Kirkus Recommends Eterna and Omega, Booksmugglers Giveaway, Launch Parties and more!

Hello Darlings!

I'm thrilled Kirkus Reviews noted ETERNA & OMEGA as an August release not to miss! And I'm in with some incredible company, like Mary Robinette Kowal's GHOST TALKERS, which is a brilliant novel that I utterly adore and I think all of my readership will feel the same way.

And the fine folks at THE BOOKSMUGGLERS have hosted an exclusive video where I discuss my passions for the Victorian era and share some ETERNA tidbits. Plus, Tor Books is hosting a giveaway! Please enjoy these links and go enter to win!

Upcoming Appearances / Launch Parties:

I'm reporting in from the final Authors After Dark convention in Savannah, GA, this convention is so filled with wonderful readers and authors, its always like a family reunion. If you're in the area and not already an attendee, come to the open-to-the-public signing on Saturday from 12-4pm! I'll have Eterna Files, Strangely Beautiful, AND Eterna & Omega available to sign, as well as some of my jewelry!

AUGUST 9TH: Cincinnati, OH, 7PM

Hometown launch at Barnes & Noble West Chester, OH (The Streets of West Chester) 7pm, reading, signing, refreshments, after-party!

AUGUST 11TH: New York City, 7PM

The incredible Morris-Jumel Mansion, New York's oldest house (where Aaron Burr lived, calling all Hamilton geeks!) has recently been restored, and you simply must join us for a grand night of ETERNA & OMEGA reading, signing, the debut of the Eterna-inspired accessory line from Wormwood & Gall, wine, soda, food, ghost stories and a tour of the mansion. Tickets are $15 at the door, and ETERNA & OMEGA will be sold at a discount! Proceeds will go to the mansion's ongoing restoration fund. Please come in your finest Gothic, Neo-Victorian or Fantastical, Steampunk attire to be entered into Wormwood & Gall's costume contest with great prizes!

Can't join us in person? Procure signed copies at WORD BOOKSTORE in Brooklyn, an incredible independent bookstore that is vital to the community and to authors in kind! Please note how you would like the book personalized in the notes / comments section!

Don't forget to check out my FREE Eterna Files prequel novella, THE SPARK! And share with friends to get them hooked on this series!

Cheers and Happy Haunting!

Eterna Character Insights and Signed Book Giveaways!

Hello Dear Readers!

We’ve a month to go until the mass-market edition of THE ETERNA FILES, book 1 in my current Gaslamp Fantasy trilogy with Tor Books, releases into the wild, seen here, replete with new parasol and spiffy review quote:

I am an extremely character-driven storyteller and none so much as in THE ETERNA FILES, a large cast novel that posits two “X-Files-ish” departments in London and New York in 1882 on a perilous crash-course while each office seeks immortality on behalf of their respective governments. What these departments get instead is a ghostly, ghastly window into hell while demons stalk their cities.

Because my work is so character-driven, I wanted to further invest in my characters in this series by allowing you, dear readers, to have some questions answered. I’ve collected a few questions via my online platforms and my ETERNA characters will be answering them all month, here and on various guest posts as my characters haunt the net. AND you see I’ll be hosting several giveaways for signed copies of this new- and very affordable I might add-mass-market edition. I hope that those who are already fans of THE ETERNA FILES will re-engage with my characters and those who are new to my series will find themselves intrigued and we’ll all be eagerly on board for book two, ETERNA AND OMEGA, when it releases this August!

We’re starting off these character insights with a question from one of my most thoughtful and considered readers, Gemma L, who asks this stunning question of my character Louis:

“In death, or at least the ghost state you are in, do you find there is the same propulsion toward purpose and growth that one feels in life?”

Louis Dupris is a young man who came to The Eterna Commission in 1880, up from New Orleans, with a vision of mixing scientific discovery with what he finds sacred in his Vodoun belief system. THE ETERNA FILES opens its first chapters with a great tragedy, and Louis finds himself addressing his work from the other side of the veil… He answers the question thusly:

Louis:

“I appreciate the gravity and weight of this important query. I was always driven in life, I find myself no different in death, however much like laws of physics, I find myself unable to gain as much traction. I mean this both literally and figuratively, as my ghostly feet do not touch the earth anymore, I float along like a feather in swirling wind. I do not have the same ability to keep a razor-sharp focus as I once did. But I yearn for the truth, to find out what happened to me, why our work brought out demonic presences who seemed threatened by what our commission created in that dim, isolated lab.

The thirst for answers is as vital to me as my love my darling Clara Templeton, muse of my work, the mind behind The Eterna Commision, fraught as it may have been. I love her perhaps more keenly in death. Ghosts who remain tethered to their work, to earth, to life, to love, I suppose by nature are pining beings. I am certainly hungry. Empty. Starving for details, action and resolution. And yet because of this quest I am not a husk, I am not without life, it’s just that life has changed so much.

