Coast to Coast AM with George Noory - Haunted Hospitals

I'm pretty pumped to be returning as a guest to Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.

Coast to Coast AM airs on more than 600 stations in the U.S., as well as Canada, Mexico and Guam, and is heard by nearly three million weekly listeners. With hosts George Noory, George Knapp (weekend), and guest weekend hosts, it is the most listened to overnight radio program in North America.

A media phenomenon, Coast to Coast AM deals with UFOs, strange occurrences, life after death, and other unexplained (and often inexplicable) phenomena. Coast to Coast AM is overnight talk radio with daytime ratings.

The show I'll be on runs three hours and airs from midnight to 3 AM Eastern on Friday June 5, 2020.

Spooky Morning North

Last Friday I was in studio with Markus Schwabe of CBC Morning North to chat about the new book Spooky Sudbury: True Tales of the Eerie & Unexplained.

Markus was a great host and we had a fun time, particularly when we set Barnaby up with a pair of headphones and took a few pictures.

It looked like Barnaby was really into it. But he did let Markus and I do all the talking.

Our conversation can be listened to as an audio clip here.

Scared In Studio

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being in studio on Barry Shainbaum's FaithFM radio show Perspectives.  It was a one hour show in which we talked about how I'm afraid of everything, how that fear of my own shadow led to the writing of horror and, of course, my new book Haunted Hamilton.

Yorick, of course, joined me in studio.  :)

Mark and Yorick - Photo courtesy of Barry Shainbaum

The show is broadcast to folks in the Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Brantford area, but it was also broadcast via a live web stream.

It was a fun hour and you can listen to it via podcast by right-clicking here or going to the online radio show archive.

Mark, Yorick and Barry

If I Did The Morning Traffic Report

Public Domain use image from Wikipedia

Every morning on my drive in from Hamilton to Toronto, I love listening to Ben, Kerry & Shawna of Y108, a Hamilton rock radio station. Their fun banter helps alleviate the morning traffic blahs.  And the regular traffic reports by the chipper Cara Graham are something I also appreciate. 


Cara's pleasant voice makes even the bad news seem not as grim.  But, with all due respect, I think about how Cara and other morning traffic reporters tend to sugar-coat the morning traffic with terms such as "seeing a bit of volume" and "starting to fill in" rather than what it really means.

That's why, if I were doing the morning traffic, I'd be a bit more tempted for it to sound like this.

Good morning, this is Mark Leslie, your Y108 traffic reporter. Yes, I know, this job is like being the weather man when all you have is constant showers on the weekend. But suck it up, sunshine, you've got to head in to work and the truth is, it's not going to be a pleasant drive at all.  Here's the dirt:


The QEW coming in on the Skyway bridge is starting to fill in. And by fill in, I mean it's looking like the parking situation in the neighbourhood near Ivor Wynne stadium just before a big game.  You'd be better off jumping off the bridge onto a canoe and paddling your way in to downtown Toronto.


We're seeing a bit of volume where the QEW and 403 meet in Burlington. And by volume I mean the loud screams of the drivers who are yelling at each other because of the idiots who don't use their signal and cut everyone else off by racing up the merge lane and cutting in at the last minute.  At this point you'll likely be kicking yourself that you didn't take the 407 toll highway.


By the time you pass Walker's Line you're really better off just parking your car and getting out and walking -- you'll get there faster.  Between Appleby and Burloak you'll find there are more jackasses whose constant lane changes end up slowing down two full lanes of traffic.


As you near Erin Mills you'll come to realize that traffic is at a dead stop because 5 years ago some idiot slowed because they saw a shiny object on the side of the road that they thought was a penny.  Experts estimate that we'll still be seeing the effects of that slow down for another three years.


Heading further into Mississauga you might as well put your car in reverse -- that'll likely get you to your destination faster. If you take a glance out your window, you might just see a chain of ants zipping past your car.  Seriously, there's no other way to describe the traffic at this point other than stupid.

