I was born in the Great White North. Yes, you already got a flavor of my satirical influences. Okay, I was not born in the Arctic but, the cold and wintery enough city of Montreal in the late 1960s. I grew up playing hockey on outdoor rinks and baseball on grass deprived fields. When indoors, reading seemed to be the perfect indoor remedy from the boredom of now in hindsight were minimal choices on the television. My brother and I would stage impromptu indoor hockey games, and to the fright of our mom, wrestling matches to pass the time.
One day I stumbled across a slightly worn cover of a book with an image of three boys crouched at the gates of a cemetery. I started reading and was hooked. “The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow” was the book, and the “Three Investigator Series” took my interest in books to a new level. What was not cooler than having a secret hangout in a junkyard and solving mysteries?! Books became a staple of my holiday wishlists and remain so today.
Reading soon would not be enough for me. I had to write and to create. Class writing assignments excited me. Of course, I often ignored the subject assigned by the teacher. Horrific were the days when composition period was canceled so we could catch up on math.
My teenage years were spent in the mid-80s. There could be a good debate as to whether I would have been considered a nerd or geek. In retrospect, “early grunge” is probably correct. Seriously, my love for music went hand in hand with my passion for reading. The Who were my rock gods. This concert poster adorned the closet next to my bed for years. By the end of the ’80s and early ’90s, Faith No More, Sonic Youth, Alice in Chains, and everything grunge or guitar-driven dominated my headphones. And my novels are heavily influenced by music, as you may discover.
By the time I started university, I had vowed to write a novel one day. Figured it would be done in a year. Yep. That was my goal. University life and the real world can quickly unfocus the mind. I graduated and entered the business world. Yes, there were moments of epiphany even in business school as I helped co-edit the faculty satirical monthly periodical. But, pages and pages of writings, thoughts, ideas, poems, soon became stashed away…until.
Yes, satire and its link with sarcastic humor give me great joy. I grew up glued to the television when SCTV would be on. John Candy doing Monday Night Curling is pure gold, and yes, that is a Canadian fact.
My Novels
My first novel, The Boys Who Danced With The Moon, has long been smoldering, going back to the days of my youth. The spark “finally” turned into a flame, and before I knew it, a novel emerged. Before too long, new ideas and characters surfaced to form a second novel. Yes, I am proud to tout my second novel, Munching on the Sun, which was published in September 2020.
Time’s Musicians was published in January 2020 and has received rave reviews. Don’t be shy to check them out!
My novels share a common thread. They are character-driven novels about teens and young adults, most offbeat characters, searching for their place in the world. All on a journey. A journey, I hope, you take with them. You may see yourself in one, many, or even all of the characters. Perhaps just a glimpse of someone you know or knew. The beauty of reading is that it is a unique and deeply personal experience.
Take the time to write a review, please…
My works are for you to read, be entertained, and, hopefully, inspire. Please take the time to write a review, however short or long. The lifeblood of an author in this age is word of mouth.
Stay Connected
Finally, please stay in touch. You can find a couple of ways to keep up to date with me. I still live in my hometown with my wife and three teenage sons…and my cat. You can stay up-to-date by following me at twitter.com/markpauloleksiw
Enjoy,
Mark
Rain For The Puddle Splashers
Coming in 2024
Taras has moved to a new neighborhood and high school. His parents and brother hope distance and time will heal the emotional wounds he desperately tries to conceal. There is one problem. Living across the street is Zach, a guitar-playing prodigy, who communicates through the strings of his instrument. And what Zach communicates to those around him is anger. You see, Zach is both feared and hated by most of his classmates. But, there is more to Zach as Taras soon learns. Zach, too, is a haunted soul seeking something that only Taras can understand. The past is not done with either Zach nor Taras. Enjoy this tale of outcasts and idealists trying to survive their last year of high school and the evil that stalks them. Discover the hope which is eternal in youth and ask yourself the question, "Are you a puddle splasher?"
Mark Paul Oleksiw's fourth novel is a passionate tale about the innocence of youth and the simple power of friendship and love to bring the rain.
More info →Munching on the Sun
Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Teen and Young Adult Finalist
"I'm a huge fan of YA novels, and I'm always on the lookout for a new YA author to enjoy. But it can be tricky. A lot of books for teenagers can overly simplify life -which I find annoying - and focus too much on plot and not enough on the characters ; so much so, the reader often hardly gets to know them at all. But I think I discovered a gem in Munching on the Sun - excellent title, by the way. Written by Mark Paul Oleksiw, it is a thoroughly gripping story of lost love, growing up, and the destructiveness of obsession.
