H. Leighton Dickson
H. Leighton Dickson grew up in the wilds of the Canadian Shield, where her neighbours were wolves, moose, perennial-eating deer and the occasional lynx. She studied zoology at the University of Guelph and worked in the Edinburgh Zoological Gardens, where she was chased by lions, wrestled deaf tigers and fed Polar Bears medicine via baby bottles! She has been writing since she was thirteen, has three dogs, two cats, three children and one husband. She has managed to keep all of them alive…so far. She has also recently signed with agent Jennifer Udden of the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York for her next novel, Gothic/Steampunk thriller COLD STONE & IVY.
Cold Stone & Ivy: The Ghost Club (Science-Fiction/Fantasy/Steampunk)
Jack the Ripper gave her his heart. Now he wants it back.
The year is 1888, the clockwork British Empire is crumbling and young writer Ivy Savage has literally received a heart in the post. Terrified, her father sends her north to a strange sanitarium in Lancashire where the brilliant but unpredictable “Mad Lord of Lasingstoke” makes his home.
Here, Ivy finds the dead are as dangerous as the living and she is immediately swept into a world of manners, mystery, and supernatural intrigue, uncovering a secret that will lead both her and the Mad Lord back to London and the dark streets of Whitechapel.
Cold Stone & Ivy 2: The Crown Prince, The Empire of Steam (Science-Fiction/Fantasy/Steampunk)
“The Crown Prince is dead, shot in the head. War is coming on iron feet.”
A murdered Prince. A Gilded Empire. A clockwork locket that tick-tocks dark matter.
The year is 1889 and Austria’s Crown Prince Rudolf has been found with a bullet in his brain. Immediately, all eyes are turned to the Empire of Steam’s Mad Lord of Lasingstoke, a notorious ghost hunter and the last man to see the Crown Prince alive. As the first whispers of war cast a preternatural shadow over Europe, an international manhunt is launched to bring the Mad Lord and his clockwork brother to justice. Unfortunately, young criminologist Ivy Savage has written herself into the plot and it takes all of her resourcefulness to keep them one step ahead of the firing squad.
From airships over the Black Forest to a stolen ride on the Orient Express, it’s clear that the Gilded Empire is not the only thing hunting the Mad Lord. Ghost horses and iron giants, long-dead saints and an archduchess more cable than flesh – all want something from the de Lacey brothers, not the least of which being the resurrection of the crown prince himself. But Ivy knows that at the heart of it, two lockets alone control the destiny of Empires and the clockwork is ticking as they race back to Vienna and the dangerous labyrinth that lies beneath…
Dragon of Ash & Stars: The Autobiography of a Night Dragon (Fantasy)
“People say that a Dragon breathes Fire. That is a myth. A Dragon IS Fire and his Whole Life is the Story of his Burning – Page by Blistering Page.”
“Brilliant, Insightful and Spiritual.” – West Coast Book Reviews
Stormfall is a dragon born with a coat the colour of a starry night. When a violent storm strikes his island aerie, he is carried on hurricane winds into the complicated and sometimes cruel world of men. There, his journey takes him from fisher dragon to farmer, pit-fighting dragon to warrior, each step leading him closer to a remarkable destiny. But war is coming to the land of Remus and with it, a crossroads for the Night Dragon and the young soul-boy he allows on his back. How far is Stormfall willing to go in a war that is not his own?
To Journey in the Year of the Tiger: Tails from the Upper Kingdom Book 1 (Science-Fiction/Fantasy)
TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER is the first in a Ground-Breaking Original Series by H. Leighton Dickson. This is a powerful, post-apocalyptic story of lions and tigers, wolves and dragons, embracing and blending the cultures of Dynastic China, Ancient India and Feudal Japan. Half feline, half human, this genetically altered world has evolved in the wake of the fall of human civilization. Fans of Tolkien, Game of Thrones, Redwall or Japanese anime will be entertained in these intelligent and beautifully written pages in a blend of science, fantasy and zoological speculation.
Kirin Wynegarde-Grey is a young lion with a big job – Captain of the Guard in a Kingdom that spans from the mountains of western China to the deserts of the Middle East. When an ancient threat awakens in the West and threatens to overthrow the Empire, he must lead a team that includes his enigmatic brother, a lethal swordswoman and three radically different and mysterious specialists through a world where humans are legend and animals walk like men.
