20 Years of Haunting Echoes

For centuries, philosophers have pondered the Zen Buddhist koan: "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" What, then, is the sound of one hand screaming?

Silent screams bounce around Mark Leslie's head like an impending storm, brewing into a force that will escape in a wild dance of chaos and be lost forever if he doesn't stop to write them down.

Within these pages you will find . . .

A bookstore that keeps more than dusty old tomes on its shelves . . . a phantom limb that can reach into the next world . . . the exquisite taste of a book-aged skull . . . a comic that colors people's lives with terror . . . graves unable to hold their wares . . . a collector of haunted artifacts who gets more than he bargains for . . . a deserted northern highway that brings back a man's worst childhood fears . . . bogeymen, anthropomorphic terrors, and more . . .

In 2004, Mark Leslie released his first collection of chilling fiction and disturbing poetry in a volume called One Hand Screaming. Twenty years later, this special anniversary edition includes all the original stories and poems plus new ones published in the past twenty years along with all original pieces crafted specifically for this volume. This collection includes previously published award-nominees alongside all original and never-before published works.

These haunting tales are sure to bring a delicious shiver to any fan of The Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories, and Black Mirror. If, that is, you're interested in opening your imagination to the sound of those silent screams.

Mark Leslie would be the first person to admit he's still afraid of the monster under his bed. That might be why most of his books explore the darker side. In addition to penning a series of true ghostly tales (that include Spooky Sudbury, Haunted Hospitals and Creepy Capital), he has written a few horror titles (I, DEATH, One Hand Screaming, and NOCTURNAL SCREAMS), is the editor of the horror anthologies CAMPUS CHILLS, FEEL THE FEAR, and SUPERNATURAL, and is the author of the humorous urban fantasy action/adventure 'Canadian Werewolf" series.

His other passions within the non-fiction realm include fan appreciation/trivia books about the classic modern films Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (THE CANADIAN MOUNTED) and Die Hard (YIPPEE KI-YAY MOTHERF*****)

Proudly adopting the term "Book Nerd" for himself, Mark is most comfortable with a pen in hand, fingers on keyboard or with his nose stuck in a book.He can often be seen traveling to book events with a life-sized skeleton named Barnaby Bones.

Born in Sudbury Ontario, Mark has courted with a serious addiction to reading and writing his entire life. He has called both Ottawa, ON and Hamilton, ON home for about a decade each and currently lives in Waterloo, Ontario.

Mark Leslie's profile page

"One Hand Screaming is a wonderfully weird gallop through nightmare country. Dark, often hilarious, twisted, and filled with magic. Loved every single story!"-Jonathan Maberry, New York Times-bestselling author of NecroTek and The Dragon in Winter

"Mark Leslie is full of ideas-fun ones, suspenseful ones, clever ones, twisted ones. You never know what's going to come up next in One Hand Screaming, but you won't be disappointed."-Kevin J Anderson, New York Times-bestselling author of the Jedi Academy Trilogy.

"You hold before you a medley of macabre tales that crackle and shimmer with Mark Leslie's enthusiasm for the craft. I've long envied the breadth of Mark's imagination, and the seemingly bottomless well of inspiration from which he draws. Unreservedly, I recommend you heed the advice offered in the Introduction: Take the man's hand, let him lead you on a journey through shadowy places, where those silent screams may very well erupt in fullness from your throat."-Sean Costello, author of Here After