Author returns with short story collection

To call Leif Gregersen a prolific author might be an understatement.

After all, the locally raised writer has published five books – including fiction, non-fiction and poetry – in just the last two years alone. There are several others that he’s written that aren’t even included in that count either.

Well, he’s back in the public with another title on soft cover and this time he’s tackling the world of short stories.

The Base Jumpers and Other Stories contains several new tales out of what the author admits is a substantial reserve of writing.

“I have a lot of short stories going!” he admitted. “I think there was 28 that I had and I boiled them down to 10.”

Those stories are about a car accident that changes one person’s entire life, a bet that pays off with an unexpected tear-jerking ending and the titular BASE jumpers, two friends who come to the crossroads of their young lives.

“This book is my best effort at telling stories that will entertain and hopefully have something to say,” Gregersen said.

The stories themselves have some added weight from The Lesser Blessed author Richard van Camp, who edited the works. Van Camp was also the one who nominated Gregersen for the recent CBC promotion called 11 Canadian Writers to Watch, a list that was published at the end of February.

“He works in every genre and I love his work and spirit so much,” van Camp said of Gregersen, as published on CBC’s website. “He's so prolific and he is so hungry to be published that he inspires me daily.”

This new effort confirms that the local scribe is not only a tireless writer but also the local king of self-publishing. He admits to generally veering away from traditional publishing because of the time delay that it usually takes to get a book to market.

This might change, however, with his next outing. He is hoping to write a book of fiction aimed at a very marketable target audience with the intention of having it optioned to become a movie.

“I’m just trying to do my best work. I want to be big!” he exclaimed with a hearty laugh.

Gregersen, true to his do-it-yourself ethos, has also lined up a public appearance to launch the book. That will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at Indigo North Town Centre on Aug. 2. That store is located at 137 Avenue and 97 Street.

In the meantime, he’s working on becoming a freelance writer for magazines and newspapers.