Monday, December 28, 2020

"Not More Lovely Than Full of Glee" - Leanna's Sequel to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Oval Portrait" Now Available in A Winter's Tale: Horror Stories for the Yuletide

Dear Readers,

If you've followed me for any amount of time, and if you're familiar with my work or my goth self, it won't surprise you how connected I am to Edgar Allan Poe. Working with Boroughs of the Dead, I've given countless tours around the areas in which he lived while in New York and I've done even more virtual talks about his influence in inventing modern genre fiction as we know it today, revolutionizing fiction as a working-class, struggling author, critic and poet. 

Poe is my literary North Star, the reason why I became a writer. For more about my connection to Poe, please read this very personal post of mine about his collection of stories and poetry I loved as a child and how that set my course as an artist and author.

Not as many people are familiar with Poe's very short story "The Oval Portrait", but it's one of my favorites. Read Poe's "The Oval Portrait" for free here.

This brief story is a harrowing tale about the power of art. And ever since I was a kid I wanted to write a sequel. What might happen next?

I didn't have the guts to do it for years. I told myself I'd wait until I published 13 novels- an auspicious number - and then I'd allow myself to attempt to imitate my foremost inspiration and seek to further a story he began. This year I published that lucky 13 with the release of my latest Spectral City novel, A Summoning of Souls

I was asked this year if I might join in an anthology meant to represent the long dark nights around the holidays telling ghost stories and fantastical tales, a distinctly Victorian tradition that's seeing a popular resurgence. And it was finally time to attempt what I'd longed to create for so many years.

A Winter's Tale: Horror Stories for the Yuletide is here, the inaugural publication from the new Pavane Press, with cover art by Lynne Hansen. My story "Not More Lovely Than Full of Glee", my sequel to Poe's "The Oval Portrait", can be found within its pages... Ready to tell you what became of the woman in that fated portrait.

My title comes from the original source text and becomes a focus point in the story, demonstrating the supreme power of the written word. 

I hope you'll check out this anthology and enjoy my homage to the brightest star in my literary sky. 

Cheers and Happy Haunting! 

Friday, December 11, 2020

Today Only: THE SPECTRAL CITY 1.99 Sale, a Gothic, Gaslamp Fantasy with Found Family & Slow-Burn Romance!

TODAY ONLY (12/11/20) thanks to Kensington Books and Open Road, THE SPECTRAL CITY, book 1 in Leanna's acclaimed, digitally bestselling SPECTRAL CITY trilogy of ghost-filled, Gothic, Gaslamp Fantasy novels is only 1.99 across all digital platforms!

This book features an adorable slow-burn romance, an inclusive, found family of loveable, paranormally talented characters (alive and dead) and an eerie, gaslit, gilded age NYC! 

Did you like Leanna's Young Adult Magic Most Foul saga beginning with DARKER STILL? This is their family legacy! 

About the book via Kensington Books: Solving crime isn’t only for the living.

Her name is Eve Whitby, gifted medium and spearhead of The Ghost Precinct. When most women are traveling in a gilded society that promises only well-appointed marriage, the confident nineteen-year-old Eve navigates a social circle that carries a different kind of chill. Working with the diligent but skeptical Lieutenant Horowitz, as well as a group of fellow psychics and wayward ghosts, Eve holds her own against detractors and threats to solve New York’s most disturbing crimes as only a medium of her ability can.
 
But as accustomed as Eve is to ghastly crimes and all matters of the uncanny, even she is unsettled by her department’s latest mystery. Her ghostly conduits are starting to disappear one by one as though snatched away by some evil force determined to upset the balance between two realms, and most important—destroy the Ghost Precinct forever. Now Eve must brave the darkness to find the vanished souls. She has no choice. It’s her job to make sure no one is ever left for dead.

“Personable cast, snappy prose, and intriguing premise.” – Publisher’s Weekly on The Spectral City 

Pick your favorite eBook vendor HERE and follow Leanna on BookBub!  

Like the idea of THE SPECTRAL CITY? The whole trilogy is available wherever books are sold with A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS and A SUMMONING OF SOULS, which just released at the end of July!


Cheers and Happy Haunting!


Thursday, December 3, 2020

Learn from Bestselling, Award-Winning Authors at the Writer Igniter SciFi/Fantasy Summit!

Dear Readers, Writers and Creative Enthusiasts!

I am SO excited to be a part of an amazing event: The Writer Igniter SciFi/Fantasy Summit from DIY MFA!

In this summit you’ll hear me and 10 other bestselling and award-winning authors share knowledge about the craft and business of writing. You’ll discover tools and techniques to help you improve your writing, and you’ll hear how our own careers have led us to where we are now. You’ll leave this summit not only with a better understanding of the craft, but also with new energy and motivation for your own writing. Go to https://writer-igniter-sff-summit.heysummit.com/ and sign up with your email for access to this FREE event.

Today, going live at 1pm EST, you'll get a chance to hear my interview that covers a wide range of topics, such as how I juggle being at the intersection of multiple genres. I go on to discuss (with the amazing DIY MFA Maven herself, Gabriela Pereira) how to go about creating an immersive world but avoiding an info dump and I continue by sharing how I balance multiple jobs and why it's useful that they're related.

This is a limited event that will only be available for a very short amount of time so check out the event page now to take part! I'm in amazing company! Come join us for education and inspiration!

Cheers and happy creating! - Leanna