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Interview with Leanna Renee Hieber, author of THE STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL TALE OF MISS PERCY PARKER

For those out there who haven’t heard about your book The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker can you give a brief introduction?

This book is my cross-genre, haunted, impassioned love-letter to the 19th Century and to the Gothic novel.

From the back cover:
“What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Considering how few of Queen Victoria’s Londoners knew of it, the great Romanesque fortress was dreadfully imposing, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met the powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadow, the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She knew simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow-white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gifts. But this arched stone doorway offered a portal to a new life, an education far from the convent—and an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death…”

“Actor and playwright Hieber could not have picked a more accurate title for this suspenseful, otherworldly tale because it is, indeed, strange in its happenings and mood and beautiful in its romance and language. Set in Victorian London, it tells the curious tale of the titular Miss Percy Parker, who has always been unusual and reclusive. Feeling alien and haunted with her albino complexion she finds a new home and haven in the exclusive Athens Academy. There she struggles with her abilities to see and hear both the living and the dead and finds comfort and guidance with the eccentric and mysterious professor Alexi Rychman as he helps her embrace her gifts and take down the barriers she has erected to protect herself. Hieber has created a secretive, gothic, paranormal world as well as a character who will resonate with anyone who has found the beauty in being different. Happily (or is it eerily?), this is the first romance in Hieber’s Strangely Beautiful series.” —Booklist

“It’s Bulfinch’s Mythology and Harry Potter and Wuthering Heights in a blender.” – New York Times bestselling author Alethea Kontis for Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine show

How did you come up with the idea for the book?

I met the characters first and then the story fell into place, piece by piece, through a sequence of years, set against an eerily beautiful, haunted, moonlit Victorian London I yearned to visit. Miss Percy Parker–all deathly-pale, timid and sweet–appeared in my consciousness like a gentle, yet powerful prophecy. She glided quietly into Professor Alexi Rychman’s grand office and the moment I caught sight of her, how she stared longingly at that brooding, enigmatic professor across the room from her, I was hooked like a drug on the two of them and the world that would either throw them together or tear them apart. I had to know what made each of them tick, why Miss Percy looked like a ghost but wasn’t one (the answer, I found with delight, resonated most in Mythological stories that I take great liberty with). I had to know what might happen in an aching power dynamic between two intensely secretive people who are powerful, magical and flawed in very different ways. I knew when Percy and Alexi entered my heart, that my life would never be the same for having met them. Then in creating The Guard, I had a beloved family of characters. I’ve never been so compelled by a setting and by characters as I have been with those in the Strangely Beautiful series.

What were your influences and inspirations for the book?

An early and ongoing love of ghost stories, Mythology and all things 19th Century are the cornerstones of my relationship with the Strangely Beautiful series. This series is organically grown from my favourite things. I started my first book when I was 12 (it was another Gothic novel set in 1888, seems to be an artistic theme for me), and so this world has always felt absolutely natural to me. Every time I walk into a building with beautiful 19th century architecture, my artistic sensors light up.

When Miss Percy first struck me, I was working more than full-time hours as a performer for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and so the setting of days surrounded by theatre and the texts of Shakespeare remains an important element.

Additional genre inspirations: losing myself in Jane Austen (movies and books) and other historical films, X-files re-runs, graphic novels. My penchant for Fantasy began with Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, and that flame reignited in Harry Potter.  My travels to London have been critical, drinking in the history of that grand city that feels so much like home to me. London is filled with magic and teems with spirits, and I hope to tap into that sense every time I write, whether I’m there in the city or channeling it back in the states.

Describe your writing process. Do you have to be alone? Write on computer or longhand? Revisions?

I just have to be focused – which can often be the hardest part. I write alone or at a coffee shop. I have to have a cup of tea on hand (preferably clove tea – it smells like Alexi).  I play classical music. I always carry a notebook to write down ideas or snippets of dialogue, but I’m far more swift on a keyboard than longhand, so I usually compose on my computer. My revision process tends to be sweeping and relatively extensive. I’m an exceedingly visual writer. I write the movie in my mind, like a cinematographer putting scenes together. I don’t structure a whole lot of specifics beforehand. I have a general idea of where the story needs to go, general rules for my world, but the exact road map is determined by what the characters tell me along the way.

The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker takes place in Victorian England, what kind of research did you do for your book?

I read a lot of books written in the 19th Century, basked in 19th Century architecture whenever I could be near it, traveled to London on scholarship and again on specific research, chose to make the Victorian Era a focus study in college, performed in 19th Century plays to live in the language, clothing and mannerisms, adapted 19th Century literature for the professional stage, and beyond that, I surround myself with research books for specific questions as they come up within the narrative.

