Bookstore manager by day, author by night

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Lefebvre_Mark.jpg” caption=”Mark Lefebvre, book operations manager at Titles Bookstore. Photo by Susan Bubak.”]Don't judge a book by its cover when you meet Mark Lefebvre. By day, he's the book operations manager at Titles Bookstore. By night, he's the author of such titles as One Hand Screaming and other scary stories about things that go bump in the night.

Lefebvre, who writes under the pen name of Mark Leslie, is a self-proclaimed “book nerd.” The only thing he likes more than reading books is talking about them.

Before joining Titles, he worked at a Chapters/Indigo store. When he relocated to the company's head office in Toronto, he realized something was missing.

“I missed the books and talking to people about books,” says Lefebvre, who has been working at Titles for the past two years.

His obsession with books goes beyond talking about them, reading, writing and selling them. He also enjoys recommending books to other bibliophiles, especially when they return to the store to thank him for his advice.

“One of the great perks of this job is making that connection with fellow readers,” he says.

Fiction is his favourite to read and write.

“I love how the writer can take you somewhere else.”

As for his own writing, he shies away from describing it as “horror,” preferring “thriller” instead. Telling someone you write horror stories may not be the best way to make a first impression.

Lefebvre never misses an opportunity to invite McMaster faculty and alumni authors for book signings at Titles. He also credits the bookstore's staff for filling the shelves with an “incredibly eclectic and diverse selection” of books that appeal to everyone from first-year students to professors.