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REVISED: Edgewood grad publishes first novel
Even when she was just 6 years old, Leanna Renee Hieber loved to dress up in lacy clothes and speak in a British accent.
“I was always drawn to Victorian England,” she said. “I’m not really sure how to explain that, except possibly that there was a past life.”
Then, a part in a local production of Oliver at age 9 helped seal the interest, and by the time she was 12, she had written her first novel — set in 1888, of course.
This week marks the debut of her first published novel, “The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker,” the story of a ghostly-pale young woman and a secretive group of Victorian-era Ghostbusters known as “the Guard” when the Jack the Ripper murders start occurring in London.
Book Signings:
5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, Follet’s Miami Co-Op Book Store, 110 E. High St., Oxford. (513) 523-4900.
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, Barnes and Noble, 9455 Civic Centre Blvd. West Chester. (513) 755-2258.
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The publication follows the news that she won this year’s Prism Award, given out annually by the Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal chapter of Romance Writers of America, in the novella category for her short novel, “Dark Nest.”
After graduating as the valedictorian of Edgewood High School in 1997, Hieber took a bachelor’s degree in theater from Miami University with a concentration in Victorian studies, and landed an internship with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.
“We were working 14 hours a day there, then I’d stay up all night consumed by this story,” she said. “I was always going back and forth between my love for theater and my love for writing, and I knew at some point that I didn’t want this to just be a hobby, that I wanted this book to get out into the world.”
But it was a long, hard road. She always got positive feedback when she’d submit the manuscript to a publisher, but it was rejected because the mesh of genres made marketing it difficult.
She moved to New York four years ago, and it was at an audition call-back for a Broadway show that she got the message she was waiting for.
“I was sitting there waiting for the audition and all I could think about was the book,” she said.
So while she still does some background television work and small acting jobs, she’s now focusing on the sequels to “The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker.”
“It’s actually going to be a series of four or five books, depending on how the story arc progresses, to be called ‘The Strangely Beautiful’ series,” she said. “I’m discussing that with my publishers now, but I’m writing the next two books concurrently.”
Hieber thinks the timing may be just right for “The Strangely Beautiful Series” to become a big hit.
“The Victorian Era is really coming into vogue right now,” she said, “although I didn’t know that when I started writing this book nine years ago. “Plus, with the Harry Potter and the Twilight series ending, something’s got to take their place.”
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Literary
Comments
By SuzieQ
August 27, 2009 12:22 PM | Link to this
What a great story! I will buy the book & one for a friend. Support local people! I hope she is wildly successful! :)
By Kellee
August 28, 2009 4:20 PM | Link to this
Looks very interesting. I checked it out on Amazon & requested for it to be available for Kindle. I look forward to reading it. Best wishes to Leanna