I am growing accustomed to a thought taking longer to complete, death causing a prolonged state of pensive meditation. I have to force myself to appear to my brother, to Clara, to any colleague I might have spiritual access to, with the full awareness that their clock is in minutes and hours while my presence here in this grey between could be eternal. Time here is different. Temperature, weight and all physical properties are different. But my heart is unchanged and if there is one thing to celebrate about this change of state and status, is that I have access to a new knowledge, there are things I can discern in this space between life and death I could not see, nor hear nor grasp in corporeal life. This is what will keep my feet as close to the ground as possible as I run towards my destiny.”

Thank you, my dear Louis, thank you Gemma for the question, and thank you, dear readers, for coming to play with us. Have more questions for my characters, Louis or any of my 19^th century characters? All my worlds are parallel worlds, so characters from my Strangely Beautiful as well as Magic Most Foul novels appear in THE ETERNA FILES series!  If you’ve a question, please leave a comment below and my characters will get back to you!

Want to keep posted on my books right from the source? Tor Books has created an email list for my readers, it just takes one second to sign up so please do, you'll get first look at new content, first access to announcements, first chance at sales on my books and more!

This month I'll also be answering questions for:

Scandalous Women
The Gothic Library
Historical Non-Fiction Author Michelle L. Hamilton
So stay tuned for those links!

And now... Giveaways! Via Rafflecopter below, win one of three signed copies of the mass-market edition of THE ETERNA FILES and a signed book plate for the upcoming sequel ETERNA & OMEGA! US only please, thanks!


 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Upcoming Appearances, Dark Tales from Elder Regions and Updates!

My Darling Readers,

I've been quiet here on the blog as I've been deep in drafting The Eterna Files Book 2, but as we're gearing up for The Eterna Files launch on Feb 3, 2015, the Tor Books team and I are so excited about the book and launch, please stay tuned for our book tour and launch events!

My 2015 Convention schedule includes Featured Guest Appearances at: TempleCon (RI), The Steampunk World's Fair (NJ), The International Steam Symposium (OH), MistiCon (NH), Authors After Dark (GA) and many more! I'll be touring Florida with my beloved Alethea Kontis in February for multiple signings!

I've exciting new work releasing this month, welcome to DARK TALES OF ELDER REGIONS from Myth Ink Books. My short story "Roebling's Monster" headlines this creepy anthology and I'll be doing my first reading of the story and a signing this Saturday, December 6th at 11am at WINTERCON at Resort World Casino in NYC! I'll have all my books available for sale and signing!

 

***

 

In other news, I've teamed up with writer, illustrator, producer, Mason, DJ and all around Renaissance man Thom A. Truelove on several projects for fiction and for the screen, one of which is a novel focusing on "The Visitor" who appears in the Eterna books and her fascinating trajectory and unique way of living past, present and future at once. Please follow his blog to see what he's up to and get his perspective on what we've got in store in the coming years.

 

Stay tuned for more Eterna Files excitement! And if you weren't the chosen winner of this blog's ARC contest, enter to win a copy of THE ETERNA FILES by entering Tor.com's SWEEPSTAKES!

 

Cheers and as always, Happy Haunting!

Teaser Tuesday: A new, free short starring Nathaniel Veil and Lavinia Kent! In which our Gothic friends take Black Friday literally...

Greetings!

As you know, Dear Readers, we spent most of the year serializing most of The Double Life of Incorporate Things via this blog, and now the full novel is excitingly available via Kindle and paperback via Amazon, and also, via Barnes & Noble: paperback AND at last, NOOK, huzzah!

Last week ushered in the new Teaser Tuesday feature of fresh new content for your reading pleasure.

Today I'm directing you over to the fabulous Literary Escapism to be sure you don't miss a new little piece I did in honor of their annual Black Friday feature. H.M.A.M.B. style...

Since you know our infamously Gothic duo, Nathaniel Veil and Lavinia Kent from their Double Life adventures here, join them at Lord & Taylor circa 1881 for a literal "Black Friday" the denizens of New York aren't likely to forget....

Leave a comment there at the bottom of the post per the prompted question and you could win a signed copy of The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart!

Read, enjoy, share, and we'll see you next Tuesday for a new feature on the latest in the Hieber Gothic Victorian Fantasy matrix!

Cheers and as always, Happy Haunting!

DOUBLE LIFE now available for NOOK! And A Goodreads Giveaway!

Happy Monday, folks!

For my dear Barnes & Noble loyal readers, many of whom have been waiting and asking, bless you, despite a slight delay, Barnes & Noble editions are at last up and running!

The Double Life of Incorporate Things is now available for Nook as well as in paperback via Barnes & Noble.

Please Note: This title is not being shelved within Barnes & Noble physical stores. B&N can order it into store for you if you order it, but it won't be sitting there on shelves.

