In The Kingdom of Cheese There Are No Heroes
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John Francis Cummings (JFC) is big, but his size is not his problem. It's the bullying that it seems to attract. With tensions at home and stress at school, he draws on the support of a neighbour, his one friend, and a drop-in centre for strength to always do the right thing. Which does not always turn out well.
Reviewer comments
"John Francis Cummings, aka JFC, is an oversized outsider who likes to eat. But eating is not his problem. His problem is the plus-sized, comic, karmic, even Kafkaesque universe of bullies, braggarts, and social media believers more interested in appearances than truth. Ignoring the realities of contemporary culture, JFC decides to do the right thing, only to have the wrong result. As his quasi-Zen Buddhist neighbour puts it, “The universe never ceases to surprise. Sometimes it’s with you, sometimes against you—it’s nothing personal.”
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But it sure feels personal when his troubles keep mounting. Supported by an overzealous mother, a deadbeat father, and a recovering drug addict friend, JFC tries to find something close to meaning in a downside-up moment when free will meets destiny. In the end, even though he is fond of saying, “There are no heroes in the kingdom of grilled cheese sandwiches,” John Francis Cum-mings may well be the compelling hero for our curious times."
-- Steven Laffoley, author of The Blue Tattoo
"An entertaining jaunt with an inimitable protagonist. The storyline is unvarnished yet buoyant; the narration, perfectly paced. Choyce’s latest is another gem from one of Canada’s most authentic and accomplished authors."
-- A.M. Potter, author of the Detective Ivy Bourque Series
"Lesley Choyce has once again deftly created a teenager to root for. Here, we have the likeable John Francis, an overweight sixteen-year-old, his loyal and righteous girl pal (not girlfriend), his nemesis, and an incident that upends his life. There is more, all classic Choyce, including twists and turns, both humour and empathy, and a satisfying, clever ending that made me laugh out loud. "
-- Julia Swan, Ph.D.
Available Now:
Amazon | Chapters/Indigo
The Second Season of
Jonas MacPherson (3rd Edition)
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Winner of the Dartmouth Book Award
On the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia, 69-year-old Jonas MacPherson lives with his pigeons roosting in his old cars, with the “pugilistic” ocean literally on his doorstep, and the memories of his late wife, Eleanor, still dancing in his head. He’s lonely and the doctor has given him a year to live, but Jonas knows that this is not true. He’s found a way to live in the past, with all the people he’s cared about in his life. With no desire to eat, he reaches a mystical place where worlds converge, where he is again young and vigorous.
He exists in “this temporal house,” moving comfortably between the rooms, aware of the dangers of what he’s doing but seduced by the rewards it offers: the memories and emotions he can relive.
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Told episodically through significant moments in his life, MacPherson’s tale reveals moments of danger, even of violence, but also those of profound love and intense longing. Always at the heart of his story is the nurturing yet unforgiving ocean and the beautiful ruggedness of the Eastern Shore.
Is Jonas MacPherson suffering from dementia or is he finding amazingly creative ways to live out his existence? He himself is unsure. Whatever it is that he is experiencing, he is filled with energy, rage and humour as he looks upon his world, past and present, and recalls the memorable characters, adventures, and a pervading rugged gentleness that has guided his life.
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Told in Choyce’s lyrical prose and peopled with a cast of odd and compelling characters, The Second Season of Jonas MacPherson is an uplifting story for our beleaguered times. It is a novel with an engaging tale of a man living on the edge in many ways, but it is also a thoughtful and thought-provoking exploration of ageing, of going on with life when the people who made it most meaningful have passed.
Available Now:
Amazon | Chapters/Indigo
State of the Ark
In this collection of science fiction stories, a diverse array of Canadian authors including Spider Robinson, Elisabeth Vonarburg, Robert Sawyer, Terri Favro, and Jeremy Hull explore worlds of the future, where humans look and act differently – or perhaps they just look different and act the same as humans always have. They interact with alien beings, and they must learn to live with the other creatures that inhabit Earth. Sometimes funny, often poignant, frequently ingenious, and always thought-provoking, these works spark questions and challenge our ideas about how the future might look – and how creatures of every kind and species will live in it.
