"A Christmas Carroll" reviews & digital vendor updates for A MIDWINTER FANTASY!

My kind and awesome friends at True-Blood.Net weigh in on "A Christmas Carroll" (Strangely Beautiful 2.5)!

From True-Blood.Net:

"Leanna Renee Hieber is one of our favorite authors here at True-Blood.net. We were introduced to her with her wonderful paranormal romance novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, and then The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker. Now Leanna is taking us through the holidays with another heartwarming story in the short story, “A Christmas Carroll”, part of the A Midwinter Fantasy anthology.

Readers of Leanna’s Miss Percy books are already familiar with the lonely headmistress, Rebecca Thompson, and the cheerful, lovesick vicar, Michael Carroll. Rebecca has been in love with Alexi Rychman since first meeting him one haunted night on a bridge in 1800′s London. Michael has loved Rebecca from afar for just as long. Can these two find their heart’s desire? In “A Christmas Carroll”, Rebecca takes a journey into heartbreak and guilt that brings her to the very edge of a world she does not yet belong to, but may never let her leave. With the help of some ‘old friends’, Rebecca faces her guilt and her fears, finally letting her see and accept the love that’s been right in front of her.

Michael is taken on a similar journey, but he must face the heavy mantle of his own guilt and self worth before he takes on the strength of his love for Rebecca. These two stricken hearts are helped and protected by Percy and the Old Guard, including one with a very special Christmas gift for her friends.

This story handles love and its heartaches and triumphs with such gifted tenderness. It’s not often that a book can make me cry, but this one did. However, Leanna is so good to her readers that she never leaves us with sad and hopeless feelings. This is the magic of her books. “A Christmas Carroll” is one of three novellas found in the anthology, A Midwinter Fantasy. The two other stories included in this book are “The Worth of a Sylph” by L. J. McDonald and “The Crystal Crib” by Helen Scott Taylor."

Thanks True-Blood.Net!
-
Also please check out Poisoned Rationality's beautiful "A Christmas Carroll" review - it's such a beautifully penned review, and I'm grateful! Thank you, Lexie!
-
A Midwinter Fantasy is available as an eBook via the following vendors:

Barnes & Noble
-
All Romance eBooks
-
Books on Board
-
Amazon
-
Read an exclusive Alexi / Percy excerpt from "A Christmas Carroll" over at BABBLING ABOUT BOOKS AND MORE!
-
You can find an excerpt from Chapter One in the previous post. Cheers!

Strangely Beautiful the Musical. In the Beginning...

How does one make a show? A show on a trajectory to a Broadway musical? Very carefully. And with talented people. Step by step, a show comes together.

I hope you'll recall this spring when I excitedly announced that the option rights had been sold for my debut novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker to be adapted into a musical theatre production. As an actress / playwright / author who never expected all her talents to come crashing together into one enormous dream, there's nothing really more thrilling, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that its happening. Now to be clear, it's a long road to Broadway, with stops in other cities prior to the big move, but making a show begins small; in the minds and hearts of a core group of people, and for me, on index cards. I promised I'd offer an inside view onto the process, so here goes.

My role as script writer (in theatrical terms: "the book" of the musical) is to create the structure into which the composer and lyricist's beautiful (and I mean beautiful- they've done incredible work so far) songs will be placed, and make sure the connective tissue from one theme to the next is full of simple but effective storytelling.

To do this, I had to think of my book in skeletal form; to storyboard it out. To wrap my head around this, I picked up a stack of blank index cards. I've been working on the Strangely Beautiful storyline for a decade at this point so I pretty much know the story blindfolded, in my sleep, by rote, etc. Rather than picking up the book, I simply thought about the bare bones of my story. On the top card I wrote: "The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker As Told By Index Cards" (see photographic evidence). When adapting a work of fiction that is ostensibly longer than the work you are adapting it into, the main plot points are what needs representation, not all the details.

-

I then took what were the obvious bullet-points and typed up a document with headers and subcategories, the main events and the smaller moments, called "beats" in theatre. I also included in the document some quotes from the novel encapsulating the 'feel' and most important theme of that particular chapter. From this the composer and lyricist hopefully get a sense of things to take away into their own work, which is to write the big numbers, while I create the structure and weave in appropriate dialogue, which will either be spoken or sung, depending on what the creative team decides. I have to be a storyteller on a grand and bold scale, making sure the bare bones of what Strangely Beautiful is all about remains structurally clear, the musical numbers filling in and fleshing out all the information, conflict and emotion I've hopefully set into place.

