Leanna Renee Hieber

Gothic, Gaslamp Fantasy and non-fiction author, actress, ElderGoth, playwright, ghost tour guide, audiobook narrator, jewelry designer. Latest book: A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN: TRUE STORIES OF AMERICA'S GHOSTS. Author of the STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL series (Tor Books) DARKER STILL, the Magic Most Foul saga (Sourcebooks) and THE SPECTRAL CITY series (Kensington Books, Everand.com). Ghost Tour Guide with Boroughs of the Dead. Maker at Torch and Arrow, purveyors of Neo-Victorian, Gothic and Steampunk brooches / medals on Etsy. 

[leannareneehieber]

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: @kensingtonbooks

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 @kensingtonbooks , in an exclusive submission, for publication in 2025, by Chelsea Hensley at KT Literary (world).

Non-fiction: History

August 14, 2023

[leannareneehieber]

New magical, fantastical fiction from yours truly!

BLACKTHORN AND AMBERFIRE (Novella # 1)

BURNINGWOOD AND DEVILSBANE (Novella # 2)

The Blackthorn Tale duology of Shakespeare-Tinged Magical Fantasy Romance novellas are now both available exclusively via Everand / Scribd in digital and audiobook with me narrating!

About the book:

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.

Soon, he'll have to put everything on the line, including his heart, to do what is right and help restore magic to a dying land.

These books and many other novellas of mine are exclusively there at Everand, you can sign up for a free trial and check out all my work, in digital and audiobook, I've got a bunch across the platform, including the continuation of both my Dark Nest series AND my Spectral City series!

The latest books:

BLACKTHORN AND AMBERFIRE (Novella # 1)

BURNINGWOOD AND DEVILSBANE (Novella # 2)

Cheers!

[daily-spooky]

[sp8sexual]

fuck it homebrew boop button. reblog this post to boop the person you reblogged from.

[computer-girlfriend]

[leannareneehieber]

#BOOP

[leannareneehieber]

I'M GOING TO BE IN A SHOW! AND YOU CAN GET A $13 VIRTUAL TICKET FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!

*Pops head out of hellish book deadline, while I am ALSO in the hospital caring for a loved one in the ICU, to shout about this show and hope you'll help crowdfund it!*

When I joined the Actor's Union, Actor's Equity, I promised myself I'd only do full productions I was really passionate about while I spent the bulk of my time and energy on my books. Well, the time has come for a one of those productions! And we really need your support because my *being* Union costs the team a lot more than if they didn't honor my status. I am so grateful that a brand new company founded without any institutional support, wants to pay equitable rates.

LET'S MISBEHAVE is a Jazz-age romp of a play about a group of marginalized identities trying to find their way in a restrictive, often dangerous world. This is a sweet (sometimes saucy) play about love and acceptance, written by a trans playwright about queer and trans identities and their allies. THE COUNTESS, my role, is a delightfully batty force-of-nature who protects her little community of darlings in the only way she knows how: by throwing massive parties.

This is a brand-new production company doing grass-roots theater, rather than relying on a specific institution, this team took matters creatively into their own hands and we need your help to fund it! We're Kickstarting now, and you can pledge at all kinds of levels! This is A GREAT way to celebrate Pride Month, by directly supporting LGBTQIA+ identities and their allies, all of whom will be paid a union and union-comparable rate to do this show, and YOU can be in the audience! Win-win!

Please share? Thank you! Happy Pride!

[leannareneehieber]

Friends! I'm going to be in a full production again after a long time away from the stage! LET'S MISBEHAVE is a Jazz-Age romp of a celebration!

You can get a VIRTUAL ticket if you can't get to Cambridge, MA this August 23-25th! This very special Kickstarter has just gone live & we'd love your support.

Backstory: Once I joined Actor's Equity as a Union performer and then began to focus more on my writing and public speaking, I promised myself I'd only return to a fully realized production if I was particularly passionate about it. And this is it. This is the one.

I'm so grateful this team is honoring my Union status and making this happen. I can't wait to share this with you all. Some of you saw our zoom reading during lockdown; now it's time for the full production. What better time than Pride Month to support this new company and this new play. It's a pure joy, a Jazz-Age romp all about celebration and being one's true self. The character I play is a HOOT and I can't wait to share more about her with you all.