This is the journey of six individuals as they travel beyond the edges of the known Empire, into lands uncharted and wild. It is a journey of magic and mystery, science and swords, romance and intrigue. It is a journey of different perspectives and unexpected kharma and love found in surprising places. It is a journey that takes place five thousand years or so in the future, naturally in the Year of the Tiger.
“World-building on par with Zelazny!”
To Walk in the Way of Lions: Tails from the Upper Kingdom Book 2 (Science-Fiction/Fantasy)
TO WALK IN THE WAY OF LIONS is the second in the powerful Original Series by H. Leighton Dickson and picks up where TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER leaves off. This is a sweeping post-apocalyptic tale of genetically altered lions and tigers, wolves and dragons in a world that has evolved in the wake of the fall of human civilization. Half feline, half human, their culture blends those of Dynastic China, Ancient India and Feudal Japan where humans are legend and kingdoms have risen in their stead. Fans of Tolkien, GAME OF THRONES, REDWALL or Japanese anime will be entertained in these intelligent and beautifully written pages in a blend of science, fantasy and zoological speculation.
“World-building on par with Zelazny!”
The conclusion to the sweeping epic that began in ‘TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER, the story picks up where Journey leaves off, in the harsh deserts of Khanisthan. The team is running under a very set of different dynamics than before, for not only will they be forced to confront enemies tracking from the North and a hostile force from the Palace following from the South, but they must face their own demons that are plaguing them from within. It’s man against man, cat against cat, Seer against Alchemist, knowledge versus ‘the Way of Things’ – a Sci-Fi ‘Pride and Prejudice and Lions’, like you’ve never read it before.
From the ruthless wilds of Khanisthan to the wind-swept shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the beauty and savagery of the Upper Kingdom unfolds like a living thing before them as they travel and Kirin will find out what it means to follow the code of Bushido to the gates of death and beyond…
This is the journey of six individuals as they travel beyond the edges of the known Empire, into lands uncharted and wild. Theirs is a journey of magic and mystery, science and swords, romance and intrigue. It is a journey of different perspectives and unexpected kharma and love found in surprising places. It is a journey that takes place five thousand years or so in the future, naturally in the Year of the Tiger.
(Be sure to read Part 1: ‘TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER’, by Leighton Dickson, for sale on Amazon Books.)
Songs in the Year of the Cat: Tails from the Upper Kingdom Book 3 (Science-Fiction/Fantasy)
SONGS IN THE YEAR OF THE CAT is the Third in the Original Series by H. Leighton Dickson and picks up where TO WALK IN THE WAY OF LIONS leaves off. Ancestors are rising in the west and armies are moving from the North and the East. Captain Wynegarde-Grey has only just returned to the capital of the Upper Kingdom and he is immediately pulled into the conflict as cauldrons of oil are burning all along the Great Wall and the drums of war force all soldiers back into duty. But a mysterious woman is changing things, manipulating behind the scenes as Sherah al Shiva, ninjaah and sorceress, slips back into his life with companions that could divide the known world.
This is a sweeping post-apocalyptic tale of genetically altered lions and tigers, wolves and dragons in a world that has evolved in the wake of the fall of human civilization. Half feline, half human, their culture blends those of Dynastic China, Ancient India and Feudal Japan where humans are legend and kingdoms have risen in their stead. Fans of Tolkien, GAME OF THRONES, PLANET OF THE APES or Japanese anime will be entertained in these intelligent and beautifully written pages in a blend of science, fantasy and zoological speculation.
Swallowtail & Sword: The Scholar’s Book of Story & Song: Tails from the Upper Kingdom Book 4 (Science-Fiction/Fantasy)
Before there was a Shogun, Before there was a Journey, there was a Story.
“Fascinating, Exotic, Original Fantasy!” – Jennifer Quail, Strange Roads
SWALLOWTAIL & SWORD is a collection of short stories based on the characters from TO JOURNEY IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER. From Ling’s first hour as Empress to Solomon’s last hour in the world of men, these are the events that shaped them, molded them, set them on the Road to Pol’Lhasa and it’s high winged courts. These are the stories of the Captain and the Geomancer, the Scholar and the Alchemist, the Major and the Priest, the Empress and the Ancestor in their lives before they came together to change the world.