-

Last week I sat in on a session sharing some of the themes, music and lyrics already composed for the show. All I can say is wow. I think the music is inspired, lovely and well-suited, atmospheric, beautiful when beauty is called for and spooky when called for. The team had a great discussion, we made some choices and got on the same page, I cut some characters (a necessary evil, it must be done!) in hard and fast decisions.

-

And I had a moment, sitting at the table, my book in front of me, music inspired from my book caressing my ears, and all my years of theatre training and playwrighting and fiction writing had led me to that moment where I felt a God-like voice murmur: You were meant for this.

And so it is; we're making a show. I'll keep you posted along this magical journey as it continues to unfold.

-

Newsy Bits:

We have a release date for A Midwinter Fantasy including "A Christmas Carroll" (Strangely Beautiful 2.5): November 23. (digital / eBook only). Join the Midwinter Page for access to more details.

-

I joined my new publisher's Teen Fire forum, where we'll be actively discussing YA Fiction and Magic Most Foul. Join in the fun! I just set up a group for Magic Most Foul, so come join me!

-

I just turned the sequel to Dark Nest, titled Dark Nest: Reckoning, to my editor and that should release from Crescent Moon Press within the next couple of months. Look at CMP's pretty new site! It's definately a change of pace to return to the Dark Nest world, a futuristic paranormal, but I hope all those who have been asking "what is going on on that ship next!" will be pleased. :)

-

If you still have not joined my new Facebook Page, please do, I'll be running a lot of contests from there in the months to come and a lot of information will flow through that portal in regards to Magic Most Foul, Dark Nest, and also, the future of the Strangely Beautiful series.

-

Cheers and blessings!

Newsy Bits

As we come into my favourite season; Autumn, I'll be busy with events, releases and new work. I've a new Strangely Beautiful series release in A Midwinter Fantasy, huzzah, and I'm very excited to be working with some of the crew of Unhallowed Metropolis on upcoming ventures.
-
Around and About, or, My Writer Friends are Awesome:
1. Congratulations to my friend, colleague and Lady Jane's Salon co-founder Hope Tarr who launched Beer Gardens NYC, an awesome App that gives you the rundown on all the Beer Gardens in the Big Apple, so very useful for tourists and natives alike, be sure to check it out, the upgrades they have planned are as great as the App itself already is. Having had such a wonderful experience with tasty beers while visiting Germany, I'm so excited to have a way to find those brews here in my city! They've gotten a mention on The Gothamist already, yay! For their latest news, fan them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. (And the App is a $1.99 well-spent)
-
2. Congratulations to my friend and colleague Stella Price who, in the midst of the superhuman feat of organizing Authors After Dark Paranormal Weekend has managed to release the latest in Stella and Audra Price's American Satyr series, and since she hasn't had time to promote her really fun work as best she'd like to- considering she's so incredibly trying to make all of us Authors After Dark authors look good- the least we can do in return is tell everyone about it, so check out her latest!
-
3. I'm very excited about the signed ARC of Skyler White's IN DREAMS BEGIN that I picked up from Skyler herself at DragonCon. We were on the Angels in Fantasy Literature panel together and she's so lovely, and the subject mattter of this book deals with one of my favourite authors, the poet Yeats, so I'm very excited to read the rest of it AND very excited to be hosting a giveaway of this lovely work via Twitter. Join me there to be sure you don't miss it, as this is a book not to be missed.
-
4. And a huge THANKS to photographer and woman-of-many-talents Jessica M. Coen for her amazing photos of DragonCon, several of which include me (like this one), and all of which I love. Her Flickr account is full of delightful things, especially for those of you interested in STEAMPUNK...

(And for those of you who missed my gushing DragonCon ode to Doctor Who fangirl love, please see my previous post, "Being Romana")
-

5. Katiebabs of Babbling About Books (mega-congrats to Kate on her many book contracts this year!!) knows the coolest people. She introduced me to Brian Solomon and thusly to his blog, The Vault of Horror. It is so full of awesome win. Visit it and enjoy!
-
6. And lastly, while I wish I could call author Caleb Carr my friend, I just have to say that I finished The Alienist and it may be one of my favourite books of all time. Dr. Kreizler has nestled himself into my personal canon of literary loves.

