Make Art Not War Tarot Draw: The High Priestess

I’m very blessed to be a part of the small Make Art Not War collective of diverse creative women. Check out our #MakeArtNotWar hashtag on Twitter to follow what our group is up to.

Our most recent prompt in our group creativity initiative is for one of us to pull at Tarot card and for us each to write our thoughts about the card, discuss the card as found in our own decks (we fascinatingly have so many different decks between us) and any related ideas that the card brings to mind.

Stina Leicht drew the High Priestess for all of us and this thrilled me. It’s my favorite card.

The High Priestess represents wisdom, feminine intuition and power. For me, the card represents a certain amount of “life goals” – exploring ever further and ever deeper into the realms of spirituality and divine insight. I think of the High Priestess as my guiding light; my North star.

When I first began giving over to more mysticism in my life, a process and journey that has been nothing short of life-saving and wondrous, the Mythic Tarot deck came into my life, chosen because my debut novel series, the Strangely Beautiful saga, deals with Greek Mythology and that’s how the Mythic Tarot breaks down its journey through the entire deck; through Greek Gods and Classical figures.

The High Priestess in the Mythic Tarot deck is Persephone.

While Persephone has always been one of my favorite figures in Greek Mythology, I also reinvented her in my Strangely Beautiful saga and the Goddess I created remains one of my favorite and most mysterious of characters; frustrating, maddening, breaking apart, inspiring, luminous and ultimately selfless; giving herself over into the mortal form of a strange young woman who is so full of love that by the sheer power of her heart she ultimately saves everyone around her. 

For me, tapping into the wisdom that the High Priestess bids us consider means, like it did for my heroine, opening the heart, sometimes wider than we even think is possible. If we can strain at the seams sometimes, as long as we monitor our boundaries, we can find out what's truly possible emotionally, spiritually, physically. 

It’s a particularly resonant and fitting draw for me and for Stina as well, seeing that “Persephone” is critical for us both. I boldly adopted that classic name and bestowed it upon the heroine of my Strangely Beautiful saga; Persephone “Percy” Parker. The title of Stina’s exciting upcoming novel is Persephone Station, and I can’t wait to read it!

If you don’t know my Strangely Beautiful novels, for those interested in how I’ve adapted Greek Mythology to suit my own needs and blended Mythic ideas with extremely Gothic atmosphere and High Fantasy elements, the Strangely Beautiful saga has been compiled by Tor/Macmillan and remains on sale(for a limited time) and the entire 4-book series, over 1k of fiction, is only$2.99!

May the High Priestess shine and bring wisdom into your life as she has done in mine. I hope you’ll take a moment and meditate on the power of introspection and intuition that she bids of those who draw her.

Follow #MakeArtNotWar on Twitter! Subscribe to my blog here, check out my website at LeannaReneeHieber.com and my Torch and Arrow Etsy shop of Gothic, Neo-Victorian, Steampunk accessories, art, signed books and other reimagined curios! 

Join/follow us in our creative ventures! #covengoals Members of the Make Art Not War Collective: K. Tempest Bradford (Twitter/IG/News/Patreon/Tips)  Nivair H. Gabriel  Leanna Renee Hieber (Twitter/IG/News)  Alethea Kontis (Twitter/IG/News/Patreon/Tips)  Stina Leicht (Twitter/Patreon)  Shveta Thakrar (Twitter/IG/News)  Monica Valentinelli (Twitter/IG/News/Patreon)

TODAY ONLY! THE SPECTRAL CITY is only 1.99 across all digital platforms! A Perfect Halloween Read!

TODAY ONLY (10/14/20) THE SPECTRAL CITY, book 1 in Leanna's acclaimed, digitally bestselling SPECTRAL CITY trilogy of ghost-filled, Gothic, Gaslamp Fantasy novels is only 1.99 across all digital platforms!

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

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

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

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

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

Please tell a friend!

Cheers and Happy Haunting!

A STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL eBook Bundle - All 4 Books for only 2.99!

