What Gift Did You Want Most as a Kid?

Happy Holidays!

Come join me over at FIGMENT FICTION, a fabulous writing community for teens and authors, as I talk about the one gift I would have done anything to get for Christmas when I was a teen. Hop on over and join the discussion about what you'd have prized most. Hint about my answer: It's bigger on the inside...

Merry, merry!

Spare a moment for DARKER STILL?

Nominate Your Favorite Books of 2011 for the Teen Choice Book of the Year!

If you enjoyed DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul, here's a way to support it!

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The rest of the four fields are up to you. :) Thanks in advance for your vote and support of paranormal and fantastical YA fiction!

Vote Here

(Don't worry that DARKER STILL is not listed on their list, just write it in, there are tons of 2011 titles not listed)

Cheers! Happy reading, happy haunting, happy holidays!

No More Kisses for Oscar's Grave - But I Left One When I Could

As you all are well aware, much of the inspiration for DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul came from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Considering Wilde worked in many literary mediums, as a playwright and author, he provided me inspiration in my many artistic lives as an actress, playwright and an author. No other literary luminary inspired me in so many different forms as Wilde. Last year, during a research trip through London, Paris, Verdun and Germany, I was able to pay my respect in Pere Lachaise cemetery to my beloved Mr. Wilde. Tradition is to leave notes of affection, and yes, lipstick kisses (which began appearing in the 1990s) upon the Art Deco styled grave.

But no more kisses for Oscar, according to the UK Guardian. The oils have caused damage to the stone, which is a sculptural work of art in and of itself, and the grave will now have a barrier around it.

While I wholly understand the reasoning behind protecting the beloved author's stone from these discouraged (yes, it could have resulted in a fine) displays of affection, I confess, I don't regret, per that tradition, showing my adoration. Here I am paying my respects:

After bestowing the kiss I left a note, under a rock, asking Oscar for his blessing on DARKER STILL.

As I say in the first lines of the Acknowledgement Page of the novel: "My dear Oscar Wilde, thank you for Dorian Gray, and for your genius. I'd like to think that if I had the privilege of knowing you, we'd have gotten along famously. Regardless, I am eternally your fan."

I was quite overcome at the site. I cried, thinking of all the trials he endured in his too-short life. I look forward to revisiting Paris, and Oscar, again, to see his brilliantly restored grave, and to pay my respects at a slight distance, but with no less love.

I know I'll ask for Mr. Wilde's blessing on the rest of the Magic Most Foul saga as I continue writing it. XOXO, Oscar.

(Find a DARKER STILL near you...) 

DARKER STILL... A Playlist

Shop Indie BookstoresI was asked by an awesome girl with awesome pink streaks in her hair who has an awesome name (Airaseem) at my Anderson's Bookshop signing outside Chicago what music I listened to while writing; if DARKER STILL had a playlist. It does, in fact, and I'd meant to share it publicly (I made mix CDs for the Sourcebooks staff) so thanks, Airaseem, for the reminder.

Now while I'm writing, I can't listen to music with lyrics, so I listen to 19th Century classical music and movie soundtracks. Classical music puts me in the historical mindset of the time-period and soundtracks (like Harry Potter) give a sense of movement and magic in the background. But that doesn't mean that's the only influential music.

Any writer will tell you that half the time spent writing a novel is daydreaming about said novel. I live in New York City, I daydream A LOT on the subway, with my iPod in my ears, listening to evocative music that plays like a movie trailer to scenes from my book that I play in my mind's eye and mull over. THAT process has a soundtrack, and here are the top songs I've listened to while daydreaming MAGIC MOST FOUL saga, songs that on some level have some sort of material or thematic connection to my work. Some of the tracks here are from famous bands, some not, so I hope you'll check them all out. Specifically, Over The Rhine is my favorite hometown indy band from Cincinnati, their music ranges from indy rock to blues to folk, and what I love about them is their versatility and their gorgeous songwriting. Across the spectrum is my favorite Goth / Darkwave / Electronica band, VNV Nation. (VNV = Victory Not Vengeance). I love VNV because it's killer club/dance music (I'm a Goth girl and have been since way back in the day) and the melodies and lyrics are poetic and oh-so-gorgeous. All this stuff is available on iTunes, or you can also support the bands directly from their websites. Happy listening!

Beloved - VNV Nation
Hush Now - Over The Rhine
I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Deathcab for Cutie
Jar Of Hearts - Christina Perri
I Go To Sleep - Sia
Bridge - Lucy Wainwright Roche
In This Shirt - The Irrepressibles
Rhapsodie - Over The Rhine
Illusion - VNV Nation
Standing - VNV Nation

What's your writing and reading soundtrack?

DARKER STILL: ON THE ROAD!