Newsy Bits on Leanna in particular:

I am VERY thrilled an honoured to be named the 2010 RWA NYC Author of the Year on Thursday! Thank you RWA NYC and to all the people who made this amazing year possible for me in so many ways.
-
Regarding A Midwinter Fantasy:
Please note that due to changes at Dorchester Publishing, this anthology will release digitally (eBook) ONLY. I am sad about this change, as I like having my work in every format possible, because I have readers who like all the different formats and this limits my ability to do signings for this particular work. Moving forward with Dorchester, the rest of the series should be available in Trade Paperback Format but that transition isn't coming in time for this release. If you were one of the wonderful fans who pre-ordered this title, I thank you for your support, your accounts shouldn't be charged as the item scheduled to ship actually won't exist. Double check and if you have any concerns, I'd try and contact customer service and any other questions to Dorchester directly.
-
I do hope you'll be willing to join Rebecca, Michael and the whole Guard coterie in "A Christmas Carroll" on September 28th, Midwinter Fantasy's release day, in digital format. I'll have a small "Christmas Carroll" blog tour right around release day so stay tuned for that, and also, on release day I'll be posting an excerpt from the novella. It picks up directly between where the last chapter of The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker ends, and the Epilogue. It is the "Christmas miracle" to which Percy refers. - As for the rest of the Strangely Beautiful series, it's scheduled to be both in print and in digital simultaneously, so we won't have this problem going forward, it's just that A Midwinter Fantasy got caught amidst the transition. (Ohioans: Please note: I will be in Ohio October 9th to teach my Direct Your Book! Workshop for the wonderful OVRWA Chapter in Cincinnati.)
-
Other works:
1. Thrilled to report that my "Marketing Smackdown" column that I write for RWA NYC Keynotes newsletter has now been picked up by many regional RWA newsletters, even in Canada! Very glad all my in-the-trenches and trial-by-fire marketing knowledge has been taken as useful by many RWA Chapters.
-
2. I'm very excited to be joining the team of Unhallowed Metropolis for some fun fiction involving their incredibly awesome RPG game of "Neo-Victorian Horror" - stay tuned this fall for more details!

Happy September!

Beautiful Buffalo and a Book Title...

From lovely historic buildings, a golden dome and the grandeur of City Hall in downtown Buffalo NY to the people I met at the Buffalo Book Fair, the city certainly has a lot of beauty to go around. So, of course, does Niagra Falls. I’m traveling a lot this year, as you’ve seen, most of my posts have been recounting my various events. And I made a pledge that if I was going all over the country in one of the busiest years of my life, I’d try and make sure I’d see some beautiful, awesome things along the way. There are certain ‘bucket list’ sights one should see, and my love and I checked two of those off our list this summer already, the Grand Canyon and now Niagra Falls. (I’d seen the falls about 20 years ago, but seeing them with your partner- he’d never seen them- is even better). Yes, they remain as breathtaking as ever.

First, the fair. I loved that it was located in the heart of downtown Buffalo. Living in New York City certainly gives you an appreciation for events in the heart of an urban area and I get excited when I see it happen in other cities too. There were author readings, signings provided by the fabulous folks of Barnes & Noble and Talking Leaves independent bookstore, there was music and a lot of great workshops and demonstrations about healthy living and some great featured cookbooks. (One entirely about veggie burgers and I cheered.) I was asked to present my workshop Direct Your Book: Theatrical Techniques to a Blockbuster Novel in the Buffalo Library, which was staffed by the friendliest, most helpful people, extremely well-kept, utilized and organized, the downtown library is a real destination place. I was so honoured that the mayor, Byron introduced himself to the authors and is known for his literacy initiatives, if I lived in Buffalo he’d have my vote for sure. I had some very meaningful interactions with fellow authors like Sofia Quintero, (be sure to check out Efrain’s Secret, a really good YA novel) as well as the dynamic duo Virginia Deberry & Donna Grant. And I met some new fans, aspiring authors and other quite wonderful people as I signed some books. So thanks to Jennifer Parker for involving me with the fair, and to the Buffalo Book Fair board and friendly volunteers who made it happen.


The great thing about Buffalo is that it’s such a quick, very easy drive to the falls. When you drive towards the falls, the mist rising high into the air from their power is a striking and unusual sight. I forgot that one of my heroes Frederick Law Olmstead had helped design the parks around the falls and was oh-so pleasantly reminded. It was a warm weekend, perfect for getting misty-eyed. And for a parasol. Do bring your passport as its wonderful to walk along both Falls from both sides of the border.