Goodreads users! DOUBLE LIFE has a Goodreads Giveaway happening right now! Put it on your to-read shelf and enter to win a signed copy!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Double Life of Incorporate Things

by Leanna Renee Hieber

Giveaway ends January 10, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

As always, the more you can spread the word about a new work, the better chance at a full life it will have, and as this novel sets the stage for my upcoming Eterna Files, your help in it taking wing will make it fly all the higher! So Tweet, share, + and "like" away!

Cheers, thank you for reading and as always, Happy Haunting!

March Madness Blog Hop + Giveaway!

SPRING!

What am I, Leanna Renee Hieber, looking forward to most about spring? Why, spending time in my favourite place in all the world: Central Park! At the capstone vista of 19th Century romantic imagination, The Bethesda Terrace.

As you can see from my blog title I write Gothic Victorian novels with fantastical, magical paranormal elements. If any of you have visited Manhattan's incredible 843 acre slice of heaven in the center of the big city, you might recognize that gorgeous expanse pictured atop my blog. That's the Bethesda Terrace in the 1880s, the time period in which my Magic Most Foul saga (Now Available) and upcoming ETERNA FILES saga (2014 from Tor / Macmillan) are set.

The park was always a bold venture representing an idealistic, imaginative city as ambitious and interesting as it is populated. It is a park for the people, entirely man-made and sculpted to beautiful perfection by visionary minds of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux. The land was set aside by the city in the 1840s and construction on the park lasted for the next many decades with an ongoing maintenance budget that numbers in the millions of dollars. There were countless obstacles along the way to what much of the world considers to be landscaping engineering perfection but the park exceeded all its challenges, silenced any of its early critics, and has become a national treasure. It is impossible not to find its hundreds of varying vistas beautiful. It is the most valuable piece of real estate in the world, both financially and as a New Yorker, spiritually too. And I believe the Bethesda Terrace to be the park's crown jewel.

I've just launched my serialization of the finale in the Magic Most Foul saga, THE DOUBLE LIFE OF INCORPORATE THINGS, a Gothic paranormal adventure in 1880 New York City featuring two young lovers trying to escape a demonic conspiracy that has threatened not only their own lives multiple times and in elaborate measures but has destroyed their families, targeted their friends and if the ugly dark magic is not stopped, the entire city could plunge into chaos. And in the second chapter of THE DOUBLE LIFE OF INCORPORATE THINGS, I send my hero and heroine to that very Bethesda Terrace, giving some historical detail and context along the way. Stop by to catch the free serialization continuing every Tuesday!

TO ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF MY NOVEL DARKER STILL: comment below on your favourite spring activity or share your favorite historical haven for a chance to win a copy of DARKER STILL, book one in the Magic Most Foul saga! Please leave an email or Twitter handle so I can get in touch with the winner which will be chosen via randomizer on 3/31!

TO ENTER TO WIN THE SLEW OF AMAZING GRAND PRIZE STUFF: FILL OUT THE RAFFLECOPTER here, but please comment below for DARKER STILL, as a separate giveaway: a Rafflecopter giveaway

HUZZAH! Come back every Tuesday for the first installment of THE DOUBLE LIFE OF INCORPORATE THINGS - Serializing just like the Victorians did, RIGHT HERE! Read 1.1 now!

New Contest: featuring Hope Tarr's TEMPTING and more...

New Contest! Victorian Goodness Galore!
Please visit one of my favourite authors and dear friend and Lady Jane's Salon co-founder Hope Tarr and join in the incredible giveaway she's hosting not only for her own work, but for a copy of DARKER STILL! Hope is celebrating the re-release of her incredible and award-winning novel TEMPTING so don't miss this opportunity to learn more about Hope's work and you may just get a copy of DARKER STILL too! :) 


Cheers!

National Tell-a-friend-about-Darker-Still Day!

Greetings, fair friends!

Today marks the 3 month anniversary of the publication of DARKER STILL: A NOVEL OF MAGIC MOST FOUL from Sourcebooks Fire. So I've decided it's National Tell-a-friend-about-Darker-Still Day! :)

To mark this day I'm encouraging you all to tell a friend about DARKER STILL if you loved it. Or tell an enemy if you hated it. Regardless, first books in a new series always need a little extra love, oomph, and marquee attention, especially on a debut effort onto new shelves. So I'm incentivizing your word-of-mouth action by entering you dear book-talkers into a contest for one of the limited ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) copies I will receive sometime in June of the Magic Most Foul sequel, releasing this November, titled THE TWISTED TRAGEDY OF MISS NATALIE STEWART.

5 reasons to check out DARKER STILL: A NOVEL OF MAGIC MOST FOUL if you haven't already:

1. There’s a haunted painting. A British Lord is trapped inside. And he’s really good looking. (See, that’s three reasons just in one). Feel free to snag that #Denburylicious badge and use it on your site! (Just please link to my site or a Darker Still product page).


2. Natalie Stewart, a spirited and opinionated young woman everyone can cheer for, overcomes danger, incredible personal odds and adversity to save lives and save the day.

