Book Deal Announcement: AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, coming 2025 from Kensington Books!

Darlings! I'm SO excited! More Ghosts! This time, with GOTHIC feeling!!!! This goth is happy-dancing through haunted houses!

Publisher's Marketplace Deal Report:

AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC by Leanna Renee Hieber, Andrea Janes

Imprint: Kensington Books

Bram Stoker award finalists and authors of A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN: TRUE STORIES OF AMERICA'S GHOSTS Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes's AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, an examination of America's most Gothic places and hauntings, featuring the weird and wild trappings of Gothic tradition such as hidden passages, wailing women, family curses and more, with an emphasis on female spirits and the cultural narratives surrounding their stories, to Elizabeth May at Kensington Books, in an exclusive submission, for publication in 2025, by Chelsea Hensley at KT Literary (world). Non-fiction: History. 

Happy Release Day to A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN: TRUE STORIES OF AMERICA'S GHOSTS!

The day is finally here!

A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN: TRUE STORIES OF AMERICA'S GHOSTS, co-authored with Andrea Janes of Boroughs of the Dead is now out in the world! Available in digital, audiobook and trade paperback, wherever books are sold! 

"Deliciously eerie.” —Leslie Rule, Bestselling Author

From the notorious Lizzie Borden to the innumerable, haunted rooms of Sarah Winchester's mysterious mansion this offbeat, insightful, first-ever book of its kind explores the history behind America’s female ghosts, the stereotypes, myths, and paranormal tales that swirl around them, what their stories reveal about us—and why they haunt us . . .

Here's a little excerpt from my "Existential Questions" Introduction, explaining why I do what I do!

Please pick up your copy today! We'd love to continue writing about this intersection of women's history and ghost stories and we can only to that with your support! Cheers, thank you and Happy Haunting! 

A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN: TRUE STORIES OF AMERICA'S GHOSTS National Tour!

Join us for A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN: TRUE STORIES OF AMERICA'S GHOSTS National Book Tour!

 New York! Denver! St. Louis! Salem! Online!

Sept. 27th Brooklyn 6-9pm

SPIRITED AWAY Launch Party!

Barrows Intense Tasting Room

In-Person Author Talk & Signing!

RSVP: http://Tinyurl.com/spirited927 

 

Oct. 4, Sleepy Hollow, NY 7pm EST

Washington Irving Memorial Chapel

at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

In-person Author Talk and signing!

 

Oct. 5, 6pm EST

Village Preservation Force

Broadcast of Leanna & Andrea’s

Book Talk at the Salmagundi Club!

https://villagepreservation.force.com

 

Oct. 6, 6PM EST

Savoy Bookshop, Westerly, RI

Virtual Event with the authors

http://MysticBooksInc.com

 

Oct. 11, 6PM MT

Goldspot Brewing Company, Denver, CO

Beer Tasting and Book Event

Book Sales by Tattered Cover Books!

http://Goldspotbrewing.com

 

Oct. 13, 6:30PM CDT

Buder Library, St. Louis, MO

In-Person Author Talk +

Book Signing with Leanna!

 

Oct. 17, 8PM EST

Swamp Fox Books, Des Moines, IA

Virtual Event with the Authors

http://Swampfoxbookstore.com

 

Oct. 19, 7PM EST

Bookwoman Books, Austin, TX

Virtual Event with the authors

BookWoman 

Oct. 20, 7PM EST

Monmouth County Library, New Jersey

Virtual Author talk

http://Monmouthcountylib.org

 

Oct. 25, 7PM EST

WORD Bookstore, Brooklyn

In-Person Author Event

In-Person Signing!

RSVP: http://Tinyurl.com/hauntedword

Oct. 26, 7PM EST

92Y Virtual Author Event

https://www.92ny.org

 

Oct. 28, 1PM EST

East Meadow Public Library, NY

Virtual Author Talk

https://eastmeadow.info

 

Oct. 28 7PM EST

Mystery to Me Books, Madison, WI

Virtual Event with the Authors

http://Mysterytomebooks.com

 

Nov. 7, 7PM EST

Morbid Anatomy Museum

Virtual Book Talk

http://Morbidanatomy.org

 

Nov. 10, 7PM EST

Harvard Bookstore, Boston, MA

In-Person Author Event with Andrea & Leanna

Moderated by Sebastian Crane

http://Harvard.com 

Nov. 12-13, Salem MA

Salem ParaConn at Salem State University

Leanna is a Guest of Honor!

Book Talk & Signing

http://TheShamanAndTheShowman.Com

 

About the book:

From the notorious Lizzie Borden to the innumerable, haunted rooms of Sarah Winchester's mysterious mansion, this offbeat, insightful, first-ever book of its kind explores the history behind America’s female ghosts, the stereotypes, myths, and paranormal tales that swirl around them, what their stories reveal about us—and why they haunt us…

Sorrowful widows, vengeful jezebels, innocent maidens, wronged lovers, even the occasional axe-murderess—America’s female ghosts differ widely in background, class, and circumstance. Yet one thing unites them: their ability to instill fascination and fear, long after their deaths. Here are the full stories behind some of the best-known among them, as well as the lesser-known—though no less powerful.

Tales whispered in darkness often divulge more about the teller than the subject. America’s most famous female ghosts, from from ‘Mrs. Spencer’ who haunted Joan Rivers’ New York apartment to Bridget Bishop, the first person executed during the Salem witchcraft trials, mirror each era’s fears and prejudices. Yet through urban legends and campfire stories, even ghosts like the nameless hard-working women lost in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire —achieve a measure of power and agency in death, in ways unavailable to them as living women.

Riveting for skeptics and believers alike, with humor, curiosity, and expertise, A Haunted History of Invisible Women offers a unique lens on the significant role these ghostly legends play both within the spook-seeking corners of our minds and in the consciousness of a nation.

Pre-Order Wherever Books are Sold! http://linktr.ee/AHauntedHistory

Announcing DREADFULESQUE, a new site celebrating women and femmes in horror!

I'm so thrilled that a new site celebrating women and femmes in horror launched today! DREADFULESQUE features reviews, commentary, essays, discussion on spooky, folkloric topics and more! AND they've a neat, affordable holiday gift guide for spooky-fun small and women-owned businesses! Two of my TORCH AND ARROW pieces are featured! Check them out at Dreadfulesque.com and follow them on Twitter and Instagram! Happy Haunting!

"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!