I remain on *crushing* book deadlines but if you've got questions you're welcome to message me and I'll answer them when able. Thanks for your support and I hope to see you at the show or virtually! Blessings!

You can support the production and learn more here!

Your shares and reblogs are dearly appreciated!

[leannareneehieber]

HAPPY WORLD GOTH DAY from your favorite friendly neighborhood Perky Goth and Gothic Novelist!

Today would be A GREAT DAY to buy one of my books about ghosts and Gothic themes! Available wherever books are sold!

For fiction: Try the STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL (1888 London) or SPECTRAL CITY (1899 New York City) saga! Victorian Found-Family Fantasy Romance with Quirky Characters and TONS of GHOSTS!

For non-fiction: Try A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN: TRUE STORIES OF AMERICA'S GHOSTS!

You can get Gothic, Neo-Victorian goodies at my shop Torch and Arrow!

Your support keeps this Perky Goth Perky!

Thank you in advance for helping me survive!

*Rushes back to 3 insane book deadlines!*

Happy Haunting!

[leannareneehieber]

KENTUCKY! Let's tell ghost stories! I'm so honored to be the Author Guest of Honor at the River City Steampunk Expo in Louisville at the end of the month! I'll be discussing all things Gothic-Victorian & ghostly! I'll be presenting a talk on the "Misunderstood Mrs. Winchester" as well as a lecture on how the Victorian era influenced our take on modern ghost lore!

(Plus there's a kick-ass Goth dance-party on Saturday night!!)

Tickets here: River City Steampunk Expo

Please share with any interested parties? This is a new convention and we'd really love to get the word out, we've got a stellar lineup of talented folks, a welcoming vibe, and we'd love for KY & surrounding area Goths & Steampunks to come join us! Thanks in advance for sharing and letting folks know.

[leannareneehieber]

VIRTUAL LAUNCH PARTY 5/7! 5:30pm PST / 8:30pm EST

DARLINGS! Care for a little light vengeance?! You know you want to indulge in cathartic REVENGE!

Castle Bridge Media has curated a stellar lineup! My story, "Die Ravanche", about ghost-ships & ghostly lady-captains, kicks off the anthology!

Join us for the latest CASTLE OF HORROR online release day party!

RSVP to the party Here!

PRE-ORDER IN DIGITAL OR PAPERBACK WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD! Here's the Barnes & Noble link!

Happy Haunting!

[booksinmythorax]

"Don't use Libby because it costs libraries too much, pirate instead" is such a weird, anti-patron, anti-author take that somehow manages to also be anti-library, in my professional librarian-ass opinion.

It's well documented that pirating books negatively affects authors directly* in a way that pirating movies or TV shows doesn't affect actors or writers, so I will likely always be anti-book piracy unless there's absolutely, positively no other option (i.e. the book simply doesn't exist outside of online archives at all, or in a particular language).

Also, yeah, Libby and Hoopla licenses are really expensive, but libraries buy them SO THAT PATRONS CAN USE THEM. If you're gonna be pissed at anybody about this shitty state of affairs, be pissed at publishing companies and continue to use Libby or Hoopla at your library so we can continue to justify having it to our funding bodies.

One of the best ways to support your library having services you like is to USE THOSE SERVICES. Yes, even if they are expensive.

*Yes, this is a blog post, but it's a blog post filled with links to news articles. If you can click one link, you can click another.

[knottahooker]

Please, PLEASE use Libby. OverDrive. Hoopla. CloudLibrary. Kanopy. Flipster. Freegal. Transparent Language. Mango. Jstor. Your library would not offer it if they could not afford it, and we afford things by reporting the number of people who use that service, so if you don't use the service we can't afford it. It's a cycle. Keep it going, keep using it, and we'll keep providing because we'll be able to justify the cost to the bean counters in government.

[leannareneehieber]

As an author, please listen. Piracy has been so devastating for my career, one in which I'm barely scraping by. Seriously, listen to us, listen to this post.

[leannareneehieber]

GOTHIC & DARK ACADEMIA ENTHUSIASTS!

DARLINGS! Just noticed the double-volume revised edition of STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL via @torbooks is on super-eBook-sale right now. 684 pages! For only $3.99! Via Kindle, Kobo & Apple Books! Includes THE STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL TALE OF MISS PERCY PARKER and THE DARKLY LUMINOUS FIGHT FOR PERSEPHONE PARKER + extra scenes & content.