Photo Credit: Jenny at Supernatural Snark



Goodness. What a whirlwind. I think I say that about every book tour, but no, seriously... what a whirlwind. See, I've been going non-stop since World Fantasy Convention at the end of October, right into Strangely Beautiful the musical staged reading rehearsals and performance (it went very well, thank you very much, as soon as I have more specifics I'll tell you but this is not that blog post) and right DIRECTLY the next day into DARKER STILL release day and tour. Whee! (Yes, I'm tired and a little punchy.)

First off, we kicked it all off in NYC. I spoke to school librarians, did stock signings, various bouncings about the city and then we launched at WORD Bookstore in Brooklyn. Which rocks. I mean, it's kind of the best bookstore ever, run by the best people ever. Author and fellow Sourcebooks sister, the awesome Zoraida Cordova did a great RECAP HERE where you can see me in all my regalia and whatnot.



Wall O' Hieber!



Then? Home! Ohio, the land of my birth, and my hometown Barnes and Noble (B & N West Chester) that always takes care of me. A wall of me, in fact, as you see there to your left. I was beyond thrilled that NYT Bestselling author Lori Foster stopped by, Lori not only hosts an amazing conference every year, but she took the time to come and support me at my signing and that meant the world to me. She is one class act, I tell you, and a damn fine author. As many of you know, I am an actress. So the very best part of the whole presentation for me is to read aloud from my work. Accents and all. One of these days I might write a hero who isn't British. Today is not that day. Tomorrow, neither. I've got British heroes stacked up for the next few books, it's a compulsion, what can I say? :)

Hanna of the awesome shirts & talent

And two extremely talented writer gals who I love to cheerlead in their writing journeys, Hanna and Lizzy, were there at the hometown launch to make the night special. Hanna sported one of her amazing shirts she creates for the signings (it's become tradition, and I love it! Lord Denbury is rather flattered too). Thanks also to Hanna and family for the pictures left and above. Huge thanks to Edgewood teachers and alum who made it out to see me, you all mean more to me than I can say. And an extra extra special thanks to my best friend Marijo who came to all of my events and heard all the readings (along with my parents) multiple times. I know, I'm spoiled, they're good to me.

Percy & Alexi by Grace W.

I had the opportunity to do three signings in my home state, the next day I was at Joseph Beth in Cincinnati, (shout-out to my fave Steampunk designer, Angie of Festooned Butterfly, for making it out) and received a VERY special surprise. Remember the awesome artwork of Percy and Alexi I featured on this blog? Grace is from Ohio and I didn't put 2 and 2 together at first, I was too busy complimenting her gorgeous cameo and style, until I was signing the book "To Grace," and she slid this utterly magnificent drawn and painted picture of Percy and Alexi to me upon the signing table. My jaw dropped as I looked at their beautiful adorable-ness in their winter best. "Oh! You're THAT Grace!" I cried, and jumped up to hug her, and said to the crowd of friends, "remember the artist who rendered Percy and Alexi?" (friends and family nodded) This is her!" And I showed off my latest prize and there were lots of 'ooohs' and 'aaahhs'. It's so beautiful! It's now framed on my wall. What an amazing signing present! Such talent!

No rest for the wicked, it was back on a plane to NYC to participate in an amazing panel on fantastical literature at the incomparable Books of Wonder alongside luminaries like Tamora Pierce and Delia Sherman. I had such an amazing time and the store was packed and the crowd was fantastic! Ron Hogan of Shelf Awareness did a fabulous wrap-up of the event. It has always been a dream of mine since I've been in NYC to sign at that store, and with such stars as Tamora Pierce and Delia Sherman by my side, what an honour! (Books of Wonder has all the authors' signed books from this event available for sale!)
In Ohio again, my Dayton signing at Books & Co. was made all the more lovely by the amazing teens I met that day doing presentations at Oakwood Junior and Senior High; some of the most engaging and interesting students I'd ever met. In my first session, there were so many hands raised with awesome questions, I wanted to steal them all and take them with me to any school event I ever do. Some of those eager and intelligent faces showed up that night to the signing, braving a massive rainstorm to do so! The evening at was also made utterly fabulous by the appearance of three of my fave bloggers! Colette of A Buckeye Girl Reads, Dani of Refracted Light and Jenny aka  "Miss Snark" over at Supernatural Snark, click here for an awesome rundown and fab pictures. She's quite a talented photographer, as you can see from that gorgeous first picture!

