Saturday, March 30, 2013

Interview with Aja Hannah, Author of Zarconian Island

Today I have Aja Hannah on the blog today!!  She is the author of Zarconian Island, which was released last week on the 25th!!  Welcome Aja!!

1. What is your book about?
Possessing powers that are feared and shunned, eighteen-year-old Alexandra “Attie” Hotep is no virgin to attacks. Her ancestors, the Zarconians-- mixed-blood inhabitants of Atlantis--were rumored to be the English fairies who kidnapped children, the Caribbean sirens that sunk ships, and the dream-like apparitions who broke into psyches. By the 1850s, they were hunted to near-extinction, leaving the existence of Atlantis and Zarconians little more than myth. 



When a class trip turns deadly, Attie and her friends become stranded on an uncharted tropical island in the middle of the Pacific, and Attie finds herself targeted once more. With a jungle full of extinct and prowling animals, she struggles to find a compromise between keeping her friends safe and keeping her family's secret. 



Enter Doug Hutchinson—the school’s soccer star, and a handsome boy with his own secrets. But Attie and Doug soon realize the animals aren't the only threat. There is a traitor amidst the group, one that plans to turn all Zarconians into permanent myths. And Attie is next on the list.

2. Who are the main characters in your book?
The main female lead is Attie and the book is told from her POV. The secondary female lead is her best friend Kate, the opposite of Attie in almost every way. The male lead is Doug Hutchinson, the school's star soccer player.

3. What or Who was the inspiration for your book?
Most of my stories come from dreams, but this one I just decided to write. I sat down at a computer and said, "I want to write a novel" and then I did. I have more on this at Vicki Trask's blog.

4. When did you start this book?
I started in high school, but it really picked up in college. It's been a long process.

5. Where does your book take place?
The thick of it takes place on an uncharted tropical island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in the Hawaiian vortex. It's funny. I wrote this story long ago and now I am moving to Hawaii. For the first time, I'll see what it looks like and the surroundings that Attie experienced.

6. What or Who inspires to you to write?
Simply: I write because I have to. Now, publishing inspiration would probably be my sister Cherish. She keeps pushing me to get the next book done. To not give up. To query and make the edits to put it out there.

7. What do you like to do while you're writing?
When I get into serious writing, I sit in my living room with the television on (usually Nat Geo Wild) and then put headphones in and start writing. You really can't pull me away after that.

8. How long have you been writing?
I have been writing since I found out that I could write as job. I started with rinky chapter books in elementary school, graduated to short stories and poetry in middle school, and finally started writing novels in high school. I got my first short story printed in my high school literary magazine. I also started writing articles for the high school paper and eventually double-majored in college in creative writing and journalism.

9. Tough question here... What is your favorite book series?
I don't have one. Though my favorite genre has always been action/adventure YA novels.

10. Another tough one.. Who is your favorite author?
No one in mind for this. Several authors I find compelling: Meg Cabot, John Green, Rumiko Takahashi, but no favorites. Sorry!

~~~~~~~~~


Columbia, MD.: Librarian Aja Hannah and innovative indie press Curiosity Quills are pleased to announce the release of Hannah’s debut young-adult novel, Zarconian Island. Zarconian Island is the story of the descendants of the lost city of Atlantis, and their struggle to survive on a lost island.
Fans of ancient and lost civilizations and adventure alike will be delighted by Zarconian Island’s unique take on the legend of Atlantis. A strong female lead with a deadly secret and a cast of memorable characters promise to propel Zarconian Island to the top of the bestseller lists.


“[Zarconian Island] will take you on an incredible journey.... away from our or-dinary lives, with characters that are believable in a fantasy fiction way.”
- Goodreads review


Release date: March 25, 2013
Formats: Nook, Kindle, Trade Paperback
Paperback Price: $12.99



Review Copies are available, in all digital formats (PDF, ePub, Mobi). Please specify preferred format when requesting.

If you would like to interview author, Aja Hannah, or any member of CQ Press:

Media Contact: Thea Gregory thea@curiosityquills.com (800) 998-2509 x902


Author Bio:

Aja Hannah works as a librarian on the Big Island of Ha-waii after earning a B.A. with honors in creative writing and journalism on the mainland. Interesting enough, ro-mance makes her uncomfortable--going as far as to cover her eyes during kissing scenes in movie theaters--and yet she is a serial monogamist.
She was born and raised in Maryland, which she tags like a strange home base before turning out into the world of travel again. Her trips have taken her to Penn-sylvania, Maryland, Italy, Wyoming, Puerto Rico, Colora-do, and Hawaii.


About Curiosity Quills Press
Innovative publishing house, