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.
It can be extremely challenging when people are quarantined or self-isolating and are looking for something different to do other than sitting on the couch and watching television or binging online streaming services.
I've enjoyed seeing authors and celebrities reading stories, either adult reads, or even children's picture books, in order to provide something unique and entertaining for people to enjoy for free.
To that end, even though most of my writing isn't all that family friendly (a side-effect of writing horror and speculative tales from the darkness of the shadows), I thought I would share a couple of recent readings I did, specifically with the goal of providing some family-friendly content that could be enjoyed by middle-grade aged folks.
Adults, of course, might also enjoy these tales.
The first, That Old Silk Hat They Found is a dark-humor look at what might actually happen if a snowman were to come to life. Would he really be happy and jolly, and be able to dance around and march in a parade? Or would his life be significantly different?
That Old Silk Hat They Found appears in both my mini story collection Snowman Shiverswhich is available in eBook, print, and audiobook. (BTW, you can download the eBook for free on most eBook retail platforms).
The second story, Looking Through Glass was published in an anthology edited by Julie E. Czerneda called Stardust. This was part of the Tales from the Wonderzone series of books that were science fiction tales drawing upon the Ontario curriculum of science for grades 3 through 6.
My story was inspired by a combination of states of matter and properties of light from the Grade four curriculum, and the bit of a science fiction mystery story about a boy and his uncle Zak, an inventor.
Here is hoping that you enjoy these family-friendly and child-safe stories.
Have you ever wondered what might actually happen if a magic hat were able to bring a snowman to life?
Have you ever cast an uncomfortable glance over your shoulder when
passing the silent snowy sentinels that stand so eerily quiet as you
pass by on the icy sidewalk?
Have you ever marveled at the secret life of anthropomorphic snow sculptures?
Since today is March 15th, the Ides of March, I thought it might be fun to share the audio version of this mini story collection. Click the link above to download the audio file.
The eBook is also free on most eBook retail platforms.
The collection includes the tales Ides of March and That Old Silk Hat They Found. It also includes a "behind the stories" section as well as a short history of snowmen in popular culture.
I'm proud to have my work appear in a FREE Writing Survival Guide created to help inspire writers for NaNoWriMo 2019.
Writing about 2,000 words a day isn't hard.
Doing it sustainably is the hard part.
That's why a group of amazing authors got together, under the guidance of Laura Crenshaw, to create 50 pages of useful, inspirational content to help other writers as they dive into 30 days of National Novel Writing Month.
Every Friday since early April 2018 I have been doing a thing called #FreeFridayFrights.
This is where, on my website, I offer up either a free short story or a free non-fiction eerie/ghostly article read. I also do a Facebook live video that is often also posted to YouTube and other places.
For this past Friday (Oct 26, 2018), because it was the last Friday before Halloween I talked a bit about the origins and sources for Halloween customs as well as some trivia related to Halloween.
Since the Free Friday Frights articles only appear for a week and then are replaced by new content every week, I thought I'd share this past week's article here. If you'd rather see the video based on this written content, scroll down to watch it.
Friday Oct 26, 2018
NON-FICTION: Halloween
A look at the tradition of All Hallows Eve (Halloween) as well as some interesting trivia associated with it.
Halloween appears to be a combination of traditions and folklore derived from Pagan, Celtic, ancient Roman and Catholic traditions.
Originally a pagan festival of the dead, All Saints’ or All-Hallow’s Day is November 1. The day is also known as All Saints Day, All Hallows Day, and All Souls’ Day. According to the original pagan custom, the celebration of the dead is meant to begin as the sun sets the evening before, and that is usually when the souls of the dead are said to begin to get up and roam around the earth. This original festival has, of course, survived to the present day in popular culture as Halloween, a night of trick-or-treating by children dressed up in costumes.
In the 17th Century, the catholic church used the same day as a way to honor and celebrate the known and unknown saints and martyrs of the church. It had originally been celebrated on May 13, but was moved to November 1st in the eighth century.
The ancient Celts refered to the festival surrounding this day as Samhaim and used it to celebrate the onset of winter and the begining of the Celtic New Year. Samhain translates to “end of summer.” In Ireland, the same celebration was known as Samhein, or “the feast of the sun.” In Scotland, the term Hallowe’en was used.
The act of children dressing up and going door-to-door to collect treats was likely adapted from the Gaelic practice of giving cakes to the poor (aka “soul-cakes”) in return for praying for a good harvest, prosperity and protection against bad luck. The concept of the trick is likely to have been derived from an English Plough Day custom where Ploughmen went door to door begging for gifts, and if they did not receive anything they would threaten to damage the grounds with their ploughs.
There are numerous folk customs associated with this festival. Here are a few Halloween related bits of trivia:
THERE IS NO ESCAPE: Harry Houdini died on Halloween. It’s true. I even wrote about it in Macabre Montreal (yes, that’s a bit of shameless self-promotion). One of the world’s most famous magicians died on October 31, 1926 in Detroit at the age of 52 in Detroit. He died of peritonitis, secondary to a ruptured appendix. It is commonly stated that Houdini died due to repeated or unexpected blows to the abdomen by a McGill University student in Montreal. This proposition might be partially true, as it is possible that the pain from the blunt force trauma Houdidi received might have masked the fact he was suffering from appendicitis, and, had he been treated earlier for that, he likely would have survived.
