or a passport, he is unable to rent a car or fly there, so he boards a train. Only, there are a couple of challenges in his way:
The train arrives about half an hour after sunset, and it's "that time of the month" for this werewolf
There is a young woman being stalked by a human predator and Michael being Michael, is obligated to ensure her safety and escape from harm
The book (and the previous titles in the series) is part of a re-branding, and is available in Print (Hardcover and Trade Paperback), eBook, and Audiobook simultaneously. The audiobooks are read by Scott Overton.
Stowe Away and the other books in the series, are available to order through most online bookstores, through your favorite local bookstore, as well as via your local library.