3. It will give you the shivers. Lots. Promise. I’ve been told that Natalie’s dreams are not to be read right before bedtime.

4. Set in 1880 New York City at the brand new Metropolitan Museum of Art, Darker Still is full of danger, intrigue, mystery, curses, spooky magic, nightmares, disguises and pretty dresses!!!

5. It was chosen as an INDIE NEXT recommended book by the American Booksellers Association, and considering the sequel will be out this fall, you'd best start now…


THE RULES to be entered to be one of the first to receive an ARC of THE TWISTED TRAGEDY OF MISS NATALIE STEWART: (Again, my ARCs will arrive in June from Sourcebooks)

It's easy. Just comment below and share how you told friends about DARKER STILL in any number of ways. Just please be sure to comment, I'M NOT PSYCHIC. (Some of my characters may be, but I'm not). As you share, please leave some link as to how to contact you if you win the ARC!

Possible ways to participate in National Tell-a-friend-about-Darker-Still Day - any one of these is an entry:

- Mention the book to a friend.

- Or share this blog post via the share buttons below.

- Or Tweet about Darker Still. Did you find something #Denburylicious.

- Or you could click and "Like" the book on the Barnes & Noble product page or via any bookstore platform that has a "Like" or share option.

- Or put Darker Still on a wish list.

- Or you could share something about Darker Still from any of my Facebook community page posts with your Facebook friends by clicking their share button.

- Or you could buy it if you haven't already (It's currently on promotion in your local Barnes & Noble store! Check out their yellow end-cap signs that say something like "buy books and get a book free"!). It's also featured at Indie Bound, due to the Indie Next List ranking.

- Or check your local library and if they haven't ordered DARKER STILL, suggest it for their collection, it's a nice tie-in to classic literature, a big plus for library systems.

- Or use your imagination. :)

Just comment as to how you've shared this first installment in the Magic Most Foul saga with a friend and you'll be entered to be one of THE VERY FIRST PEOPLE IN ALL THE LAND to recieve an ARC of the sequel!! thanks and blessings! Without readers, we writers couldn't be writers. There are no words to express how much we writers appreciate you readers.

CONTEST ENDS 2/15/11 - Winner's name drawn via Random.org from comments below.

The Thorn and the Blossom, or, why print books are important...

Because you can't do all THIS digitally. The Thorn and the Blossom, a Two Sided Love Story, by the lovely and talented Theodora Goss, published by Quirk books. Read the accordion-style book one way, you get one side of star-crossed love from one character's perspective, flip it over and read the other point of view. A work of art in storytelling.

It's breathtaking!

And I'm giving this new copy away to one of you fine folk who comment below, with hopes that you will show off this book and its awesomeness and continue to support print books. While I appreciate digital publishing, there's just something magical about opening a book. And there's nothing quite so magical as a book that's also a work of art!

(Also stay tuned, I'll be making an announcement about an anthology that Ms. Goss and I will be in that I'm very excited about.)

Giveaway instructions: (USA only)

Leave a comment on something to do with print books and how you feel about them.

+1 entry if you follow this blog

+1 if you follow me on Twitter @LeannaRenee

+1 entry if you join the FB Community

(Please note your +1s in your comment to keep track)

Winner will be picked via Random.Org a week from now: Jan 20th

Cheers and blessings and happy reading!

Halloween Awareness Month: Giveaway Part Deux

WE'RE A MONTH AWAY FROM THE RELEASE OF DARKER STILL: A NOVEL OF MAGIC MOST FOUL!! - Sorry. Got a little excited there. But that also means there's no better time than now to get your signed, personalized pre-order copy via WORD Bookstore to go out to you on release day!


Now. GIVEAWAY #2:


I am running each of my Halloween Awareness Month giveaways via all my different social media presences, so today's giveaway (running until tomorrow, winner picked via Random.org) is up via my Twitter feed. I'm raffling off a copy of CANDLE IN THE ATTIC WINDOW: An Anthology of Gothic Horror published by Innsmouth Press and featuring my short story "At the Doorstep" set in the Magic Most Foul world. (Please note: Booksellers and Librarians, you can order the book for your stores / libraries at 40% off by following that book title link and ordering from Innsmouth Press)


RT my latest tweet about the contest to enter to win.


To get ready for Halloween Awareness Month giveaway #3, be sure to like my Facebook page and stay tuned there.

KEEP IT SPOOKY!

Events! The Calendar in Progress... 2011

Hello friends! As you know, I travel (a lot) to conventions, conferences, readings, etc, to talk about my books and also to support the genre that I love, to cheer on other writers, to commune with readers and also, you know, to play dress-up (the real reason for everything). Here's the shakedown of my 2011 events thus far. Events will likely add to this list, but these things are for sure thus far:

So it begins!

