Author Guest Post: Leanna Renee Hieber on Haunted Painted Stories *Book Giveaway*

I’m full of homage. My work holds echoes of books past, books that are like ghosts in the pages of my work. Yes, I have my own distinct style, and my own distinct voice, but it is colored and shaped by my favorite genre; I am deliciously haunted by the 19th century Gothic novel.

I’ve always wanted to write a haunted painting story; Ever since I was little and I saw Sesame Street’s DON’T EAT THE PICTURES where the Sesame Street gang get locked in the Metropolitan Museum of Art overnight. Ever since I read THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. Ever since I went to art museums, and wondered if the painter and the sitters bestowed part of their own life’s energy into the art.

At last, I’ve written my haunted painting story. It’s called DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul and it begins the Magic Most Foul saga. I am really excited to be shelved in teen fiction. Don’t let that deter any of my adult readership, as my style remains parallel. I still carry the atmospheric Historical Fantasy/Paranormal leanings as found in my Strangely Beautiful saga, it’s still the 1880s, it’s still romantic and spooky, (this one is far more spooky, actually) it’s certainly still Gothic. Similar attractions, different shelf. I want to be a “gateway drug to 19th century literature” for teens and for all readers. I want to build a bridge between today’s fiction and the books and style that defined me as a reader and a writer.

When I was about 10 years old I fell in love with Edgar Allan Poe and haven’t ever looked back. Poe was my own “gateway drug” and my love of his work led me to appreciate Stoker, Shelley, and all the spooky 19th century classics. Especially Dorian Gray. So if you haven’t read The Picture of Dorian Gray, you should. It’s short, creepy, sensual and amazing. And I’m giving away two copies of this classic!

And I hope you’ll be so kind as to check out DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul as well, it’s currently on the Barnes & Noble Top Teen Picks shelf, was voted a TOP TEN Indie Next List recommended buy in the Kids/YA section by the American Association of Booksellers, and nice people like Shelf Awareness have said things like “This smart novel will have wide appeal.”

Blessings and happy haunting! (Comment below and mention your favorite classic book by Sunday, 11/20 for a chance to win one of the giveaways. Open to US residents only).

  Available now from Sourcebooks!

Synopsis: New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.