DARLINGS! EPIC BOOK SALE! 

In the mood for Gothic, Gaslamp Fantasy? Think Jane Eyre + Ghosts + Penny Dreadful + Greek Myths and you've got STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL, a saga of four award-winning novels, books 1 and 2 combined into STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL, a haunting, epic prequel full of deadly forces and sweeping romance in PERILOUS PROPHECY and the finale, MISS VIOLET AND THE GREAT WAR - all for just 2.99 thanks to Tor Books! What a steal! Only available for a limited time so buy now!

Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Google Books  - eBooks.com - Amazon

About the series, via Tor Books: Award-winning author Leanna Renee Hieber brings to life an exciting, romantic gaslamp fantasy in the groundbreaking, critically acclaimed Strangely Beautiful saga. Set in the Victorian era, Strangely Beautiful chronicles the adventures of the Guard — ordinary people blessed with the ability to see ghosts, heal illness, dispel demons, and more. Despite their weighty tasks, they are still human, and their lives and loves are inevitably intertwined, even as they stand between humanity and all the horrors of the underworld.

Strangely Beautiful: (Contains both The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker in revised, author-preferred editions with extra content!) Miss Persephone Parker—known as Percy—is different, with her lustrous, snow-white hair, pearlescent pale skin, and uncanny ability to see and communicate with ghosts. Seeking to continue her education, Percy has come to to the Athens Academy in Queen Victoria's London, not knowing that it is the citadel of The Guard. The Victorian Guard, latest incarnation of an ancient order that battles evil in all its forms, is led by Athens professor Alexi Rychman. Percy's lifelong habit of concealment, combined with Alexi's fevered search for the Guard's missing seventh member, nearly prove disastrous as ancient Greek myths begin playing out in modern, gaslit, Victorian London. Percy and her new friends and allies must overcome their preconceptions about each other and their own histories before they can set the world to rights.

Perilous Prophecy: In this enchanting prequel to Strangely Beautiful, Cairo in the 1860s is a bustling metropolis where people from all walks of life mix and mingle in complex harmony. When evil ghosts and unquiet spirits stalk the city’s streets, the Guard are summoned—six young men and women of different cultures, backgrounds, and faiths, gifted by their Goddess with great powers. While others of the Guard embrace their duties, their leader, British-born Beatrice, is gripped by doubt. What right has she, a bookish, sheltered, eighteen-year-old, to lead others into battle? Why isn’t dark-eyed, compelling Ibrahim the one in charge? As ghosts maraud through Cairo’s streets, heralding a terrible darkness, Beatrice and her Guard have little time to master their powers; a great battle looms as an ancient prophecy roars toward its final, deadly conclusion.

Miss Violet and the Great War: An adventure full of passion and power. From childhood, Violet Rychman--daughter of Percy and Alexi--has dreamed of a coming war, of death and battle on an unimaginable scale. Like her mother, she has seen and heard ghosts, who have loved and guided her. Now the future Violet dreamed is coming to pass as World War I rages across Europe. Millions of people are dying; entire villages are disappearing. Violet is nearly overcome when the Muses of antiquity offer her powers greater even than those of her parents or the Guard. The ability to impact people’s memories, even shape their thoughts. To guide their souls. To pass between the world of the living and that of the dead and to bring others through that passage. Violet must use these gifts in an attempt to stop death itself, lest the whole world be destroyed.

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Google Books 

eBooks.com

Amazon

A SUMMONING OF SOULS videos! Launch Party Conversation, Theatrical Readings! Rave Reviews!

Greetings, kindred spirits! Since we weren't able to have an in-person book launch, we recorded some readings and author conversation to celebrate the Spectral City finale, A SUMMONING OF SOULS, now available in digital and trade paperback wherever books are sold! Check out these release week theatrical readings and author conversations! 