I also got to look up to another of my heroes, Nikola Tesla, the man behind electricity and a thousand other things. I'm sort of (okay totally) obsessed with him which will lead into another novel some time in the future. His statue here is in front of the arch from his original Hydro-electric plant. He is a genius. If you don't know about Tesla, educate yourself. (Then watch David Bowie play him in the movie The Prestige and swoon.)
-
We did what simply has to be done; the Maid of the Mist, the powerful boats that take you along the American Falls and directly in the center of the Horseshoe Falls so you can be in sheer and utter awe of the power around you (as well as very, very wet if you want to be). And then the Cave of the Winds, (as for an actual cave, that collapsed in the 1930s and killed people, so no cave anymore) which is a structure that takes you to the base and up into the Bridal Veil falls so that you can touch them. Or, like Marcos and I, put your face in them, scream like little kids and then freak out by how many rainbows there are! The mist and water creates rainbows everywhere you look- which is just darn neat. There’s a hurricane deck where you can stand in what feels like just that. A safe way to experience what’s both terrifying and unspeakably gorgeous. Another instance of postcards only telling you half the story. There are some things in life you should just experience. Natural wonders are our top priorities in that category. I feel very blessed that my opportunities to talk passionately about my books have included such great adventures too.
-
My next trip? LONDON, ENGLAND! (My soul rejoices as I’m going home to my favourite place on Earth) Then a few days in FRANCE! Then GERMANY! I’m pretty beside myself. I’ll be doing a bunch of research for Strangely Beautiful #4 on the way. Dear Londoners! Please come see me
at my signing at Forbidden Planet! I’m so excited! Details here.

I’m certainly counting down the days until September 28th when A Midwinter Fantasy releases (now available for pre-order) and Rebecca and Michael get their due. Ohioans, I’ll be doing a signing the first week in October back home, so stay tuned for details.

And I’d like to take this moment to announce the title of the next in the series which has been making its rounds.

THE PERILOUS PROPHECY OF GUARD AND GODDESS (Strangely Beautiful #3)

A prequel, this book will release in the spring of 2011. And because I am very, very hard at work on the book, that’s why I’ve been a bit radio quiet, you’ll hear from me again after my European adventure!

Blessings! Light the darkness!

Congratulations Memphis, The Big Idea and stuff...

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MUSICAL "MEMPHIS"! Memphis took home not only BEST MUSICAL in the 2010 Tony Awards but Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical! Why is this so particularly exciting to me? (Well, besides the fact its a great show and deserved the awards) Kenny Seymour, Memphis' musical director, is writing the music for the musical adaptation of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker! It's really exciting to have Tony Awards backing up our production team!!
-
Today I am a guest at the most fabulous of fabulous: John Scalzi's WHATEVER where I'm talking THE BIG IDEA. "Oh, Gothic Novel, why I can't quit you, (and why I write you)" - come stop by and have fun with me.
-

Hey guess what? A MIDWINTER FANTASY, which includes "A Christmas Carroll" (Strangely Beautiful #2.5), is up for PREORDER so I'm running a CONTEST via the Strangely Beautiful Facebook page for a HARDCOVER copy of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker. Scroll down the Facebook page or if you're not on Facebook, you can enter via the contest page of my website. Stay tuned because within the next week I'll be posting an excerpt of "A Christmas Carroll"
-
Very excited that the Australian eZine THE SPECUSPHERE has rave reviews for both Strangely Beautiful books! Thanks!!!
The SPECUSPHERE reviews: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker The SPECUSPHERE reviews: The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker
-
The audio book of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is being serialized, FREE at The Audio Bookshop! Come download it and check out all the cool downloads and other free fiction!
-
Light the Darkness!

A Midwinter Fantasy (Strangely Beautiful 2.5) release day excerpt!

It's release day! Excerpt time! From Chapter One of "A Christmas Carroll" (Strangely Beautiful #2.5) Featured in A MIDWINTER FANTASY anthology- NOW AVAILABLE digitally from Dorchester Publishing. (Please note: this title will release in Trade Paperback in October 2011)

Copyright Leanna Renee Hieber 2010

From "A Christmas Carroll" - Chapter One:

In the beginning The Guard had been simple teenaged youths, arraigned by a goddess-like force and called to duty. They’d been universally awkward and unlikely companions from disparate backgrounds and classes; they’d suspected little of their lives ahead. Vicar Michael Carroll hadn’t known anything when he began seeing ghosts, when he began learning how his respective gift augmented their group. He hadn’t known how long it would take for their prophesied seventh member to join their ranks—or that one of their beloved number would fall in recent battle.

