Storytelling
Storytelling is alchemy
Perhaps most central to my work is storytelling. At the center of every ritual, every astrological reading, and every turning point in the arc of our life’s journey, is a story: A story of who we were, of where we’re going, of what we’re becoming.
The story we choose to tell and transform makes all of the difference.
For much of my adult life, I have used the power of storytelling to move myself through times of hopelessness, alchemizing old narratives of despair into new ones of purpose, wonder, and empowerment. My two works of fiction are my biggest examples of this.
See below to explore “The Innis Forgettance” (2023) and “While Cerberus Sleeps” (2016).
The Innis Forgettance: Podcast
Streaming wherever you love to listen…
According to rumors going around the haunted town of Inniscombe, 17-year-old Porter Hollis is to blame for his mother’s crying sickness.
What’s more, he’s been bewitched by the Neverseen, spirits haunting the forest who possess townsfolk’s bodies and steal their souls. Yet no one seems to know how or why the Neverseen came to afflict them.
Written and narrated by north-Georgia novelist Leah Noel, with special appearance by David Walker, The Innis Forgettance is a fiction podcast that straddles timelines set in an alternate Appalachia and faraway Celtic fort.
Travel with Porter Hollis as he sets on a journey to untangle the lies of the past, and a spell woven of darkness and fear. Will he bring about Inniscombe’s deliverance… or its end?
Winner of American Writing Awards’ 2024 Podcast of the Year and Fiction Podcast of the Year!
Listeners say…
“THIS IS THE STORY. I’ve been telling anyone, everyone, who would listen that they need to hear this story. I felt the tone shifts between acts, experienced the emotional spectrum, and journeyed in my mind to this amazing world-space every time I clicked the play button. Leah, you are truly a gifted writer and to do all that while managing a family is truly astounding.”
“I am so incredibly blown away by Leah’s masterful writing and her incredible ability to voice act. […] Production value is top-notch, also. I could seriously continue on and on about how well crafted every aspect of this podcast has been done. You just literally need to listen to it yourself!”
“Stunningly brilliant. So far, this is the most captivating story I have ever heard.”
“While Cerberus Sleeps: A Novel”
In the Hesperia Territory, revolution never wins.
Fledgling reporter Mila Ray should know—for generations, her ancestors have died trying to overthrow their insidiously tyrannical government. For the last 200 years, Hesperia has beaten its people into complacency—but for those who are paying attention, the banned books, the work camps, and the Hesperia Domestic Safety Act that allows Hesperian officials to arrest almost anyone who dares to look too closely, have not gone unnoticed.
She’s determined to find another way.
A whistleblower shares chilling government secrets and begs Mila to go with him to the Belgae, a small but growing group of insurgents who intend battle. She agrees — but the plan goes terribly wrong, and Mila must run from a sadistic Hesperian agent who has his own twisted agenda for her.
As she plunges into the crevices of her society, a chance encounter reveals a powerful new ally that would allow Mila a chance to incite a revolution unlike any Hesperia has ever known… or watch history repeat itself.
The debut novel from Leah Noel, While Cerberus Sleeps is a dystopian story with a philosophical feel, a great fit for fans of Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven.
“Though the setting is a dark futuristic dystopia, so many of the characters and scenes reach a level of intimacy and wholesomeness that are needed to give a real sense of something that stands against the darkness to bring out the love that is in our hearts. Overall, this book is poised to speak to a world that desires to wake up from the nightmare of human history and find a way of Life that transcends the typical violent solutions to violent problems. ”
The Echo Project
A bold reimagining of a timeless brand.