Mark Leslie's Blog

  Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!If you're familiar with that phrase, then chances are that you're likely a fan of the perennial modern classic Christmas comedy National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. And if you've seen the movie a number of times, you might be up for a quick trivia challenge associated with it.The movie, which was originally released in theaters on December 1, 1989,

I do try to put careful consideration into which author photo goes on which book.My author photo for The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles for example, was relatively easy. All I had to do was take a shot of me reading the book with a backdrop from the scene at LGA where Del Griffith (John Candy) and Neal Page (Steve Martin) first meet (at least officially).So

 "I've been looking at The 12 Hour Walk," Liz said at the end of dinner one night. This was about a month or so ago.She had that look in her eyes that I know so well.I suppose I would describe it as a medley of intrigue, inquisitiveness, and wonder sprinkled with a layer of playfulness and an underlying sense of adventure.It's one of the things I love the most about Liz. Her sense of adventure.

One of the most common questions I see asked, whenever someone notices/attends to the book Del Griffith (John Candy) is reading when he and Neal Page (Steve Martin) officially meet for the first time at LGA in Planes, Trains and Automobiles is whether it's a real book.It is a real book.It was originally published in the 80s by a publisher called BEELINE. They produced hundreds of pornographic

One of most memorable and quoted moments in PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES is when Neal Page, played by Steve Martin, returns to the Marathon car rental counter at the St. Louis airport and has his fuck-filled tired that ends with "I want a f*cking car, right f*cking now!" and, of course, the classic come-back of the rental agent.Here are five fascinating f*ck-related facts from the film:1) The

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

On December 10, 2021 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM and 6:30 to 8:30 PM, I'll be appearing, along with more than a dozen other local authors, at the MEET THE CAMBRIDGE AUTHORS DAY event at Cambridge Centre for the Arts (60 Dickson Street, Cambridge, ON) We will be selling and signing copies of our books. And there are so many different genres and subjects from the books that'll be there that you're sure to

If, like me, you pay attention to when books appear in movies, you might be familiar with the mass market paperback that John Candy (Del Griffith) is reading in PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES. Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson) holds the same (or at least a strikingly similar) paperback in DEADPOOL 2. It seems to be a cheeky nod to Candy's character in that classic film. Reynolds has publicly

If you like the Halloween season the way I do, you're already anticipating a bit of a let down come November, when it's over for another year.But what if I told you that you could continue to enjoy the thrill and fun of the Halloween and Harvest season with a handy little THE HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR CALENDAR 2021 Get a daily dose of spooky fun delivered straight to your inbox. Or. give the literary

If you like the Halloween season the way I do, you're already anticipating a bit of a let down come November, when it's over for another year.But what if I told you that you could continue to enjoy the thrill and fun of the Halloween and Harvest season with a handy little THE HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR CALENDAR 2021 Get a daily dose of spooky fun delivered straight to your inbox. Or. give the literary