And if you make it all the way to the Gardner without repeatedly banging your head into a bloody pulp on the dashboard out of sheer frustration or having a stroke because of your consistently elevated blood pressure, you might want to pull the horseshoe out of your ass and stop in at the nearest convenience store to buy a lottery ticket for this week's Lotto 649, which is bringing you this morning's traffic report.  

Lotto 649:  Just imagine not having to deal with this bullshit.

And that's what my morning traffic report would be.  Simple. Honest. And pointing fingers at the small handful of idiots who make the drive worse for pretty much everyone else because of their selfishness.  I'm pretty sure there's a special place in hell reserved for these assholes. 

Of course, my positive attitude about the whole thing is which is why I'll never get a stint as a traffic reporter.

All joking aside, getting frustrated just causes more grey hair.  Which is why, after ten to fifteen minutes of getting my morning fix of the cool folks at Y108, I tend to sit back and relax and listen to an audio book in the car.  I figure, if I'm going to be stuck in traffic, I might as well do something productive and useful such as "read" a book.  Of course, this morning, having already finished the latest audio book in my queue, I composed this blog post in my head.

Do One Thing Really, Really Well

I recently won a contest from Y108 sponsored by Steamwhistle and Stonewalls.

The contest reads like this:  Everybody does one thing really . . . really well. Y108, Steamwhistle Pilsner and Stonewwalls wanna hear all about it! Nominate your most talented, thoughtful or skilled friends and you could win a Steam Whistle Home Delivery Service and catering by Stonewalls delivered to you!

I submitted a story (which I never kept a copy of, even though people have asked to read it a few times - I just filled out the online form and away it went) about my neighbour Chad.

I explained how I'd been working in the garage with my father when we first moved into our new home about 12 years ago and Chad showed up with a smile and a few cold beer in his hands. Since then, almost every time there's a lawn mover, rake, or snow shovel out at either of our homes, there's a friendly neighbour with a smile and a beer. Whether we're washing or working on our cars, watching our kids play together or having a BBQ or a smile in the back-yard, one thing has always been consistent - Chad has been leading the charge on being the friendly neighbour to share a beer with.

Basically, Chad does the "neighbour beer" thing really, really well - better than anyone I've known. In my mind, it's that neighbourly effort that helps build communities and is something worth celebrating.

So I won the contest -- or rather, I won the contest in honour of Chad.

So last night, Andrew G and Jesse from Y108 delivered the fantastic and delicious food from Stonewalls, and Alex from Steamwhistle delivered the 30L Keg. (I've long favoured Steamwhistle on tap over having it in the bottle, and that was the consensus for everyone that night)

About an hour after dropping off the catering, Andrew G was back in the Y108 studio and live on air, and he shared the story I had written in honour of my buddy and neighbour, Chad. He also played a Rush song, because we couldn't resist putting in a request when he was in our backyard, since we were listening to Y108 in the back-yard all night.

So last night, a group of friends got together and had some good eats and some good beer and a lot of laughs while the kids played in the backyard, then had popcorn and watched a movie downstairs.

Good times!

Thanks Y108! Thanks Steamwhistle! Thanks Stonewalls!

Thanks, Chad!

A Sport For Book Nerds

Yesterday morning, CBC's Fresh Air featured an in studio chat that Jen Knoch and I (as "book boosters") had with host Mary Ito about Canada Reads.  You can listen to the discussion online by clicking here.

I couldn't help but describe the reason why I have been enjoying the annual contest in which each of the final books on the list are defended by a selection of celebrity panelists and eliminated one by one, leaving a single book and author standing as that year's champion as a "sport for book nerds" -- because that's kind of what it is for me.

