New Fiction and Upcoming Appearances!

Hello friends,

New fiction and Upcoming Appearances!

Apologies on the delay of this post, I update my social media (Twitter / Instagram / BlueSky) a lot more than the blog. But this year has been crazed, often difficult, with stints of taking care of loved ones in the hospital and more, all while on some of the more intense deadlines of my life.

I also carved out a month to perform in a full, professional theatrical production, the world premiere of Let's Misbehave, where I originated the role of The Countess, a delightfully zany character. It won't be the last you'll see of us. Check out the Let's Misbehave Instagram account to keep updates and check out my Instagram feed for some wonderful pictures and celebration of the show.

New fiction!

BLACKTHORN AND AMBERFIRE is book 1 of a Fantasy Romance novella duology exclusively in digital and audiobook (with me narrating!) via Everand, an amazing new fiction site where I have a host of novellas available, like my sequel to The Spectral City series, called THE SPIRIT SUITOR! 

About BLACKTHORN AND AMBERFIRE:

The Three Courts of Allforth have lived peacefully for generations, but they all keep a deadly secret that is about to break free…

Blackthorn, the Silvervale Court executioner, has not questioned his duties, he knows he sends the condemned to The Great Dreaming peacefully. He is an Evergreen; one of the rare people able to wield magic past childhood. But when a young boy on his execution table insists that something terrible is going on in their kingdom, Blackthorn secretly spares the boy’s life, asking for proof.

When a beautiful healer from the land of Amberfire, Roseleigh, is brought in to be executed next, Blackthorn hesitates, drawn to her. His death spell rebounds on him and only her healing light can spare him. He leaves the castle for recuperation and learns more about a world in which he was kept ignorant.

BURNINGWOOD AND DEVILSBANE, novella 2, releases 9/24 via Everand!

UPCOMING APPEARANCES:

KENNEBUNK, MAINE: 9/21: 11-4pm

Thrilled to return as a featured guest at the 10th annual Southern Maine Steampunk Fair! - I'll be giving a talk on The Eternal Importance of Ghost Stories in the main lecture-hall area and signing books! Tickets available here. 

FAIRHAVEN, MA: 10/5

Saturday, October 5th, I'll be part of Sam Baltrusis' MassParaCon! I'll be part of the Women in the Paranormal panel and also discussing A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts! Tickets available here. 

SALEM, MA: 10/6 - 4-5pm

Meet and Greet at Wicked Good Books! - I'll be signing copies of A Haunted History of Invisible Women in-store and answering spectral questions! 

KING MANOR FALL FESTIVAL - QUEENS, NEW YORK:  10/26 - 1-3pm - Free event!

At this incredible historic house museum's Fall Festival, I'll be giving a talk on the importance of Victorian Spiritualism as it relates to the fight for Women's rights and suffrage, discussing Victorian Seance culture and the significance of ghost lore as cultural touchstone. More about King Manor, directions and more, visit here. More about the Fall Festival here. 

Happy Haunting! 

Leanna's Award Eligibility for 2023!

Leanna's Award Season Eligibility Category!

Hello friends! Every year, different genre organizations like Science Fiction / Fantasy Writers Association and the Horror Writers Association put out "eligibility calls" for work published during the year that may qualify, so if you're a voting member of an organization that might find my work of note, I'd be honored by your consideration! A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts by myself and Andrea Janes being a finalist for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction for the Bram Stoker Awards was such an honor and while I've never done one of these posts before, I figured I might as well shoot my shot!

The following 3 things that have been published this year available for consideration on Horror Fiction and Non-Fiction and Speculative Fiction and Non-Fiction ballots are as follows:

1. "The Hatchet Man of Wehr Road" published in LONELY HOLLOWS: FIFTEEN TALES OF FOLK HORROR by Pavane Press, March 2023 - Anthology available here, please contact Leanna for a review copy of the story, thank you! 

Category: Short Story 

Genre: Horror Fiction / Speculative Fiction

2. "Between the Dreaming and the Dead" published in APEX MAGAZINE, Issue 141, November 2023, now available for purchase, available free on their blog December 14th, 2023. 

Category: Non-Fiction Essay

Genre / Topic: Non-Fiction Speculative / Horror / Paranormal

3. "On Paranormal Chaplaincy" published in THE DEADLANDS Magazine, Issue 32, forthcoming, December 2023, via THE DEADLANDS

Category: Non-Fiction Essay

Genre / Topic: Non-Fiction Horror / Paranormal / Speculative 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION!

And LASTLY, I'd be remiss in not mentioning another release of mine this year, THE WORLD OF TOMORROW IS SADLY OUTDATED, Available in digital eBook and in Audiobook (with me narrating!!) via Scribd/Everand! While this unique novella is technically a reprint (and thus not able to be considered in award categories) it is a brand new, fully revised edition with lots of changes and expansions from its original conception! I'd love for folks to check it out! It's a dual-narrative Steampunk / Hopepunk / Dystopian tale where a group of 19th Century inventors look into the future to create solutions and survival for an apocalyptic New York City! 

Leanna's 2023 DragonCon Schedule!

Hello darlings! I'll be as usual, crazed at DragonCon!
When not on panels I'm assisting Kelley Hensing at her art booth in the Hyatt Art Show so come find us! Cheers!