What he did know was that, from the very first moment he laid eyes on her, he loved the young and spindly brunette who would be their second in command. He’d loved Rebecca Thompson since Westminster Bridge in the summer of 1867. She, in turn, likely from that very same moment, had loved the young man who would become their leader. Alexi. The battle with Darkness and the Whisper-world, in retrospect, seemed the easy part.

Michael pressed his hands harder against the table, slid them farther from his body, stretching his taut muscles and wrestling with his nerves like Jacob did the angel. He’d not seen Rebecca since they laid Jane in the tomb three days prior; she had gone to her apartments and locked herself in. She blamed herself, he could tell, wished God had taken her instead. Michael thought the sentiment might kill him. Nothing felt familiar. He’d lost his powers, Jane, and now he was losing Rebecca. His heart, so full of joy and love, was suffering a tumbling withdrawal from its preternaturally augmented height. It was a terrifying, dizzying fall.

“Pull yourself together, man,” he murmured. “It’s nearly Christmas.”

His front door burst open, making him jump and splash warm wine onto his hand. Pursing his lips, knowing just who it was without even a glance, he finally looked up to behold the stern and striking figure upon his threshold. All in black stood his dear friend and unintentional rival, Alexi Rychman, former leader of the London Guard.

“Dear God, Professor. I truly thought, now that the weight of the known world is no longer entirely on your shoulders, you might at least allow yourself the more socially preferred custom of knocking upon a friend’s door before entering.”

“Old habits,” Alexi intoned, his voice rich, low and commanding. It would always be thus, even though he had no group to lead any longer.

Behind Alexi, a moonbeam of a young woman stood with an apologetic look on her face. Michael grinned and forgot his irritation. “Ah, well, Mrs. Rychman…with you at his side, all debts are erased.”

Alexi turned proudly to his entering bride. She was certainly the youth among them, Alexi not quite twice her age, but then again, where ancient prophecies were concerned, when gods were fiddling with mortal lives and taking their bodies as their own, age hardly mattered. Her fine taffeta skirts, in her favourite shade of rich blue, brushed the coarse wood of the door and rustled as she closed it. She received Michael’s warm expression with a radiant smile that transformed her death-white face into a ray of magical starlight. There was nothing about her that was ordinary. The whole of Mrs. Persephone Rychman remained white as a spectre, even the hair piled atop her head in an elegant coif. But the light here was diffuse enough that she did not have to wear the dark blue tinted glasses that shielded her eerie, breathtaking, ice blue eyes from any harshness.

“My husband never allows me to get to a door first, Vicar Carroll, otherwise I might abate his most startling tradition,” she said sweetly.

“Since we’ve lost so many traditions, I suppose we’d best keep the ones remaining,” Michael chuckled in reply.

While he had wanted an evening alone—to plan, to ruminate, to dream—he could not deny that Persephone made all disappointments bearable. She had saved them all from spectral Armageddon, and her mere presence reminded him of hope. Even her husband, a cold and fearsome man, eased into something more handsome around his strangely beautiful wife.

“Come then, you must sit down, now that you’ve come calling and disturbed my quiet. I see your nostrils flaring at the smell of it, Professor, so I know you’ll want a cup of your favourite brew.”

Alexi nodded and drew out a chair for his wife. She looked up at him with fond eyes, her hand unconsciously grazing her abdomen where her corset stays were bound more loosely these days. Having almost lost what she’d hardly knew she had, under horrific circumstances Michael didn’t wish to relive, he noticed her hand now rested there often, cradling the invisible life one of their beloved number had died to save.

Ducking into his small kitchen, he returned with a glass of wine for Alexi and a cup of steaming tea for Percy: as a parochial vicar for the Church of England, he always had a kettle of water at the ready, for he never knew when a parishioner might need guidance. It was more often that The Guard came calling. Would they still, now that they had lost their gifts?

The pair accepted their drinks, and Alexi wasted no time in admitting the reason for his visit.

“Michael, dear chap, now that we’re no longer arbiters of escapees from the spectral realm, I feel it necessary that Percy and I take the genuine, lengthy honeymoon we were so rudely denied by the onslaught of spectral warfare. However, I think it ill advised to leave Athens Chapel unattended, should there be…spiritual backlash or any other such nonsense. I’ll need your assistance to keep an eye open in case something flares up. Not that we could band together again without our powers, without our Healer…” Alexi’s usually firm voice faltered, and everyone looked at the table. He cleared his throat. “I assume this is not a problem?”