With the exception of following the Olympics and perhaps the Stanley Cup playoffs, I'm not really into sports. But I do love a good contest. Similarly, I'm never really been into any of the "Survivor" type "reality" shows on TV in which people are eliminated or voted off on a weekly basis. Dancing with the Has-beens or whatever that show is called doesn't give me any sort of pleasure, nor does watching a house-full of the worst room-mates you're ever likely to encounter. With the exception of the first couple of seasons of The Apprentice (because I enjoyed something about the cut-throat business challenges the teams faced, but after a few rounds, I grew tired of that too), all of those shows have done nothing for me - they simply fail to provide me with enough stimulation and intelligent content.

But I can certainly get into a hearty discussion/debate and friendly competition about what book every Canadian should read.

I mean, as a bookseller, it's a challenge I face every day.

No, not just the challenge of what books to suggest or hand-sell to customers, but rather, which books that are suggested to me that I'll actually end up reading. Not a day goes by that I don't have at least one book recommended to me - so assume that's about 250 days and 250 books per year that are suggested to me (which might be a bit light since I'm sure that through other things, such as reviews, articles, blogs, podcasts, etc, that list of suggested readings easily triples. I'm not a fast reader, so I'm suddenly faced with hundreds more books than I can possibly read in a year that are recommended to me. I need as many options as possible to help me discern among those suggestions.

Canada Reads is that type of tool for me. It's entertainment and sport, but it's also helping create a short-list of books I should read. (And yes, though I'm into it, I still have a wonderful backlist of books to read from the previous year's contests -- just because I put a book on my "to read" list doesn't mean I've already gotten to them all --it often takes me years to get to a book on my own personal short-list. But what a great thing to look forward to)

As I mentioned in the interview, this year's Top 40 list (click here for one of my previous blog posts which includes them all) is certainly a fantastic option for anyone looking to check out the best in contemporary Canadian literature. Picking any one of them provides a wonderfully diverse range of "CanLit" which is not the "CanLit" that was likely forced upon you in school.  (For an incredibly wonderful, in depth and refreshing perspective on CanLit, check out my friend Steph's recent blog post called The Stigma of CanLit and How We Can Change our Outlook on her blog Bella's Bookshelves.)

For the record, this year's Top 5 contenders for Canada Reads are:


Essex County by Jeff Lemire
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
The Birth House by Ami McKay
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
Unless by Carol Shields

And the great thing about it is that,even among these 5 titles, you get a pretty decent range of styles of writing and subject matter.  As I said, there's virtually something for everyone here.

So if you haven't pick up a book, or specifically, haven't checked out what contemporary Canadian authors have to offer, start checking out the debates and see if that moves you to pick up one or more of these books.

What's the worst thing that can happen? You might even discover that you like reading and that it's nothing like that forced, repetitious and over-killed approach where a classic Canadian novel was crammed down your throat when you were too young to fully appreciate it.

HNT - Getting It Enright

Last week at the Scotiabank Giller Prize reception and ceremony I was in the presence of many of the movers and shakers within the Canadian literary scene; almost too many wonderful authors to name, but also a healthy number of media personalities and those who help bring that culture to the masses.

So it was with great pleasure that I got to meet Michael Enright in person for the first time.  Michael is the host of CBC Radio One's Sunday Edition, a show that Francine and I hate to miss.

The Gillers were packed with a ton of people, many friends and colleages I knew were there but didn't get a chance to see or speak with, and many others I later found out were there but that I didn't see.

I didn't bump into Michael until I was on my way out. But I couldn't resist a chance to stop and chat with him for a few minutes, let him know how much my wife and I enjoyed his radio program (yes, gushing fan), but more importantly, ask him how he was able to read so many books.  Michael was one of the 3 jury members for the Scotiabank Gillers, and as such, had to read 98 books. I'm one of the jurors for the 2011 Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic and will have to read a good many more books than I can normally consume in a year, so needed some advice.

Michael told me that his secret was the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission). He said when he needed to try to read undisturbed, he would take some books with him and get on the subway and just ride it around (with a full loop averaging about 48 minutes or so) -- occasionally he would have to wear noise-cancelling headphones, but for the most part, on the subway your cell phone is rendered signal-less and you can travel, amongst many others, in your own enclosed world and get a whack of reading done.