And, quite interestingly, you’ve blended this Victorian setting with Greek Mythology. How does that work together? What inspired you to go that route?

The Victorians were drawn to Classical themes, as well as Spiritualism and ideas about ghosts and the after-life. A Neo-Classical revival, coupled with a rich Romanticism and this compelling fascination with spirits comes together to make just the sort of setting that appeals to me and inspires me – a world that represents many parts of the Victorian consciousness.

Would you consider writing in other genres in the future, if so, which ones? Do you think you’ll bleed over into the increasingly popular Steampunk genre?

My first published fiction was a futuristic fantasy novella, Dark Nest, which won the 2009 Prism Award for Excellence in Fantasy / Futuristic / Paranormal Romance.  Historical Paranormal / Fantasy is my first and foremost love, but I won’t rule anything out. I love rich, magical, eerie, and imaginative world-building, so I’ll likely always remain in the Fantasy / Paranormal realm. At the moment, I can’t say about Steampunk, I love the sub-genre. I don’t have the technology that would make Strangely Beautiful, a Gaslight Fantasy, into a Steampunk story. Hopefully fans of Steampunk will enjoy the Strangely Beautiful Gaslight Fantasy style, which has that Victorian allure that I find so delicious in both sub-genres.

What do you do to help promote your book? With over 800 books published every day in the US, it can be difficult to be seen. As a fellow author, I live this truth!

I’m glad you understand, yes it is really difficult. I do as much as I can, whenever I can, and I run a lot on instinct. I surround myself with a lot of smart writers and business people. We discuss ideas and see what we’re drawn to. I’ve done a lot of guest-blogging; I ran a Haunted London Blog Tour, where each day I featured a different real, documented London haunt that I use in the book; gave books away; and reached out to book bloggers, trying to get my books into hands and get the word out on my series.  Book bloggers and reviewers really helped me create some buzz on Strangely Beautiful. I do conferences, as I highly value and see the benefits of face-time with industry professionals and readers. I’ve bought some publicity and advertisements, as much as my budget could allow. I’ve been really blessed by an enthusiastic publisher, great reviews, and the support of major retailers like Barnes & Noble. It’s because of these factors The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is already going into a second printing and I could not be more thrilled.

Who are your major influences?

Every 19th Century novelist I’ve ever read (that’s a long list – and particularly the Gothic novelists), graphic novelists like Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore, contemporary Victorian mystery writers like Anne Perry and Elizabeth Peters, every fantasy novelist I’ve ever read, and as I’d mentioned earlier, immense kudos to J. K. Rowling.

Tell us your journey to getting a publisher.

I was working as a professional actress in the regional theatre circuit when I got some articles and short plays published, which gave me confidence as a writer but which didn’t open any doors into publishing novels.  When I knew that the call of this book was stronger than the call of the theatre, I shifted into networking and honing my writing craft:  I joined writers’ organizations like RWA (Romance Writers of America); I went on the hunt for an agent; I started pitching to editors and networking with industry professionals.  I revised and revised and was rejected time and time again because of the cross-genre nature of this book.  Yet I never lost the cross-genre vision of the book, and I’m glad of it, as it is an aspect that has been often celebrated about the book.

I was surrounded by good writer friends who wouldn’t have let me give up even if I wanted to, which I wouldn’t have. I’m way too stubborn. The trick was finding a house that would celebrate those cross-genre qualities in my work, a house we found in Dorchester. It was nearly a 9 year journey from idea to print. While the wait felt so painful, I know it’s exactly as it was meant to be. The timing is right in so many ways, and I appreciate this dream come true all the more for having worked hard for it.

Every blessing and thanks for this opportunity to share my dream come true with all of you!

Connect with Leanna:

• Leanna’s Website

• Strangely Beautiful Facebook Fan Page

• @leannarenee on Twitter

• MySpace

And don’t forget to pick up your copy of THE STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL TALE OF MISS PERCY PARKER

 
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Christine Rose is half of the husband/wife writing team: Christine and Ethan Rose, award-winning authors of YA fantasy Rowan of the Wood. The authors are on a year-long book tour, traveling the country in a fancifully painted RV they affectionately call the Geekalicous Gypsy Caravan. Christine blogs daily, produces two videos weekly (TheTuberRose) on YouTube, and was named one of the top 100 authors on Twitter by mashable. Catch her prolific tweets and pictures from the road @christinerose. The second book in their series, Witch on the Water, was just released last week and is available wherever books are sold, including Amazon.
http://www.christineandethanrose.com