Michael opened and closed his mouth. He didn’t want more responsibility; he wanted time, now, to be a suitor.

Alexi read the conflict upon his face. “You’ve something better to do?”

“The good vicar does have a job, Alexi,” Percy murmured.

Alexi looked unimpressed. “Be that as it may, I may need him to step in and assist Rebecca with goings-on at the school, too. I’m not officially an administrator, but I might as well have been. The headmistress deferred to my judgement in many things.”

True, Rebecca often listened to him, but Alexi didn’t have to be so smug about it. His unwavering air of confidence rode Michael far rougher than usual. About to open his mouth and chide his friend, he stopped and considered the impulse. What was this? What was this overwhelming irritation he felt for his dear comrade? He had always suffered notions of fleeting jealousy or resignation, like any mortal, but never with such a sudden sense of petty anger. His great heart had indeed withered with the loss of his gift. He wondered if his inner foundation of faith, too, his touchstone of assurance, would prove similarly shaken.

Percy’s voice roused him from his worried reverie. “How are you faring, Michael, in our new retirement?” She spoke softly, brushing her hand over his. Looking into her eyes, he fancied he could see her thoughts. Curious, empathizing, she was so intuitive despite her innocence, such an old soul in such a young, inexperienced body.

He shrugged. “Good, good. I spend more time at the church—never a bad place to be when one faces such a dramatic shift in life. There’s more chance to think, to pray… I’ve plans, you know. You two are not the only ones trying to make up for lost time.” Percy took a breath, but Michael continued before she could interject. “And how is he faring?” He indicated Alexi.

“I’m not sure he quite knows what to do with himself,” Percy replied, allowing herself a little grin.

Alexi turned. “Please don’t you go calling me insufferable, as The Guard has always done.”

At that moment the door was thrown wide and a nasal voice was quick to comment, “Did I hear the word ‘insufferable’?” Lord Elijah Withersby entered, a lean, flaxen-haired man in foppish satin sleeves, and he opened his arms to the assembled company. “Why, you must be talking about His Royal Eerieness, Minister of the Constant Sneer!” He bounded forward and clapped the grimacing Alexi on the arm.

Percy bit back a giggle, ever entertained by Lord Withersby’s outlandish titles for her imperious, black-clad husband. Michael was glad she was so good-humoured about the teasing, The Guard’s eldest tradition of all.

“Alexi, my dear man,” Elijah exclaimed, “I know you simply cannot be away for long without missing me terribly, so I thought I’d oblige you. Rebecca said you were here on business. Hullo, Vicar! Wine, please!”

“Rebecca spoke with you?” Michael asked, on edge. “Did you see her?”

Elijah shrugged. “She barked at me from the other side of her door.”

Alexi nodded. “Have we all called upon her then, and she has admitted no one?”

“So it would seem.” Michael wasn’t sure if his clenched fists were noticed, but he couldn’t be bothered if they were. He sighed, rose and went for more wine. The instinct of hospitality ran deep.

A beautiful and impeccably dressed woman appeared through the front door. Rolling her eyes, she closed it behind her with the same consideration as Percy had done and moved to Lord Withersby’s side. “Neither of you knock,” she complained, offering fond, French-accented derision to both Elijah and Alexi. She looked at Percy with empathy, a twinkle in her eye. “We trail behind well-dressed animals, my dear.”

Josephine Belledoux, the Artist of London’s onetime Guard, and Lord Withersby, its Memory, had been lovers for longer than they’d cared to reveal. Not wanting to conflict with the delicate, pathetic love triangles already scoring the group, they’d thought it best to keep their happy pairing away from their cohorts. The truth of their relationship had been only recently admitted. Michael returned with more mulled wine and pulled spare, rickety chairs from what could hardly be called a sitting room into the dining area.

“Yes, I am here on business, Withersby.” Alexi eyed the turquoise fabric of Elijah’s sleeve splayed upon the table. Reaching out to finger the starched, gilt lace upon the cuff, he withdrew in distaste. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know what to do!” Elijah cried, collapsing dramatically upon the table. “How on earth can I traipse about London as I wish, commandeer Auntie’s house as I please, if I cannot bend anyone’s mind to my bidding? If I cannot make them forget, if I cannot become invisible in their presence… Oh, the horror of living the real life of a gentleman!”

“Oh, Withersby, you’re hardly a gentleman. You’ll make do just fine,” Alexi replied.