Feb. 4-6: Warwick/Providence Rhode Island: TempleCon! I return as a Guest Author to this lovely RetroFuturist Convention where I'll have a table with my books to sign, I'll be reading from Darkly Luminous and previewing Perilous Prophecy w/ a book giveaway: Saturday at 7pm! I'm teaching the Language of the Fan at High Tea and having a grand time!

Feb 10th: Columbus, OH - Free event! Guest at Romance Read aloud sponsored by Ohioana Library Association - Books will be available for signing.

March 25 - 27th: Nashua, New Hampshire - I'm The Literary Guest of Honor at the Steampunk Industrial Revolution! Panels, a live performance, and more! Books will be available for signing.

April 29 - May 1: New Hampshire - Aeternitas Harry Potter Convention Keynote speaker! "From Fandom to Fiction" - Books will be available for signing, as this event includes the Perilous Prophecy launch party!

May 3: Stamford, CT Connecticut Library Association Conference - guest speaker on Trends in Paranormal Fiction, books will be available for signing, including The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess.

Attn. Southern Ohio, my hometown launch party!
Thursday May 5th, 7:00 pm: Reading / Signing The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess at Streets of WestChester - Union Center Barnes & Noble in the Cincinnati Metro Area!

May 7th-8th: San Diego, CA - Guest author, Gaslight Gathering - (A Victoriana Convention!)

May 20-22: Guest author, Piscataway, NJ - Steampunk World's Fair

May 24th-26th: - NYC - Book Expo America - RWA booth and Sourcebooks booth

June 3-5 - Cincinnati, Ohio - Lori Foster's Reader / Author Get Together

June 27th: - Lady Jane's Salon special RWA edition, I'll be reading from and signing The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess

August 11th-14th - Featured author, Authors After Dark

Sept 2-5- Atlanta - DragonCon - panelist on the "Dark Fantasy / Goth" track

Sept 18th - NYC! Brooklyn Book Festival (at booth, signing)

October 28-30th - San Diego - World Fantasy Convention

AROUND THE INTERWEBS:

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- Interview and Giveaway at I'm a Reader Not a Writer (Giveaway ends 2/14)

-
- Stay Tuned to WAITING FOR FAIRIES - I've written an exclusive short Valentine piece starring Elijah and Josephine, two Strangely Beautiful favourites! Follow her @Kiaras and at the site, she'll be hosting giveaways and fun goodies all February! The new short story goes up Valentine's Day!

-

-KUDOS to UNHALLOWED METROPOLIS; "the gas-mask chic role playing game of Neo-Victorian horror" for picking up new distributor at Atomic Overmind Press! I met this fabulous crew of visionaries, gamers and artists at TempleCon last year and I am VERY pleased to say I'll be involved with the Unhallowed crowd in the future, having written a short piece about a Neo-Victorian zombie assassin for their upcoming fiction installments. Very. Cool.

-

I have joined THE APOCALYPSIES - a fabulous group of 2012 Debut YA authors and since MAGIC MOST FOUL releases November 2011 - they've kindly let me play in their End of the World Sandbox - that's so nice of them! They're the neatest group of authors with awesome books - please check out and follow the blog and their Twitter @Apocalypsies!

-

Cheers, friends! Hope your February is lovely thus far, I know I'm trying to stay warm and trying not to fall into snow banks here in NYC. My beloved bought me vinyl boots. He is nice.

Stay tuned for another Marketing Smackdown column this month!

Miss Percy's growing awards shelf and a picture of a bunny

Hurrah! More awards for The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker!
She's sure cleaning up this year. Miss Percy wins the Paranormal Category of the 2010 Heart of Excellence Awards sponsored by the Ancient City Romance Authors! Here are the contest results, congratulations to all the winners and finalists!

Ancient City Romance Authors (ACRA) is pleased to present the winners of the 2010 Heart of Excellence Readers’ Choice Award for published authors:
Historical Romance
1st Place – Captive of Sin by Anna Campbell aka Karen Schwartz
2nd Place – A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist
3rd Place – Where the Wind Blows by Caroline Fyffe
-
Inspirational/Traditional Romance
1st Place – A Lady Like Sarah by Margaret Brownley
2nd Place – Learning to Let Go by Elizabeth Pina
3rd Place – Sunset Beach by Trish Perry
-
Short and Long Contemporary Romance
1st Place – Scene of the Crime: Bridgewater Texas by Carly Cassidy
2nd Place – His 7-Day Fiancée by Gail Barrett
3rd Place – Her Best Bet by Pamela Ford
-
Romantic Suspense
1st Place - Cover of Darkness by Kaylea Cross aka Kari Lee Walker
2nd Place - No Turning Back by Kaylea Cross aka Kari Lee Walker
Tied for 3rd Place - Last Gasp by Carla Cassidy
Tied for 3rd Place - Under Fire by Beth Cornelison
-
Erotic Romance
1st Place - Drive Me Wild by P. J. Mellor
2nd Place - In the Flesh by Sylvia Day aka Livia Dare
3rd Place - Rogues Run by Lara Santiago aka Laura Freeman
-
Paranormal Romance
1st Place - The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber
2nd Place - Garden of the Moon by Elizabeth Sinclair
3rd Place - Wild Magic by Ann Macela aka Fredericka Meiners
-
Strong Romantic Elements
Tied for 1st Place - Seeing Red by Susan Crandall
Tied for 1st Place - Flying Free by Amber Polo
2nd Place - Murphy’s Law by Sandy James
Tied for 3rd Place - According to Jane by Marilyn Brant
Tied for 3rd Place – All the Right Reasons by Sandy James
-
Single Title Contemporary Romance
1st Place - Healing Luke by Beth Cornelison
2nd Place – Faith of the Heart by Sandy James
3rd Place - It Happened One Night by Lisa Van Auken