Then, off to Milwaukee, Chicago and the Twin Cities all in the next three days. It's a bit of a blur, but I was warmed and inspired by talking to two groups of students at Cudahy High School and was thrilled to see some awesomely enthusiastic young folks turn up at my signing that evening at the Cudahy Library along with the "in laws" and my awesomely supportive parner (I really couldn't do all this without him). Then it was an Amtrak train into Union Station, and on to stock signings around and about Chicago, signing the next night at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville. Thanks to the Sourcebooks team for coming out and being supportive and awesome as usual). Cheers and thanks to several high school and to fellow writer/RWA friends in Chicago, blessings and good author Karma to fabulous YA author Stacey Kade for making a two-hour trip to come support the event, and to TRUE-BLOOD.NET for coming in (Mel from a distance) and being AWESOME as usual, but this time in person. Which made it even awesomer! Thanks for the lovely Tweets about the event!

Then the next day it was off to Minnesota sign stock all over the Twin Cities with a reading and signing at The Bookcase in Wayzata, where book blogger and engaging young author Rachel Bongart brought a group of AWESOME fellow writers and readers, the night was made extra special by Rachel and her friends, I was inspired by their drive and story ideas, there's nothing more I love than to see talented young women passionate about storytelling. Kindred spirits, for sure. We all had a great chat about process, ideas, the business, etc, along with Twin Cities friends from my years in area theatre, including members of the Scribblerati Writers' Group. Keep an eye on these writers, they're going places.

Where am I going right now? To take a nice long nap would be nice. But there's no end in sight, really, I've books to write, a musical to revise and deadlines approacheth! Here are the places around and about the country where I have, in the past week, signed stock of Darker Still - if you're in these areas and missed me in person, at least you can pick up a signed book!

Ohio: Barnes and Noble Dayton Mall, Barnes and Noble Beavercreek, Barnes and Noble Kenwood Cincinnati, B and N Newport KY (Only had 1 left on 11/13), Books and Co. Dayton
Milwaukee: B and N Mayfair Mall, B and N Brookfield Mall, B and N Greenfield,
Chicago Area: Barnes and Noble at State and Elm Chicago, Magic Tree Bookstore in Oak Park, Barnes and Noble Oakbrook Center, Barnes and Noble Bolingbrook at The Promenade, Barnes and Noble Naperville, Anderson's Bookshop Naperville
Twin Cities Area: Barnes and Noble Mall of America, Red Balloon in St. Paul (only 1 left), B and N Highland Park, B and N Calhoun Village, Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis, B and N at the Galleria in Edina, B and N Eden Prairie Mall, B and N Ridgehaven Mall
New York City: All Manhattan and Brooklyn Barnes and Nobles, WORD, Books of Wonder, Posmans Grand Central (on 11/22)

Support your Indies! Two great places to get a signed copy of DARKER STILL:
WORD has kindly agreed to keep their special order page up!

BOOKS OF WONDER, the best Children's/YA bookstore in all the land, has a healthy stack of signed books they'd love to get into your hands. With DARKER STILL landing on the Indie Next List, I am reminded how important our independent booksellers are to the life of a new series taking its first steps into the world, and I'm very grateful for them.

And yes, ladies, my invention of the word "Denburylicious" has spawned quite the life on Twitter, prompting Sourcebooks to make a badge. The #Denburylicious blog badge has been quite popular among you (and among a few gentlemen as well) and if you want your own, feel free to lift this here, just please link the image to a bookstore of your choice selling Darker Still! And while you're at it, drop @SourcebooksFire a line on Twitter telling them how much you love it, they did a great job.

Speaking of great things, I'm sorry, but how much do I love this really and utterly fabulous and featured review on SHELF AWARENESS? The reviewer really understands the layers and levels I'm working on. This review is a real honour and is so encouraging as I continue on with the series.

Thanks, dear readers! Stay tuned, I promised a fabulous young lady at the signing at Anderson's that I'd post my DARKER STILL playlist! Coming soon!

Happy reading, happy haunting!




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A Very #Denburylicious Evening

Author Zoraida Cordova reports on our NYC DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul launch! Thanks Z!

The Nightstand: A Very #Denburylicious Evening: As always we're celebrating BOOKS. This week was the launch party for Leanna Renee Hieber's Darker Still: A novel of Magic Most Foul (Sourcebooks Fire)...

(Click the link above to see the coverage of our launch, and the TOUR CONTINUES! Check the Schedule!)

And DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul is easy to find at your local Barnes & Noble Booksellers, it's on the Top Teen Picks Shelf in stores!


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Happy Official Book Birthday, DARKER STILL!

While DARKER STILL has been seen in some stores already, today is the OFFICIAL book release date, so Happy Book Birthday, Darker Still: A Novel of Magic Most Foul ! It's especially easy to find in Barnes & Noble's now that they've moved it onto the "Top Teen Picks" shelves in stores! Yippie! I hope you'll love this book as much as I've loved writing it, there's been some lovely buzz about it and I hope you'll join me for this new, spooktacular journey!
First week's sales for a novel are particularly important so I hope you'll join me in welcoming Darker Still into the world!


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