“He’s maddening,” Josephine muttered. “I’m painting more beautiful canvases than I’ve ever painted in my life, finally, subjects besides angels and death, and he won’t leave me alone for a minute. Mon Dieu. I told him he should take up a sport, use all this excess energy of his—”

“You know, Withersby, I’ve shuddered to think what would have happened to you without our Grand Work to set your life’s early course,” Alexi remarked. “That said, you might enjoy what leisure your class offers you, now that you’re free to fully take part.”

Elijah stared as if his friend were daft. “You’ll never understand the finer points of high society. Why, if I’ve taught you nothing, I’d thought you’d realized it’s a requirement of my class never to be content!”

Everyone turned, eyeing Josephine with pity. “I know, I know, I’m a fool,” she said, her French accent making her words drip with drama. “I tell him he needs a hobby, a new club, something. But no, he goes careening about the estate or pacing madly about our flat—”

“You’ve a flat?” Michael asked.

“We’ve always had a flat,” Elijah replied. “But with the upcoming nuptials—”

Josephine interrupted. “That’s truly the reason why we’re here, Vicar, we need to set a date for the wedding.”

Alexi turned to her. “You know, you don’t have to do this.”

Josephine chuckled. “Our fates were sealed long ago,” she said with mock weariness, touching her fiancé’s face with such obvious adoration that no sarcasm in the world could have countered it. “I accept as best I can and suffer onward. Right, Madame Rychman?”

Percy shrugged. “Alexi’s not nearly the handful that Lord Withersby is. I find myself resigned to no fate but happiness.” She smirked at Elijah, a sparkle in her eerie eyes. Alexi grinned triumphantly and snuggled his wife close.

It was still uncanny, Michael thought, to see Alexi smile. Twenty years he’d known the man and all Alexi had done was scowl. The transformation truly was remarkable. But some things would never change, particularly such endless verbal fencing.

“Alexi,” Elijah whined, “how ever will I have the upper hand now that you have this sweet young thing to take your part?”

Alexi shrugged. “Your fiancé will have to put on a better act of being your champion.”

Josephine lifted her hands in mock chagrin. Elijah grabbed her fingers and kissed them.

Further discourse was ended as the room suddenly lit with a strange and shifting light, as if the air were a curtain blown in a breeze. A spirit burst through the wall—a young boy—and the temperature plummeted. Alexi jumped up and lifted his palms. The Guard all stood and reached for one another, ready for action. Percy rose from respect, having been brought late into their circle. She was not quick on the defensive, having been rarely ambushed by ghosts of the villainous variety, and she stared at this boy in recognition.

Alexi opened his mouth to say a benediction in a foreign tongue never meant for mortal ears, bequeathed only to The Guard. He anticipated the bursts of an angelic choir, braced himself for a charged and ancient wind that would whip up around them, magnifying their powers against the restless dead… But he could say nothing. He could hear nothing. There was no familiar blue fire crackling from his hand, no celestial music hanging glorious the air. He was a demigod no more. None of them retained such honours. They had earned this retirement, but clearly none of them had grown accustomed to it.

The spirit bobbed before them, a ghostly urchin, unperturbed. Michael recognized him, too: he haunted the ceiling of the foyer of Athens Academy, circling the chandelier, always watching the headmistress with interest.

Alexi’s upraised arm slowly sank, defeated. Michael watched his former leader and felt for him; the general was back from the war with nothing to command, with over half his life spent in service. No, it was not an easy shift. For any of them.

Percy instinctively took her husband’s hand. “It’s all right, Alexi. Billy means no harm, he comes bearing tidings,” she murmured. Her beloved sank into a chair, crestfallen, and Percy gave him one last empathetic glance before turning her attention to the spirit. “Yes? What have you come to tell me, Billy?”

The boy only had eyes for Percy, with an occasional glance at Michael. The one-sided conversation continued as the boy rapidly gesticulated. Percy nodded, clearly still translator to the dead, their medium, the only member of The Guard who had ever been able to hear spirits speak and the only one still apparently in possession of any of her powers. Translating had been part of her duty as The Guard’s prophesied seventh member, if only one of her many gifts.

A second spirit bobbed through the wall, a once-lovely girl now cast in a ghostly greyscale, her clothing dated a half century prior, her spectral curls weightless in a phantom breeze. Percy’s eerie eyes widened. “Oh, Constance!” she cried, rushing joyfully forward. The ghost moved to embrace her with a cold gust of air. Percy closed her eyes and waited out the chill, as if this were a perfectly normal greeting—and for a girl who was born seeing spirits and calling them friends, it likely was. “How I’ve missed you, Constance,” she said. “Are you well and at peace?” The female spirit spoke as animatedly as the boy, but she seemed to be offering reassurances. She turned to the urchin and they both nodded—glancing again, Michael noted uncomfortably, at him. “I think it’s a lovely idea!” Percy exclaimed.