LEANNA on the INTERWEBS:
- There's a great INTERVIEW and contest to win signed books at Buckeye Girl Reads!
-
- My interview as Miss Percy, a GREAT 5 star review of "A Christmas Carroll" (Strangely Beautiful #2.5) featured in A MIDWINTER FANTASY as well as a signed SB #1 plus other fun swag contest is still up at Larissa's Life!
-
And more fabulous announcements will be coming soon! I've some very good news I can't wait to share.
-
For those of you looking for A MIDWINTER FANTASY, releasing electronically, thanks for you patience, hopefully the new download links will be up from Dorchester on Oct. 1st? *crossing fingers*

-

And because there are never enough cute pictures of bunnies:

Persebunny has begun to devour The Darkly Luminous Fight For Persephone Parker as heartily as the she did the first tale...

DragonCon 2010 Schedule

It's time for Dragon*Con 2010!!

I'm excited to see familiar friends and faces at one of my very favourite cons.

My Schedule:

Fri 02:30pm Room: Edgewood - Dragon*Reading:
I'll be reading from the Strangely Beautiful series, (replete with British accents and in my infamous Victorian regalia) AND I'll be giving away a bag of books!

Fri 04:00 pm Room/Section: M301 - M304 Dragon*Autographs - Come get something signed! My books will be available at The Missing Volume table, I'll also be signing / giving away bookmarks, pins and postcards.

Panels:

-------------------
Title: Surprise! You're Dead
Description: Death, ghosts, and the afterlife in fantasy fiction.
Time: Fri 08:30 pm Location: Cairo - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

-------------------

Title: Steam Queens: Women in Steampunk
Description: The many roles of women in Steampunk
Time: Saturday 1pm: Location: Westin Track Room

-------------------
Title: The Worlds of Tim Burton
Description: A fan panel about the works of Tim Burton. What did you think of Alice in Wonderland? Do you ever think he'll ever make that Dark Shadows movie?
Time: Sat 07:00 pm Location: Cairo - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

-------------------
Title: Dancing On The Head Of A Pin
Description: The role of angels and divine messengers in modern fantasy and horror.
Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: Montreal / Vancouver - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

I'll be tweeting up to the minute info via @Leannarenee

Cheers!

Hello March! And Tim Gunn wins best human being award.

Wow! February was a bit of a whirlwind, a lovely Valentine's day with my sweetheart as usual, a lot of hard work and new projects on hand, keeping busy and trying to keep many balls in the air as I juggle. Some moments are more successful than others.

March started off with a bang with our monthly Lady Jane's Salon, featuring Cara Elliott, Louisa Edwards and Mingmei Yip! With such diverse talents, it was, as always, a joy! Stay tuned to the Lady Jane's Salon page for upcoming blogs and re-caps!

Also March 1st began the BOOK-A-WEEK GIVEAWAY via the Strangely Beautiful Facebook page! We're starting off with my 2009 Prism Award winning novella DARK NEST. Each week, the giveaway is open until the following Monday when we turn over to the next book, so become a fan, "like" or comment on the giveaway status update, and you're entered to win. For the schedule of books being given away, check out www.leannareneehieber.com/contests - and while you're there you can preview what's cooking for the Darkly Luminous contest!

Okay. So this is what this post is really about: Um... what else can March possibly have to offer after having met Tim Gunn?!!! For those of you who may or may not know, I freelance for a New York television studio specializing in satellite media tours. And this week Tim Gunn of Project Runway was in the studio to talk about a wonderful contest he's hosting for people who suffer from psoriasis to make them feel comfortable and fashionable in their own skin. How wonderful is that? How wonderful is he?! So. Wonderful. Seriously. The man shines light and makes the world a better place for his being in it. Not only is he perhaps the most classy, elegant man ever (I know I'm being superlative here but really, I've honestly never met anyone who deserves superlatives more than him) but he is kind, gracious, humble, funny, good-hearted, passionate, talented, and well-spoken (his vocabulary is thrilling), just to name a few good qualities. I think he's pretty close to enlightenment folks, maybe only one more turn around the globe for this one, him and the Dalai Lama are doing pretty well in the "make it work" category. I told him the only other time I was this excited for a guest in the studio was the time I met the Muppets. That's good company. *squee!*

March events: (I know. Everything's utterly pointless and mundane after Tim Gunn) I'm thrilled to be RWA Women's Fiction's Chapter's first workshop! I love teaching this workshop, I've done it for several RWA Chapters and it's fun and energizing: "Direct Your Book!" Theatrical Techniques to a Blockbuster Novel!"