I should know, since I did get a lot of reading done in the 7 years I commuted between Hamilton and Toronto on the GO Train (although there's no cell-phone cancelling happening there)

In any case, it was great to meet Michael, to let him know in person how much Francine and I enjoyed his work, and, of course, to find out this great strategy directly from him.  As our chat wrapped up my "fanboy" ways took over and I asked if it would be okay if I snapped a quick pic of the two of us.  And that's this week's HNT picture.

Night Fright on Campus

Tonight on the Laurentian University campus, I'll be joining host Brent Holland in studio for a 2 hour show featuring horror fiction and the CAMPUS CHILLS anthology I edited which features horror stories set on campuses from some of the finest writers of speculative fiction in Canada.

The Night Fright Radio Show airs on CKLU 96.7 FM in Sudbury, Ontario from 10 PM to midnight every Wednesday night as well on a dozen other stations across Canada. But you can also listen online.

There is also a possibility that CAMPUS CHILLS contributors Nancy Kilpatrick and Douglas Smith will be joining me as well.

Nancy was on Night Fright Radio a few weeks ago talking about her lastest novel and anthology as well as vampires.

And Doug's story "Radio Nowhere" from CAMPUS CHILLS (which you can read for free online at KoboBooks.com) which happens to take place at a radio station at University of Waterloo, is nominated for an Aurora Award in the Best Short-Form English category.

A Child's Right To Privacy

In the most recent episode of Spark (CBC's radio show, blog and podcast of ongoing conversations regarding technology and culture), host Nora Young talks to two different parents about the rights of their children's privacy in today's social media/connected world.

It made me pause and wonder about the way in which I have exposed my son to the world through my blog -- which, for the most part, has been, since I started it in 2005, a pretty unfiltered view into my day to day life, including embarassing pictures, moments and memories of my personal experiences, most particularly in my role as a writer, bookseller, husband and father.

I determined, a long time ago, that many details about my life weren't all that secret anyways. And, given I don't believe I have anything substantial to hide, I wanted to blog honestly and have it be about the real me rather than about a particular scripted persona I was trying to push out into the world.

We already wear too many masks, and besides, I figured anyone with half a mind could see right through any sort of fake representation of who Mark Leslie Lefebvre was.

(Okay, perhaps the one thing I purposely modified was my full name, given that I originally was seeking to push out the nom de plume or psyeudonym that I use and have used "Mark Leslie" as my handle through blogging and most of my social media profiles -- not that it's any secret, since, from day one, I've always included my full name in my blogger profile and "Mark Leslie" is part of my actual name.)

But what Nora's recent interviews on Spark did was made me wonder about the inadvertent violation of my son's privacy.

Sure, my wife can speak for herself and understands the repercussions when I relay a cute anecdote about something she said or that we did. But my son is only 5 years old, and, for most of his life, I have blogged about my experiences of fatherhood as well as posts specifically about him and how much joy and wonder he brings to my life.

And yes, in his way he is aware that Daddio is blogging about him and including various pictures of him on his blog. He has even had fun participating in some of the silly "stories" I have told through words and pictures online -- like the original "Spud Wars" HNT series I posted in which father and son team up to take on Darth Tater and his group of clones.

Sure, he finds them fun and neat now, but what is he going to say when he turns 13 and every little thing, every cute little anecdote, every silly picture I have posted of him is an opportunity for embarassment?

What about that sensitive time in his life when every single thing his goofy old man does is embarassing to him in front of his friends?

How is he going to react when all those private moments, all those cute stories from when he was a tiny infant (such as this post about the "Streak of the Naked Baby") are discovered?

It makes me wonder.

Night Fright Tonight

Last Wednesday while I was in the Sudbury area, I had the pleasure of meeting Night Fright radio show host Brent Holland. I actually met him in the studio in the middle of his live 2 hour broadcast last week. Fascinating experience. For the first hour of his show I was listening to Brent interview three intrepid gentlemen from the U.S. who run GhostTheory.com. I arrived at the studio at approximately 11 and got to listen to the rest of the show across from Brent in the studio.