“What is?” the ex-Guard chorused.

Percy turned to them with a mysterious smile, her eyes lingering on Michael in a way that made him even more uneasy. “Oh, nothing, just a bit of a Christmas present these spirits have in mind.” She looked demurely at the company. “Pardon me, Michael, but might the spirits and I discuss matters in the adjoining sitting room? I feel it is rude for me to carry on a conversation none of you is privy to and”—excitement played across her lips—“that I’m not at liberty to relay, it being private business.”

Her husband scowled in clear displeasure at being left out. Percy dotingly stroked his black hair but offered no apology. Michael gestured to the next room. Percy moved into it, the spectral boy close on her heels. Constance wafted to follow, offering Alexi a curtsey on the way out.

Percy. They’d found her so late in the course of their Grand Work, she’d been with them for such a short time before their powers were taken back, that Michael wondered what more they might have accomplished had she spent her entire life with them. Then again, she was only nineteen, and had he known her as a child it would have been awkward for Alexi to up and marry her. But true love overcame all obstacles, despite needing to await its time. Michael supposed if an immortal incarnation of Rebecca had taken up residence in one of his young parishioners and sought him out at an appropriate juncture, he’d think about her age a bit differently, too. As for its time…he had certainly awaited love long enough.

Elijah and Alexi fell to quarreling, filling up the silence with familiar chatter. Withersby demanded Alexi be present for his and Josephine’s imminent wedding, but Alexi was set upon taking immediate time away. Each demanded theirs was the more important event, and neither budged. The debate then progressed to who, in truth, was the more difficult man in the realm of cohabitation. Josephine steered clear of a vote.

The two men whirled on Michael at the same time, both clearly expecting his acquiescence.

“You’ll take care of the Athens particulars I delineate?” Alexi barked.

“You’ll arrange the wedding?” Elijah insisted.

Michael took a breath and called upon the one gift that thankfully had not left him: his patience. He took a sip of mulled wine and examined his anxious compatriots. “Professor, you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere I’d rather be than at Athens Academy, to help the headmistress,” he said. “And Withersby, anything to get you into a church—may the Lord forgive me or bless my efforts.” He smiled. “Perhaps it’s best if Alexi and you aren’t both under one sacred roof, though. I fear other guests might be harmed by chastising lightning bolts from Heaven should you quarrel so in His house.”

Percy breezed back into the room. The spirits were gone. Alexi stared at her expectantly. She kissed her husband on the head, beaming. “I love Christmas!” she exclaimed, and took her empty teacup into the kitchen. If any of the former Guard were waiting for an explanation, they received none. But they were clearly up to something. And, Michael surmised, it had something to do with him...

--
(End of Excerpt)
--
Download A Midwinter Fantasy from Barnes & Noble

Note: This title will be soon available from all digital vendors, however Barnes & Noble is the first to have it up and available.

Thanks to all my Strangely Beautiful fans for your support of the series, this novella is SO close to my heart. I hope it will bring you the holiday cheer I intended. Here's

May angels be ever with you!

A Midwinter Fantasy

September 28th, 2010

"A Christmas Carroll" : (Strangely Beautiful #2.5)

Headmistress Rebecca Thompson and Vicar Michael Carroll share in a ghostly, most Dickensian experience, one to warm the coldest of hearts in the darkest night of the year. Join the Headmistress, Vicar Carroll, Professor and Mrs. Rychman, the whole cast and crew of The Guard, plus a few familiar ghostly agents of divine intervention in, "A Christmas Carroll" featured in Dorchester's A Midwinter Fantasy anthology. I'm so excited. Isn't the cover beautiful?

Darkly Luminous love across the interwebs!

* Lovely words from bestselling author Alethea Kontis, reviewing for Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show !

* Maryse's Book Blog

* Thanks to The Book Faery who has awarded both The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker AND The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker the Faerie of Honor! I am thrilled to be a reigning Fey champion here, what an honour indeed!

* And WOW what an in-depth, fabulous review of Darkly Luminous from Christine at PopSyndicate!

--

As soon as A Midwinter Fantasy goes on pre-order I'm running a contest for a Doubleday hardcover edition of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, so stay tuned!

--

Light the Darkness!

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!