This book of my heart is: GOTHIC. It's Jane-Eyre-Meets-Dark-Academia+Hot-For-Teacher+GHOSTS+Greek-Mythology+Jack-the-Ripper+Found-Family

YES, there is a paperback omnibus edition, available via Bookshop.org (my favorite link to send folks to, it supports local bookstores!), B&N and any physical store can order it in. It's on sale too!

Please share? Thank you!

Kindle - Kobo - Apple Books

[leannareneehieber]

A Goth’s Guide to Over the Rhine - PSYCHOPOMP.COM

Honored to share my thoughts and a personal, deep-dive retrospective on my beloved hometown band Over the Rhine at Psychopomp.com. Check out "A Goth's Guide to Over the Rhine" and then go listen to a beautiful, stirring Over the Rhine song. For fellow Goths, start with "Latter Days" from the album Good Dog Bad Dog or "When I Go" from Films for Radio. Let the melancholy beauty soak your bones.

[leannareneehieber]

Madripoor Examined: Orientalism and the MCU's Fictional City - Reactor

Never given a specific location in comics, Madripoor's placement in the Indonesian archipelago of the MCU raises questions going forward

So proud of my collaborator & business partner Thom for this very important essay via Reactor on the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Madripoor, a fictional city they've now set in Indonesia. Please read, please share & learn some history from a member of the Indonesian diaspora who beautifully weaves in his own family's difficult life experiences into this article about how Southeast Asia is depicted.

Please share, because I didn't know the Indonesian history Thom shares here and I find that tragic. Learn something new today!

[leannareneehieber]

Darlings! I'm heading into an event every upcoming weekend! (And 3 book deadlines! EEK!) SO, that means I'll be scarce here BUT you can come find me at any of the following places in Chicago, Ohio or Vermont this month!

Chicago Steampunk Exposition - April 12-14 - I'm so thrilled to be a featured guest! Theme: VAMPIRES!! Come hear me talk about all things Gothic and Stoker-inspired! Books available for sale and signing! More info here.

Ohioana Book Festival - Columbus Library - Main Branch - April 20th, I'm so excited to be on the HORROR panel! Books available for sale and signing! FREE to attend! More info here.

Vermont Sci-Fi & Fantasy Expo! - Champlain Valley Expo Center - April 27th & 28th! I'll be discussing the importance of ghost stories and the importance of women writers in genre fiction! More info here.

Further upcoming: If you go to Key City Steampunk in Gettysburg or DragonCon in Atlanta, I'll also be a featured guest again this year at both events!

Hope to see you there! Happy Haunting! BOOP!

*pause*

SUPER BOOP!

[leannareneehieber]

My current Boop-o-Meter for posterity. Let this be witnessed.

🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

LOL SATAN

[phandompenny]

I love the story of POTO

[leannareneehieber]

This is perfection.

[leannareneehieber]

Just wanted to say not only thanks for the mutual boops but I dig the Victorian goth style you flaunt. It’s quite a leap from the “Hot Topic” style I have mostly seen versus the elegance you bring to the style.

Anyhow, good to boop into you. Keep on keeping on and hope to see you around in the blorbosphere.

That is so profoundly kind of you! Thank you in turn!

I'm an "ElderGoth" at this point in my mid-40s and the Victorian Gothic part of the wide range in stylistic Goth expression has always called to me since I started this life as a teen in the 90s. If you dig my style, please follow @gothiccharmschool, my beloved friend, who literally has written the book on this kind of thing and she showcases the full, beautiful scope of what can be found in our subculture.

To defend Hot Topic just for one second, some of their corporate nonsense aside, I grew up in rural Ohio and the Hot Topic at the mall was really all Goths had as a store, save the thrift store and vintage store (which is where I really developed my style) but Hot Topic, for kids of any alt / punk / goth / emo kind of vibe, it literally was a lifeline to feel like you weren't alone in the world. (I was the one and *only* Goth at my college in Ohio, a school of 16k+ people, I was used in folks' "subculture discussions" in their English classes every year). So, a national chain (that's still around) was something we celebrated.

Thanks again for your kind words and HAPPY BOOPENING!