Leslie’s debut middle-grade novel Elvis, Me and The Lemonade Stand Summer won the Victoria Children’s Book Prize, The Jean Little First-Novel Award, and has been shortlisted for ten other awards, including The Washington State Library Award 2025.
Her second novel, Shamus The Urban Rez Dog, P.I. was released in September 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Victoria Children's Book Prize 2024, The Chocolate Lily Award 2025, and the Langley School District Book of the Year 2025.
Her third book, Elvis, Me & The Postcard Winter, is now available as of November 2024.
Leslie is an engaging speaker who very comfortable working with children of all ages. As a musician, she has written songs to accompany each of her books and performs these songs with her readings, which makes for a fun & dynamic visit.
Leslie also offers a workshop on writing and getting published for young writers and adults called "Weird Things I Do To Write That Work!"
Gentile lives in Brentwood Bay with her husband Dan and her German Shepherd who is convinced he's a lap dog. Leslie is of northern Salish, Tuscarora and Scottish heritage and lives on the traditional territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ people.
The Elvis novels are a perfect reading choice to prepare your class for Pink Shirt Day. In person or online, I can give readings from the novel and perform songs for a dynamic and lively presentation. I will lead a discussion on being kind and unkind, and use examples from the novel to show the impact that bullying and racism can have. We will discuss how the characters who are kind are happy, and the characters who are bullies are unhappy.
I am happy to let the students lead the discussion and even veer off topic and see where their questions take us!
I am comfortable with large groups, and have performed for over 400 students on numerous occasions. I've written music to go with all of my readings, so presentations are a blend of music and readings.
With "Weird Things I Do To Write That Work" I lead writers through my writing process, and tips and tricks I use to successfully develop strong, dynamic characters, and road tested methods to overcome writers block.
I include some important tips on how to find a publisher, and what I've learned from my writer's journey.
I always leave time for questions!
Meet Shamus, the Urban Rez Dog, the fun-lovin, cat chasing loveable mutt who can't stay out of trouble while he learns to navigate life in an urban setting with his new family.
Life is great - until Mom is falsely accused of stealing from the jewelry store she's worked at for years. Shamus steps in to help his kids, twins Rainey and Cole, catch the real thief, he discovers some hilarious clues - including a false wall, a lucky bowling ball, and a vicious poodle named Hepzibah!
I've written music to accompany this novel, so I can offer a dynamic and exciting presentation with readings interspersed with songs such as 'A Dog's Life' and 'Bad Dawg Blues'. I believe that it's so important for children to experience live music, so I have written these songs on both acoustic and slide guitar.