And because there were a few minutes left at the end of the show, Brent and I chatted a bit about Campus Chills, an anthology of horror stories set on campuses across Canada.

Broadcast from the CKLU studios at Laurentian University every Wednesday from 10 PM until midnight in Sudbury, Ontario, the show is syndicated to affiliates in Sydney and Antigosh, Nova Scotia, Thunder Bay and Waterloo, Ontario, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Lethridge, Alberta, Abbotsford, Salmo, and Prince George, B.C.

But you can also listen online.

The first week of May I will be back on Night Fright Radio for a full two hour show in May talking about Campus Chills, hopefully with a handful of contributors from the anthology.

But speaking of contributors, the very talented Steve Vernon is going to be on tonight's show.

Along with being one of the wonderful contributors to Campus Chills (above is a picture of him reading from his story "Old Spice Love Knot" at the book launch in Halifax at Dalhousie University Bookstore), Steve's recent books include Haunted Harbours, Halifax Haunts, Wicked Woods and Maritime Monsters. Touted as "Nova Scotia's hardest working horror author" Steve is not only a great guy, but a phenomenally talented storyteller and fascinating to listen to.

I can't wait to tune in tonight (well, at least listen online, since it isn't broadcast in my area just yet) between 10 PM and midnight to listen to the show.

Well I Didn't Vote For You!

I didn't make it to the next round on AM900 CHML's Talk Show Idol. I lost in what was very likely a tight race to the lovely Karen Johnson of Hamilton. Karen moves on to the semi-finalist round on Friday June 6th.

I did listen to Karen's segment from last week and have to say that she was a natural -- she was very comfortable behind the mike and engaged her guest in a stimulating conversation about the local Hamilton music scene. I also quite admire her passion for supporting the local arts community -- Hamilton is indeed lucky to have such a dynamic arts, music and culture scene and deserves the chance to be spot-lighted regularly. I know I'll be throwing my own support behind Karen as she continues on in this competition.

I would like to thank everyone for their votes and support. It was a fun thing to try out. The title of this blog post, which I simply couldn't resist is a reference to that classic scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's the scene where King Arthur encounters the peasants in the mud and filth. After getting infuriated with Arthur, the old lady wonders how he could have become King when she didn't vote for him. Classic.

Of course, I know that a lot of people took the time to register on CHML and vote for me (despite the wonky web glitches pretending people from getting through) -- I also know that a lot of people listened and offered support and encouragement. So I applaud and thank those people who persisted in registering their vote.

I think the effort should be seen as symbolic, since we are fortunate enough to live in a free society, and registering your vote at any level (municipal, provincial, federal), making your voice heard is an important, nah, crucial aspect of our democracy. Voting for important things is relatively easy, and we're privileged to be able to give our opinions voice. (Whoops, okay, I'll get off my soap-box - don't worry, when it's election time again I'll get right back up on it)

My fellow contestants in week 5 of Talk Show Idol were great people and I know we all had a lot of fun. Hey, the very fact that we got out there, stuck our faces in front of live microphones means we gave it a try and though 3 of us didn't make it to the next round we all had a great opportunity, a fantastic experience.

And the folks at CHML were incredible to work with -- having a chance to be in the studio live on air and being trusted to fill 10 minutes of air time; well, it's quite the thrill and reminded me of being on stage. I'm delighted to have had the chance to give it a shot and also eager to support Karen as she advances to the next round.

That Wasn't Really Ten Minutes Just Then

On Friday May 16th I was in the AM900 CHML studio for my ten minutes on air as part of the CHML Talk Show Idol contest. I brought with me Dr. Nick Bontis and the title for my topic's discussion was: PLUGGED IN & TUNED OUT.

I began the top of the 10 minutes with an editorial in which I drew upon Henry David Thoreau's 1862 essay "Walking" in which he argues for the simple pleasure of connecting with nature by talking long, adventurous walks.