First, Leanna reads a fun tidbit from the Summoning of Souls prologue!
Second, Leanna reads a cute scene from everyone's favorite slow-burn couple, Eve Whitby and Detective Jacob Horowitz, leading into a discussion with Spectral City series sensitivity reader and talented author Brina Starler. The two authors discuss the process of sensitivity reading, answer what a sensitivity reader is and how it can make books better and other craft and process insights. They also discuss their love of New York City and writing about it! 
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Praise for A SUMMONING OF SOULS from Avalinah's Book Blog: 

"I really enjoyed the whole Spectral City series, as well as its ending, A Summoning of Souls. I really can say that I recommend this series to you wholeheartedly! It’s full of warmth and hope, and it’s just a book that may give you back some belief in the world. It is respectful, diverse, soft and very, very sweet!" - Avalinah's Book Blog - read the full, glowing review here! 

The Gothic Library, who always does an incredible deep-dive discussion on Gothic tropes and themes, does a positive, comprehensive review of A SUMMONING OF SOULS! A highlight: "I love the way that Leanna often defies Gothic genre conventions that tend to be rooted in sexism" - read the full review here!

Due to printer delays due to the pandemic, the physical shipping of the books have been delayed so THERE'S STILL TIME to get a signed copy of A SUMMONING OF SOULS and enter to win the grand prizes for both US and International Readers! All orders via WORD Brooklyn will be automatically entered to win a custom made accessory from Torch and Arrow! If you've ordered via another retailer and/or digitally, send proof of purchase to preorders at leannareneehieber dot com and you'll be automatically entered to win! One international reader will be chosen to win custom digital art! Contest ends Aug 3rd, winners drawn by Random.org. 

This is a really hard time for artists and for independent bookstores, ordering from WORD helps a whole community! Thank you! 

Cheers and Happy Haunting! 

A SUMMONING OF SOULS is Now Available Wherever Books are Sold!

THE SPECTRAL CITY series continues! Think of it as if THE ALIENIST met GHOST DETECTIVES, with action, spooky thrills, adventure, found family, psychic fireworks, sweet, slow-burn romance and a host of friendly spirits!

HAPPY RELEASE DAY, A SUMMONING OF SOULS! Book 3, The Spectral City Finale is NOW AVAILABLE WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD! In digital and trade paperback!

While I plan a series of future novellas featuring these characters and The Ghost Precinct, THE SPECTRAL CITY series as it stands is a complete trilogy!

At the dawn of the twentieth century, New York City houses both the living and the dead. And when it comes to crimes of an otherworldly nature, it falls to the psychics and spirits of the city’s finest secret agency—The Ghost Precinct—to serve justice beyond the earthly realm . . .

The ethereal denizens of New York owe a great debt to Eve Whitby, the young talented medium who leads the all-female spiritualists in the police department’s Ghost Precinct. Without her team’s efforts on behalf of the incorporeal, many souls would have been lost or damned by both human and inhuman means.

But now Eve faces an enemy determined to exorcise the city’s ghostly population once and for all. Albert Prenze is supposed to be dead. Instead he is very much alive, having assumed the identity of his twin brother Alfred, and taken control of the family’s dubiously made fortune. With unlimited wealth at his disposal, Albert uses experimental technology to banish ghosts to an eternal darkness forever.

To achieve his vicious ends, Albert plots to manipulate Eve and twist her abilities into a psychic weapon—a weapon that not only poses a threat to spirits but to everyone she cares for, including her beloved Detective Horowitz . . .

“The Spectral City is a spooky thrill . . .  filled to the brim with beauty and peril.”
—Cherie Priest, Locus Award-winning author

“Otherworldly mystery [with] gorgeous writing and slow burn of a romance.”
—National Public Radio on A Sanctuary of Spirits

“Hieber’s momentous third Spectral City fantasy sees tensions in the spirit world come to an explosive head…It is extremely satisfying to witness the scrappy heroes rise up . . . Hieber’s latest fires on all cylinders.”
—Publishers Weekly on A Summoning of Souls

I LOVE this series so much! These really are books of my heart. I wrote them to reimagine a ghost story and to explore the possibilities of what haunted places can mean and the many possibilities of ghosts in historical fantasy. This book brings Eve and Jacob's adorable relationship to a whole new level of care, and the found family dynamic of my girl-gang of psychic mediums proves invaluable yet again, proving that love, determination and a fighting spirit seeking justice and compassion will always save the day. 