Leanna's DragonCon 2023 Schedule! THURSDAY: Title: Sherrilyn Kenyon's Reader (and Fan) Appreciation Party Time: Thu 07:00 pm Location: Savannah Ballroom B/C Westin (Length:4 Hours) Leanna will have copies of A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN and other Gaslamp Fantasy titles available for sale and signing along with some of her one-of-a-kind jewelry! FRIDAY: Title: From Beyond the Grave: Summoning Compelling Ghost Stories Time: Fri 11:30 am Location: Peachtree 1-2 Westin (Length:1 Hour) Title: Behind the Curtain: Unmasking the Secrets of Acting Success Time: Fri 01:00 pm  Location: Hanover AB Hyatt (Length:1 Hour) Title: The Shadows of Folklore: Crafting Folk Horror Stories Time: Fri 02:30 pm  Location: Peachtree 1-2 Westin (Length:1 Hour) Title: Paranormal YA Fiction Time: Fri 05:30 pm  Location: A707 Marriott (Length:1 Hour) Title: Historical Romance Novels: A Deep Dive Into Our Craving For Love Time: Fri 07:00 pm     Location: Augusta Courtland Grand (Length:1 Hour) Title: The Fantasy Gather: Welcome Home!  Time: Fri - Leanna will be there 9:45- 11:15pm only! Location: International South Hyatt Title: Spies & the History They Impacted Time: Fri 08:30 pm      Location: Macon Courtland Grand (Length:1 Hour) Title: Spooky Tales and Haunting Music Time: Fri 11:30 pm  Location: Chastain 1-2 Westin (Length:1 Hour) SATURDAY Title: Discussion & Workshop: Memento Mori, Victorian Mourning Jewelry Time: Sat 05:30 pm     Location: Augusta Courtland Grand (Length:2.5 Hours) SUNDAY Title: Powers of Mind: Psychics in UF Time: Sun 01:00 pm Location: Chastain 1-2 Westin (Length:1 Hour) Title: Victorian Spiritualism Time: Sun 05:30 pm Location: Macon Courtland Grand (Length:1 Hour) Title: Herstorically Speaking: Women in Song of Rock and Riot Time: Sun 07:00 pm Location: Macon Courtland Grand (Length:1 Hour) MONDAY: Find Leanna at dark fantasy artist Kelley Hensing's booth in the Hyatt Art Show, Lower Level! Happy Haunting!

 

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. 

THE GIRL IN THE WOODS - A Ghost Story by Leanna Renee Hieber

Hello friends!

So when I was around 9 years old I invented a ghost story that terrified my girl scout troop. Little did I know then how it would influence the path of my life. 

So I wrote about this entirely true and utterly ridiculous scene from my youth over at Kensington's Between the Chapters Book Club. Check out "The Girl in the Woods"...

And if you haven't picked up a copy of A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN: TRUE STORIES OF AMERICA'S GHOSTS, what are you waiting for? 

Happy Haunting!

Leanna

THE WORLD OF TOMORROW IS SADLY OUTDATED gets a new revision and audio book!

 Dear Readers!

Thrilled to share with you that earlier this year, my Steampunk / Dystopian / Hopepunk parallel narrative novella, THE WORLD OF TOMORROW IS SADLY OUTDATED is now available in a new, expanded, revised edition digitally with an audiobook companion, narrated by yours truly, exclusively via Scribd.com! If you're not already a Scribd.com subscriber, you can sign up for a free trial! Go forth and check out this very cool story where the past saves the future!

About the book:

New York City: The Year is 1889.
New York City: The Year is 2089.

In 1889 a group of bold pseudo-scientists discover the "temporal current" and begin to view the distant futures that await the Empire City. In the future, all life as we know it has crumbled, leaving New York City a ghost town with a populous scrabbling to survive underground.
In the past it's up to an unlikely group of Victorians to preserve something of their world to save their future generations. In the future it's up to an unlikely group of survivors to take a leap of faith; discovering what their ancestors left for them with no more guarantees than love and hope.

Now available exclusively via Scribd.com in digital and audio!

And just in case you missed it, A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN: TRUE STORIES OF AMERICA'S GHOSTS, that I co-authored with Boroughs of the Dead founder Andrea Janes, was a Bram Stoker Finalist for "Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction! Check out the amazing final ballot here. Thanks so much to the Horror Writers Association for this extreme honor. 

Christmas Ghost Story: A Gothic Duet with Edgar Allan Poe and Leanna Renee Hieber! "Not More Lovely than Full of Glee" a sequel to Poe's "The Oval Portrait"

Darlings... I had JUST posted on Instagram about my Edgar Allan Poe shrine... And not an hour later, what launches? 

"Not More Lovely than Full of Glee", set on a cold December 24th in a distant past, my sequel to Poe's "The Oval Portrait", has launched as a back-to-back audio drama with its inspiration, thanks to the amazing folks at PseudoPod! 

I mean, look at the log line: "AUTHORS: EDGAR ALLAN POE and LEANNA RENEE HIEBER!" I nearly fainted. 

I'm so grateful to the PseudoPod staff for championing my work and creating this beautiful double bill!

 "Not More Lovely than Full of Glee" is a Christmas 'ghost' story about what happens after the events of Poe's "The Oval Portrait"... 

It's now live, for free, via PseudoPod, in digital + audio! Donations to PseudoPod encouraged! 

Darlings, can I just say what a thrill it is, what an honor it is, what a joy it is to see a lifelong dream come true? To be situated next to THE legend, the man who remains my foremost inspiration, it is just the most *incredible* thing. It's impossible to put to words what it feels like to see my name next to his name. He is my everything. I would not be a writer if it were not for him. 

I wrote "Not More Lovely than Full of Glee" for A WINTER'S TALE: HORROR STORIES FOR THE YULETIDE in 2020 and I had a dream that someday I'd see my sequel placed side-by-side with what inspired it. "The Oval Portrait" remains one of my favorite Poe stories, short and terribly chilling, and I felt I had something to say about the woman whose life was painted away... 

Listen / Read via PseuodPod in the Escape Artists Podcast Network! Happy Holidays! Happy Haunting!