About the workshop: "Crack open a whole new way to think about your fiction by using techniques inherent to actors, directors and other theatre professionals. As an author, think about what it takes to step into the role of actor, director, cinematographer, etc. and feel the lightbulbs go off as you troubleshoot your way towards an engaging, character-rich, one-of-a-kind hit novel." Click here for information on how to participate.

SIGNING: March 13th - Middletown, NY:The lovely Stella Price kindly invited me to a group signing at Borders in Middletown, NY! - 1 North Galleria Drive, Middletown, NY 10941 - 2pm-5:30pm! (As always, my upcoming conferences, events and signings are listed on my BookTour page)

STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL LOVE around the interwebs:

THANKS to Angieville for this lovely Darkly Luminous preview!

THANKS to Smokin' Hot Books for listing The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker as your favourite of 2009 at All Romance's Rom-blog Days of Heart, and for saying why; "I'm an avid Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte fan girl, Strangely Beautiful brought me back into why I started reading romance." - Goodness, thanks K.C.! (I'm a fan girl too)

THANKS to Brooke Reviews for naming Miss Percy under "The Most Beautifully Written" category, wow!

Well, it will be hard for me to top this March so far! What've you been up to?

New Contests and A Midwinter Fantasy!

Hey friends! Hope your 2010 is going great! Mine so far has been filled with a lot of writing (of course) adventuring around NYC (always fun) seeing Sherlock Holmes again (swoon) watching David Tennant's run as Dr. Who in order (swoon swoon) and gearing up for a slew of Strangely Beautiful events the whole year!

How 'bout let's talk free stuff:

Contests, Contests, Contests!

I'm running THREE contests in the coming months - not to mention I'll be reincarnating the Haunted London Blog Tour!

Contest #1:
WIN A BOX OF BOOKS in the Valentine's Day Giveaway! Win great Paranormal and Fantasy Romance titles! Go HERE for details and mention your favourite Valentiny sort of thing via the Contact page to enter! (US residents only - sorry, postage costs run high for all this stuff!)

Contest #2:
Starting March 1 and running every MONDAY until just before the release of THE DARKLY LUMINOUS FIGHT FOR PERSEPHONE PARKER I'll be giving away a BOOK A WEEK! Via the Strangely Beautiful Facebook Page!

See HERE for the giveaway schedule, go HERE to join the Strangely Beautiful page - you need to be a fan to be able to "like" or comment, and that's how entries will be taken. Tell friends! Win free books!

Contest #3:
Beginning April 27th, the Website will open for entries for a chance to win Beatrice Tipton's locket featured in The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker (an important item as important to Beatrice as Miss Percy's phoenix pendant was to her in Book 1) as well as a $25 dollar Barnes & Noble gift certificate! You're going to have to brush up your Shakespeare again because it will be another Strangely Beautiful pop quiz where you hunt for the Shakespeare references inside the pages!


In book news:

OCTOBER'S ANTHOLOGY has a title! - In October of this year myself, along with lovely Dorchester authors Helen Scott Taylor and L.M. McDonald are a part of a Fantasy Romance anthology where I the Strangely Beautiful series continues!

A Midwinter Fantasy

will include Strangely Beautiful #2.5; "A Christmas Carroll" starring Headmistress Rebecca Thompson and Vicar Michael Carroll (and including the rest of our beloved Guard as well.) I am so excited to share this - and for many fans, this is a long-awaited conclusion that I've hinted at all along, I'm so thrilled for the opportunity to give Rebecca and Michael some justly deserved time!

Miss Percy Parker and I around the interwebs:

- WOW Thanks, Fiendishly Bookish for this oh-so-delectable Miss Percy review!

- Thanks Lurv a la Mode for mentioning Miss Percy in your 2009 Blogiversary rundown!

- Thanks to The Book Whisperer for this interview! I do enjoy myself a nice interview.

- Thanks Book Nerding for this wonderful Miss Percy review!


- Thanks Annette at Annette's Daily Ramblings for this gorgeous Miss Percy review! Also check out Annette's beautiful children's books!


- Thanks Lou at The Bookpushers for your lovely words for Miss Percy!

New Media News!
The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker can now be ordered in Audio CD format at Borders and in CD, download and MP3 via Audio Realms! It's so exciting to have an audio version!

Be sure to enter the contests and join the Facebook page, and I'll see you in Strangely Beautiful places!