I contrasted that with the way in which we walk today, wearing ipods and carrying blackberries and cell phones -- in essence, ALWAYS plugged in and connected with technology rather than with nature.

I then moved on to a discussion with Dr. Bontis, who is the world's leading expert on intellectual capital and knowledge management. He shared speculation on what's next for technology and discussed strategies for how we can deal with the often overwhelming influx of stimulus like emails, text messages and demands for our attention -- in effect, how we should USE the technology to work smarter, not harder.

Being in the studio was an absolute blast.

Nick and I were sharing the studio with host Scott Thompson and judges Bill Kelly, Lea Carter and Jeff Storey. I loved the fact that for the contest they gave me a few paragraphs outlining what was expected; but other than that, the entire ten minutes was up to me -- and other than a brief explanation of how to take calls, there was no help -- I was on my own.

I loved the experience, but did find it tricky trying to maintain eye contact with Nick, keep an eye on my "script" of questions and discussion points, as well as on Scott Thompson, who was letting me know through hand signals if a) there was a caller on the line (indeed we did get one really great caller) and b) how much time we had left.

I was shocked when Scott signaled that there were only 2 minutes left and glanced down at the 2 page list of discussion points and questions I'd noted -- Nick and I had barely touched upon 2 or 3 of the points. I almost piped up with a stolen quote from the Monty Python "Argument" sketch to say: "That wasn't really five minutes just then!" The ten minutes had passed so quickly.

But instead, I scrambled to try to wrap up our discussion, and at the end of the 10 minutes breathed a sad sigh of relief. The 10 minute segment was over. Now it's up to the online voting results to see if I make it to the next round.

Below is a video clip featuring selected audio from the interview and runs about 1 and a half minutes. Unfortunately it only features a small selection of the wonderful Nick Bontis, but is still fun nonetheless . . .

Voting continues this week -- you can listen to audio clips online at http://www.900chml.com/

and VOTE BY CLICKING HERE.

CHML Talk Show Idol - Today at 2:00 PM

Today is the day in this first round of AM 900 CHML's Talk Show Idol where I get to be in the studio and required to fill 10 minutes of airtime.

I'm very excited to be bringing in with me a special guest. Dr. Nick Bontis, the world's leading expert on intellectual capital and knowledge management. My topic this afternoon will be called: PLUGGED IN & TUNED OUT and we'll be discussing strategies for coping with the often overwhelming influx of stimuli that surrounds us in today's society.

If you are local to the Hamilton/GTA region, you can listen at 900 on your AM dial. Online you can listen at http://www.900chml.com. The whole show with all four guests starts at 1 PM.

You can also listen to my Current Events Quiz, 60 Second Editorial/Rant and 60 Seconds of Straight Talk With Scott Thompson at:

http://www.900chml.com/Station/TalkIdol/Week5.aspx

I'm up this week with a talented group of dynamic individuals. Adam Scott, Dawn Dillane and Karen Johnson have done very fine jobs in their own segments and I'm looking forward to seeing them again in person and sharing air time between 1 and 3 PM today as part of the contest.

(The video below contains my "editorial rant" from Wednesday on Handwashing - I did it in video format so you could look at goofy pictures of me while listening)

CHML Talk Show Idol - Quiz & Rant

Okay, so on this morning's quiz with Bob and Shiona (yes, a silent "i" like the silent "b" and "v" and "r" in Lefebvre), I proved that I should NEVER host a show about sports. And I'd like to send out my apologies to Sydney Crosby fans everywhere . . .

(You can listen to a recording of the quiz here)

I'm hoping that the 60 second rant I just recorded which is going to be aired a little after the noon news broadcast (you can listen locally at 900 on your AM dial or online at 900chml.com) helps redeem me so I don't like a total idiot.

I mean, I'm okay with looking like a bit of an idiot and completely okay with being seen as a giant nerd -- but gee, I'd hate to go down in local radio history as a complete and total idiot . . .