NOT SO HAPPY JACK: One of the traced origins involving the carving of jack-0-lanterns is believed to have come from Ireland with the carving of turnips and the legend of a man named Stingy Jack. The miserable old drunk enjoyed playing tricks on people. After playing a trick and trapping Satan, Jack made a deal to release him, so long as Satan promised not to take his soul. When Jack died, he was denied entrance to heaven, but also banned from hell. Satan gave Jack a single burning coal, which he placed into a hollowed out turnip. He then spent eternity wandering the earth with this lantern hopelessly looking for a resting place.
GIMME SOME CANDY: According to the National Confectioner’s Association, one quarter of all of the candy sold in the United States every year is purchased specifically for Halloween. In addition, a majority of all candy given out on Halloween is chocolate. Three out of every 10 homes will pass out lollipops or other types of hard candy. Candy Corn was created in the late 1800s. The three colors are meant to look like the colors in kernals of corn. More than 35 million pounds of candy corn is produced each year. According to a 2017 Forbes article, Candy Corn is among the most hated of all Halloween candies (second to Circus Peanuts) and Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups were the most favored
HALLOWEEN 2018: THE TRIVIA OF MICHAEL MYERS: Jamie Lee Curtis was considered for the heroine for the original 1978 Halloween by John Carpenter as a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock. (Janet Leigh, famous for the shower scene in Hitchcock’s Psycho, is Jamie Lee Curtis’s mother. The movie, produced in 12 weeks, was shot on a shoestring budget of only $300,000 and went on to make $47 million. It was the most profitable independent film ever made until The Blair Witch Project in 1999. John Carpenter was paid $10,000 for the film, and Nick Castle, who played Michael Myers, was paid only $25 a day. The sound of slashing flesh was created by stabbing a watermelon. Myers mask was another side effect of a low budget. It was derived from William Shatner’s likeness because they purchased a Captain Kirk mask, peeled off the eyebrows and some hair, and spray painted it white.
This article was originally composed for Mark Leslie’s weekly #FreeFridayFrights
"If I could, maybe I'd give you my world How can I when you won't take it from me?"
These lyrics, near the opening of the Fleetwood Mac song "Go Your Own Way" might be familiar to authors who are trying to share their words, their worlds with an audience.
Sometimes the desire to give and to share is there, but perhaps the audience isn't, or isn't receptive to it.
Scott, like the person being sung to in this classic pop rock song, went his own way.
Specifically, he didn't listen to people who told him that he was crazy or out of his mind with the ideas he had for his own writing plan and the path he was determined to follow.
When I was recording a recent episode of the Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing podcast, I began reflecting on the various ways that an author can leverage FREE in order to build their author platform.
Below are those points, quickly summarized.
1) To Get Readers Hooked on a New Series
Offering the first book in a series free can bring a large funnel of new readers to your books. And, for authors who perhaps don't have more than a few books in that series, sometimes offering a free short story that is linked to that series is a great way to get people to try out your characters and their unique world/setting.
Starting on Friday April 6th I will be starting a weekly feature that I'm calling FREE FRIDAY FRIGHTS. It'll be hosted on my main website at www.markleslie.ca/freefridayfridays and use the hashtag #freefridayfrights.
Every week I will post, for approximately 24 hours, a free frightening read. I'll alternate between fiction and non-fiction.
Some time during that same 24 hour period, I will host a live video on my Author Facebook Page where I'll either read the short story or I will discuss/share details from the non-fiction / true eerie/ghostly tale that is posted.
My novella thriller EVASION has been continuing to receive positive feedback since it was featured on Wattpad in late May for a day. It now has almost 82,000 reads, almost 1200 votes from readers and a demand to read the next book in the series.
I suppose this means that, for NaNoWriMo 2014, I'll have to write the sequel.....
If you're interested in reading it, there are currently 3 different ways you can read it for free.
FIRST WAY TO GET IT FREE (eBook)
Wattpad - you can read 100% of the book, 100% of the time, for free on Wattpad. You can read it online or download the mobile Wattpad app. All free.
SECOND WAY TO GET IT FREE (eBook)
DIGITAL BOOK DAY - Monday July 14th will be Digital Book Day - produced by the wonderful "thrillers with heart" author CJ Lyons, it includes a giveaway of digital books in multiple genres from authors from around the world. Please note that the links on this site will only be live for Monday July 14, 2014, so this is a limited time offer.
Goodreads Giveaway - 10 copies of the print book (which retails for $14.95 US) will be available through this Goodreads promotion. It's a random draw from all entrants, but 10 chances to win! (The chance to enter, closes July 30, 2014) :)
So there - you now have 3 different ways of getting access to read EVASION for free. A couple of digital ways and one way to get it free in print.
The book is currently available for sale on Amazon in print and eBook (regular price $4.99, but reduced to 99 cents at Amazon for Monday July 14th) and Kobo (where it's FREE on Monday July 14th) and Smashwords (other retailers coming soon)
If you do read it, I would greatly appreciate you reviewing the book on your favourite online review spot (most commonly, folks post reviews to Goodreads and Amazon)
I am looking forward to spring; this winter has certainly been long enough. But am I the only one who can detect the subtle and quiet unnerving screams of our snowy friends as their season of joy ends, and their version of the apocalypse begins?
One of my most popular stories (for reader response, customer reviews and public readings) is "That Old Silk Hat They Found" - a re-imagined look at what might really happy if a snowman came to life. The other is "Ides of March" a look at an odd pair of strangers driving around in a truck and kidnapping snowmen.
I did recently sell a recently written snowman story to a YA anthology that will be coming out in 2015 (although that story is one that addresses teen bullying and suicide - a completely different perspective than these playful tales, and I'm quite proud of my latest return in fiction to the use of snowmen), but right now my two snowman stories wonderfully demonstrate the essence of the dark humour in my fiction.