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In the opening story, “Star Light, Star Bright,” by Robert Sawyer, a translator of ancient documents discovers children can see things in the sky that are not visible to him. What does this mean for their society, rebuilding after a long-ago war reduced humans to a primitive state? In “Hammerhead,” John Park’s protagonist, “tangled in the other branches” of his lives, must replay a horrific scenario in his head over and over to get at the uncomfortable truth, to find “the different here” that will help him in his “journeying.”
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Julie Czerneda offers one possibility of what may happen when a grieving couple?s application to adopt a pet takes a surprising turn in “Foster Earth.” Spider Robinson?s parentless character has to choose between being threatened or thrilled when the colony he joins “jumps off the edge of the Solar System” in “Who is Joel Johnston?” And in the final story of the collection, a Nova Scotian rebel of the future hopes that humankind?s survival depends on a past event that almost no one noticed.
Evocative and engaging, these stories, told with vibrant engagement with “otherness” of one kind or another, offer readers the opportunity to be both entertained and enlightened.
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State of the Ark is the long-awaited follow-up anthology to the 1992 landmark Canadian science fiction collection Ark of Ice.
Available Now:
Amazon | Chapters/Indigo
RECENT RELEASES
RECENT REVIEWS
"Choyce is a passionate and careful advocate for the Atlantic Canadian short story. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable and comprehensive collection of short stories, showing the breadth and depth of Atlantic Canadian authors, while also celebrating the traditional tropes of the regional literature. Choyce opens the collection with a story by Alistair MacLeod, “The Tuning of Perfection,” a story from 1983, and one I had read before, but enjoyed even more this time. An old man, isolated from the world in his remote house, is a Gaelic speaker. When a TV crew comes looking for some Gaelic singers to greet the Royal Family, he and his family are invited – but the lack of care for Gaelic and the length of the songs and stories leads him to back out. My short description of course does not do justice to the brilliance of MacLeod’s story, but it gives you a sense of the complicated little worlds inside each of these stories." ~Alison Manley: The Miramichi Reader
"If you enjoy armchair escape and travel writing like that of Monisha Rajesh or Tony Hawks with a Brysn-esque view of the world, that being a fascination with all things British by someone from elsewhere, this book makes an enjoyable, satisfying read. It won't change the world. But of course that's not its objective. It's one traeler's take o experiencing some new places and things alongside othersall too familiar, witnessed with an open mind, unending wit, and an ease of descriptive, winsome wordplay. So remember to buckle up, keep the care on the left, and enjoy this welcoming ride. " ~Bill Arnott: The Miramichi Reader
"Somehow we didn’t discuss the great cast of characters! So I’ll just quickly note that this story features a host of characters with personalities just as fun to read about as John Alex
We liked the setting of rural Cape Breton. It’s a place neither of us have been to but are keen to visit. I have a wee dream to learn Cape Breton fiddling…Dad made a note “breadmaking?” but we could not figure out what that was about, lol."
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Read more of this fun book review at the Falling Letters Blog here.
ABOUT LESLEY
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Lesley Choyce is a novelist and poet living at Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia. He is the author of 99 books for adults, teens and children. He teaches in the English Department and Transition Year Program at Dalhousie University. He is a year-round surfer and founding member of the 1990s spoken word rock band, The SurfPoets. Choyce also runs Pottersfield Press, a small literary publishing house and hosted the national TV show, Off The Page, for many years. His books have been translated into Spanish, French, German and Danish and he has been awarded the Dartmouth Book Award and the Ann Connor Brimer Award.

READ LESLEY'S BIBLIOGRAPHY
LESLEY IS THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2022 ATLANTIC LEGACY AWARD

READ LESLEY'S RECENT ARTICLE: Neil Peart was my friend and I was his first book publisher
READ A RECENT INTERVIEW WITH LESLEY: Keeping It "100": Teaching Fellow Lesley Choyce Publishes His 100th Book
Watch the short film: Winter Wave Riders
Surfing and Spirituality
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Listen to Lesley Choyce and Father Donald Calloway's podcast on Surfing and Spirituality on CBC Tapestry
Choyce has a feeling for the young and dispossessed, for the terrible angst of adolescence and the rituals of rebellion.
The Globe and Mail
Nova Scotia's answer to the Renaissance man.
Peter Gzowski CBC Radio​

