Justin S Leslie

Today I’m happy to welcome Justin to the blog. He’s answering a few questions and telling us more about his books. Please help me welcome Justin!

Featured Author Q and A:

What are you looking forward to most at Coastal Magic Con 2025?

Connecting with the readers. This is one of the more unique cons and immediately became a favorite of mine. Real readers and writers spending time together. Everyone I met and the team running it are great people! I think a few of my other author friends are jealous.

Can you tell us a little bit about your writing: What genres do you write? Do you prefer to write one genre over another? 

I always tell folks I’m willing to tell you as much as you’re willing to believe about my writing. It’s been a mix of luck, timing, and realizing I had a knack for writing. As a relatively new author, I decided to dig into my favorite genres. I currently write urban fantasy (think adult Harry Potter) The Max Abaddon Series, Zombies/post-apocalyptic, The Sinking Man Series, and Military Sci-Fi, The Descending Worlds Series that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I have even thought about taking a stab at writing a Paranormal Romance novel of late. I’m pretty sure it would be more comical than romantic.

I find that in my writing, I can’t avoid tying humor into everything I do. I pride myself on taking folks on an emotional ride—one minute laughing, the next in a brutal situation. I am at a crossroads with my favorite genre to write in. UF is my bread and butter, but my zombie series is, without a doubt, my best work. I don’t market it to even push it, but the Sinking Man Series is a hidden gem all around. Every character is a real person. I like adding my fans in when I can.

The big thing for me here is that I write to focus on audiobooks. It’s my thing. I’ve been lucky to Partner with the one and only Luke Daniels on two of my series.

What is your newest/upcoming release? Tell us about the book and series.

My newest release will be the first book in the Sinking Man series. To date, I have written and created audiobooks for five novellas that are about 40K words. I find it like brain bubblegum between writing the Max Abaddon books. 

The series follows Ben and his newly formed group of friends, who quickly become his family after a zombie apocalypse. I always get frustrated with zombie/post-apocalyptic works that ignore the obvious. The world is your oyster, and there is more at one’s disposal than I could even fathom. Ben is a famous actor who sits out the first year of the outbreak in his upscale, secluded riverfront neighborhood. Then, the real world slaps him in the face. Along the way, he reconnects with his wife, and the story indeed revolves around friendship and how a person can change to include the things they find themselves doing at the end of the world. We often find the zombies as background noise.

I sell thousands of books from my other series and very little here again because I never market it, but it is something special. Plus, the readers from Coastal Magic last year told me I better write the next book before next year or else…. 

What inspires you to write your current book/series?

My inspiration is all the other authors out there putting their words on paper. I have always enjoyed magic, and when I first read the Harry Potter books and a few others that overlay magic in the present day, I was hooked. The Dresden Files, you name it. I could not get enough. As a prior military officer, I spent two years in Afghanistan and found myself devouring entire series via audio or reading when I had time.

I literally came to the end of the road with all the major popular series. Next thing you know, I found a few indie series, and they sparked a light in my brain that I haven’t been able to turn off. 

The Max Abaddon Series is quickly becoming a known entity in the UF world. While I have a traditionally published series through Podium, I have kept this as a self-published series. 

I also have several friends who write in this genre, and that has been awesome to see them grow and grow along with them. Once people dive into the series, they are hooked. The first book I wrote was the first Max Abaddon book. There are days where I wish I could re-write a good portion of it as it was my first outing, and I had a lot to learn, but the series just keeps getting better and better. 

What books/genres are you reading right now? 

This is a great question. I have actually been reading some paranormal romance and a few sci-fi books. Okay, I’ll be honest. I’m doing research for a one-off book I want to write, which I already have a few publishers asking about. A Serial Killers guide to Alien abduction. Ever wondered what would happen when aliens try to probe a retired serial killer? The funny thing is that I have also been writing a paranormal romance book when I need a break.

It is mind-boggling when you look at PR sales. Sometimes it’s good to write to market.When I’m writing in a genre, I study but don’t read it while writing so I don’t get overly influenced. Tropes… what can I say…I like having my own spin.

Who is your favorite character to write?

Petro and I talking about your question.

I think I’ll have to ask my favorite character to talk about that. “Hey, Petro!”

“Coming, boss!”

“Hey, why do you think you’re my favorite character to write?”

“Well, let me tell you…,” Smooths out his mustache. “First, it has to be my title as a Pixie. Warrior of the Freeze, you know, from when I got put in the freezer for taking Ed’s car apart. Oh, the rest….Taker of the eye, saver of the dirty laundry, pixer of the underwear drawer, hero of the underworld, slayer of pirates…., hold on I got the rest written down.”

Sighing. “That’s good enough Petro. Tell us about yourself.”

“Well, I’ve been on baby-making duty with Casey lately. I thought saving you from the underworld was hard….”

Sighing again. “We don’t need to know all that. Save the jokes till after the interview.”

“Okay boss. It just has its ins and outs.”

Facepalm. “Are we going to keep going with this?”

Petro snickering buzzes up to my shoulder. “You know, it’s the fact that I’m not only the bravest pixie you ever met, it’s that I’m also on the council, and if it weren’t for me, Max would not be nearly as cool as he is. Plus, who else is going to pix his enemy’s underwear drawers? Nah, It’s just how much we’ve grown together. I know you think about me all the time…” Petro does the hip gyration while winking at me.

Another sigh. “Okay Petro. Thanks for stopping by. You have work to do.”

“Oh yeah, I hear you’re writing the next Max Abaddon book. Make sure you tell it right. I saved the day. Got the girl. Well, Casey, as she is my girl. Beat the enemy, and discovered a new type of rum.  You writing all that down?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

CMCon Quickies:

Long weekend or extended stay vacation? Long weekend. It always feels like I’m winning a prize instead of a planned-out trip.
Vampire or shifter? OH…… hmm… a shifting vampire?
Duke or cowboy? Well, considering I wear Cowboy boots…
Beach or pool? Pool. I don’t have to dig sand out of everywhere.
Trains, planes, or automobiles? One of my favorite Thanksgiving movies… but planes. I travel a lot… I am on planes every other week.

THANKS so much for playing along! You can learn more about Justin and his books:

https://justinleslie.com/
JSL Facebook
Justin S Leslie Amazon
Justin S Leslie Audible
Justin S Leslie Podium Audio
Free ebook link!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Coastal Magic Convention Featured Author Spotlight post. Justin S Leslie will be one of the amazing authors we’ll be hanging out with during the 13th annual reader weekend in Daytona Beach, FL, Feb 20-23, 2025.

For a full list of Featured Authors, info about the weekend, and link to register to attend, visit the Coastal Magic Website HERE. And be sure to watch for more Featured Author spotlights coming up here each month!