As you can imagine, during the pandemic, as a performer, tour guide, public speaker, convention presence and general public person, my income streams have been vastly limited so your support of this series has never been more helpful! Please tell a friend about this series, word-of-mouth is the best thing you can do for an author! Please leave a review on your favorite sites! 

CHEERS, THANKS AND HAPPY HAUNTING!

ORDER SIGNED COPIES FROM WORD BROOKLYN 
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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE VIA INDIEBOUND!
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A SUMMONING OF SOULS pre-order contest & 7/21 Virtual Launch Party via WORD!

Darlings! A SUMMONING OF SOULS (Spectral City # 3) is nearly here via Kensington Books, Now Available for Pre-Order wherever books are sold! We've a VIRTUAL launch party on 7/21 AND we've a pre-order campaign with awesome prizes for US as well as INTERNATIONAL readers! Check out the following details:

Come celebrate release day with us, 7/21 at 7:30pm EST on InstagramLive via WORD BOOKSTORE!

I'll be in conversation with the amazing Brina Starler, who is not only a fiercely talented writer but has been one of my main sensitivity readers for the entire Spectral City series and she has wonderful insights about what that process is like and we'll be discussing the process of quality, inclusive fiction and much more! Theatrical Reading! Ghost Stories! Don't miss it!

Now for our PRE-ORDER CAMPAIGN! With PRIZES! 

As always, if ordering from the wonderful independent books tore WORD, please note to whom you'd like the book signed in the "notes" section of the order!

Everyone who orders a signed, print, trade paperback copy of A SUMMONING OF SOULS via WORD will automatically get a bunch of fun Hieberverse goodies & coupons inside AND will also be entered to win the grand prize: for US readers, that's a hand-made, custom-commissioned accessory order per your delight and preference from the Torch and Arrow Etsy store! International Readers! I don't want to leave you out! International orders will be entered to win a custom commission of digital art and/or illustration from talented artist and writer (and my business partner) Thom Truelove! Winners chosen the evening of 7/22 via Random.org!

Have you already pre-ordered A SUMMONING OF SOULS digitally for your eReader? Have you already pre-ordered the print edition from another retailer / bookseller? Never fear! You can still be entered into the contest for the grand prizes! Just email a sales confirmation # and/or redacted proof of purchase to preorders@leannareneehieber.com and you'll be entered to win! Please note whether yours is an international or US order.

A SUMMONING OF SOULS might be my favorite book I've ever written. It's gotten a lot of wonderful praise from Publisher's Weekly to book bloggers to podcasters and more. It's got a TON of love, heart, spirit, joy, fight and light infused throughout the narrative. It's been a joy to work on the Spectral City trilogy and I can't wait to share this finale with you! As always, word-of-mouth is the BEST thing for any series so please let friends, family and fellow readers know about this exciting Gothic, Gaslamp Fantasy series full of ghosts and a psychic girl-gang here to save the day!

Remember to order your signed, print, trade paperback copies via WORD - please support this series and an amazing independent bookstore (support for indie bookstores has never been more important than now!) all at the same time!

Other Sales Links:
Paperback via IndieBound
General copies in digital or trade paperback via Barnes and Noble
Kindle or trade paperback via Amazon

As always, Cheers and Happy Haunting! - Leanna

On the Many Possibilities of Ghost Stories...

 

As we gear up to A SUMMONING OF SOULS on 7/21, One of my very favorite blogs, THE GOTHIC LIBRARY, hosted me for a discussion on the many possibilities of ghost stories and why I choose to write ghosts in the manner in which I do. I've seen reviewers for this series enthusiastically support my choice to write a different kind of ghost story through the course of THE SPECTRAL CITY series. Here are insights into why... 

Check out the post "On the Many Possibilities of Ghost Stories" via The Gothic Library...