In which Leanna creates Horcruxes to be everywhere at once...

I am in the eye of Hurricane Promo, a turbulent and fantastical storm of my own making.

Mark Henry just said on Twitter that I'm "EVERYWHERE... I'd go so far as to say... OMNIPRESENT"... and that I'm "sparkling like a star"... And you can bet that will go on promo material. (If you say usable quotes around me, beware, they will end up in front cover matter.)

I kind of think I'm sparking, as in, perhaps ready to catch on fire or explode, but hey, I'll take the "star" part. And I dig Mark Henry and can say so to his face at DragonCon this year so that's cool.

Here's the latest from Hurricane Promo... Or, "In which Leanna creates many Horcruxes and splits her soul to be everywhere at once." (If you are reading this blog, you likely know what a Horcrux is. If you do not, thankfully there's Wiki-Potter-pedia)

My soul is split today amongst these fine places:

Murder She Writes:
I love this blog. I am talking about everyone's favourite serial killer - and I do not mean Dexter, over at Murder She Writes. I am so thrilled to be there, and I find Jack the Ripper such a compelling and fascinating topic, so swing on by.

Magical Musings:
And over at the wonderful and charming group blog MAGICAL MUSINGS where Edie Ramer has become a sort of guardian angel to me, learn a few downright magical and uncanny things you wouldn't know about The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker otherwise.

Enter to win more free stuff! At Romance Writers on the Journey:

Check out an interview about how LONG it took for The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker to sell, how I kept my sanity, and what I rewarded myself with. Join me at a lovely and inspiring blog; Romance Writers on the Journey, and leave a comment, letting me know about your inspirations along the way. When you leave a comment, you'll be entered not only to win a copy of my book, but a tote bag and a FIRST SALE SCRAPBOOK! How cool is that?

And NOW for the very latest in glowing REVIEWS!

--
Miss Percy Parker has been hailed over at SMEXY BOOKS - as reviewer Mandi and I share a particular affinity for a certain, inspired actor...


From Mandi:
"The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is refreshing, adorable, romantic and an exciting story. This book is a paranormal, historical romance, but it is written in such a way you forget about classifications. You forget spirits don't really exist, and you really are not walking around 19th century London. The story completely absorbs you and pulls you into the world and you don't want to leave.

Percy starts as such a shy creature, but that is the only way she knows to keep hidden. Leanna Renee Hieber does an amazing job writing Percy - you can feel her yearning, and embarrassment and conflicting feelings. I can't remember being on such an intimate level with another heroine. It is not until Alexi makes her show her true self, and she gains strength in that courage, that she truly shines. Although most of their courtship she is timid, and unsure of how to handle her romantic emotions, when her relationship to Alexi is threatened, she stands up for herself and fights for him. The romance is sweet, and endearing and builds ever so slowly. "
(See the full and funny review, giving it a rating of 9... which means it will make a Smexy top 20 this year and that thrills me.) Thanks Mandi!

---
FANTASY DREAMER gives Percy love:
From Donna:
"It's has been awhile since I've read a gothic fantasy and I don't remember being this entertained reading a book in this genre as much as I was reading Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker. I enjoyed how Ms. Hieber's prose could make me feel the anticipation of that first touch and the thrill of that first kiss. I was transported to a Victorian London, during the terrible reign of Jack the Ripper. I could hear the clip-clop of the horse hooves echoing down the street, see the ghosts along the streets and feel the eeriness that always seem to accompany the evenings in London. Since I've read this book, I've even caught myself thinking in Victorian speak, it had that much of an impact on me.

It was truly a pleasure reading Ms. Hieber's tender love story with her version of Greek mythology mixed with the paranormal. The plot was well rounded and the ending gives you a nice closure but I have a few questions lingering that I hope will be answered in the next book. Your not going to find anything too terribly dark or forbidding in this book, though the evil ones were evil enough to fulfill their part in the setting of this book. It was a wonderful journey reading this book and I'm looking forward to next book in this series. Yes, I would definitely recommend this book."

(Read the full post on Donna's gorgeous Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings blog)
Congratulations to both of these lovely ladies for their Book Blogger Appreciation Week nominations!

Now! Back into the storm!!

Giveaways galore! Strangely Beautiful! For free!

Okay so since you all are going to need several copies of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker to give to all your friends and family for the holidays *grin* - here are 3 chances to win one!




1. I'm doing an interview at the gorgeous site featuring Historical releases: THE SEASON.

Check out my interview and follow Beverley's directions on how to enter to win a copy of the book.

2. Tempting Persephone has generously sponsored a giveaway at her gorgeous blog. I'm guest blogging there about Myths and Muses! Check it out, leave a comment to win!

3. And Literary Escapism is featuring me, and a guest blog on why My Vote Goes to the Ghosts! Giveaway here too!!

Go forth! Enter to win! Pass this along, tell your friends!

Blessings!