Nathan Leslie

A Fly in the Ointment catalogues a portrait of 21st Century America in steady decline. The wayward protagonists within these short stories are barely able to cope, and when they do it is with substantial assistance. This collection is populated with sketchy ne-er-do-wells who attempt to defraud the public with fake rocks or snake oil. Families barely function. Individuals seek some means of eccentric hope (miniature horses, competitive eating contests, nail fungus removal). They fixate on image and appearance and trivialities, while they lose jobs and loved-ones. They tamp down skeletons in the closet. The ethically blind lead the ethically blind.

In The Invisible Hand Nathan Leslie turns his eye towards fathers. Within these pages you will find strange and caustic stories of wayward, eccentric and obstinate fathers. Told with an eye towards askew details, Leslie's collection builds upon his reputation as a master of the short story

In these twenty three darkly comic short stories, Nathan Leslie portrays self-appointed cops, shoplifting teens, gym rats, prayformers, polyamorous gamers, Bob-obsessed friend-collectors, hug phobics, online stalkers, dinosaur erotica writing gurus, and self-medicating placenta eaters. Within these pages you will discover the pressing need to Hurry Up and Relax

"One of the truly exciting writers of his generation." -Richard Burgin.Within this collection of three novellas Nathan Leslie explores issues of masculinity, nascent maturity and work. In "Arrow East" a young man hears the pleas of his mother and travels east from California to her. In "A Beach Tale" the protagonist grapples with the erosion of his family and an unusual new friendship. "The Janitor" is about a mentor/mentee relationship-an experienced custodian shows the tentative boss's son the ropes. Leslie is well-known for his stories of psychological realism and depth. In these three gritty novellas he depicts an emotional and intellectual landscape of three men in crises with vivid and cinematic verve.

Root and Shoot offers fifty two of Nathan Leslie's best new flash and short fiction pieces. Featuring stories published in Boulevard, Shenandoah, Gargoyle, Red Rock Review, JMWW, Hobart and Cimarron Review, among many others, Root and Shoot pokes its warm muzzle into the fictional loam. There is a bit of everything for everyone in this eclectic collection: crab islands, subway surfers, make out clubs, lizard-outfit-wearers, toll road operators, obsessive children, the indigent and homeless, the rankled and weary, the neurotic and fearful, the resentful and lonely, and those who defy description. Seven years in the making, Root and Shoot is a comprehensive tour-de-force by an author stretching his wings.