So, to the plot. Well, in a nutshell, the protagonist, Lukas, is a very popular lad on the University campus . He's smart, he's cute; the world is very much his oyster. But when he sees - or thinks he sees - his childhood love, Kara , his life begins to spiral out of control. Slowly, day by day, his obsession with finding her and his memory of her grows, and soon his psychological wellbeing is severely affected. This is a superbly written story with a strong protagonist in the form of University student, Lukas, and a host of intriguing characters that literally jump off the page. Although it's very much a plot-led story, the author works hard to envelope the reader in the university campus setting and also to develop his characters. The result is a thoroughly gripping YA novel that I suspect many adults would enjoy too.
So, can I recommend this book? Totally. Who to? Well, I suspect older teenagers will find this book the most enthralling. But anybody who enjoys a good coming-of-age story with strong characterization and a well-crafted mystery, will find this a gripping read. Enjoy!"- A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
Feedback from Reviewers and Readers:
"As much a YA romance as a struggle for a young man to find closure. Superbly plotted and populated with a host of unforgettable characters." The Wishing Shelf
"Munching on the Sun encapsulates what it is like to have big questions about life while you’re falling in love and growing up." - Foreword Clarion Reviews
"Oleksiw’s work is certainly original. The events that Lukas experiences in the novel are both relatable and realistic, and they will resonate with readers." - The Booklife Prize review
"Somewhere, somehow you start to take everything as personally as if you were them, experiencing their feelings and yet simultaneously trying to protect them or cheer for them, it’s unquestionably the mark of a great book... It is without a doubt one of the most sophisticated YA novels that I’ve read, dealing with some serious topics. The author never put a foot wrong and I can’t recommend this book enough." - Netgalley reviewer
"Love can make the heart glow or plunge it into an endless night of despair. Returning to the land of the living is not a journey for wimps. The novel MUNCHING ON THE SUN opens a Pandora’s box of memories where evil might wear many faces, including your own...Author Mark Paul Oleksiw takes a colorful cast on a VI Act journey towards reclaiming the beauty of life in the unusual novel, MUNCHING ON THE SUN.- IndieReader reviewer
More info →The Boys Who Danced With The Moon
From the Readers and Reviewers:
"The Boys Who Danced with the Moon" is a tender and poetic look at adolescent boyhood, and its currents will draw the reader along almost as powerfully as those of the river at its heart." -Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader.com
"This skillfully crafted YA mystery novel revolves around a past event that continues to haunt its protagonist. Oleksiw offers a realistic portrait of a suburban town in the 1980s and of the ties that bind individuals to the place of their origins...Oleksiw deftly blends a coming-of-age story with elements of a mystery, resulting in an insightful and refreshing YA novel with crossover appeal to an older audience." - The Booklife Prize
More info →Time’s Musicians
The Booklife Prize Semi-Finalist 2020!
"Oleksiw’s searching literary novel focuses on an inexplicable childhood incident that forever connects two friends and bridges the past and future. Sci-fi, fantasy, and coming-of-age elements richly intermingle within a framework of literary fiction.
The prose in Time’s Musicians is vivid, tense, lyrical, and rich, with memorable and unnerving insights.
Deeply philosophical, ambiguous, and profound, this narrative starkly defies genre categorization and stands apart as exceptionally unique.
Oleksiw’s novel presents a continuum, of sorts, between the childhood and adulthood of the primary character. The puzzling, thought-provoking exploration of identity will perhaps best be appreciated by adult readers."
From Readers and Reviewers:
"A bizarre, mind-bending story. The descriptions are unique and the imagery is vivid, while the plot twist near the end of the book makes for a stunning turn. Readers are often encouraged to release their inhibitions and suspend their disbelief, but Oleksiw’s writing makes it easy to give in. Time’s Musicians is a suspenseful musing on existence, relationships, truth and purpose, offering a satisfying conclusion, along with plenty of profound questions that will persist long after reading the last page." Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★½
“A complex, well-written story of boys coming of age and the darkness they must face”- A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review, ★★★★★
The Story
As a child, Billy believed in black holes and time travel. Now, in his thirties, Billy is the reclusive creator of a popular comic book. On the eve of its final edition, Billy’s behavior grows erratic as he mysteriously requests assistance from the retired psychologist who evaluated him ten years earlier, Dr. Carrie Woodson.
Time’s Musicians is the story of two eccentric outsiders, Billy and John, who meet at summer camp. Both brilliant, they reunite as college roommates seeking answers to life’s great questions. A “prank”by Billy changes their relationship and future forever. Carrie’s quest for the truth leads her to realize the boys’ friendship was more complicated than anyone imagined. What would cause Billy to turn on John, pure jealousy or worse, insanity? Will Carrie finally solve the puzzle before it’s too late?
Time’s Musicians is a suspenseful, coming-of-age story exploring the eternal search for light within the darkness of the human condition. In between moments of silence, there is a song awaiting musicians to play it.
More info →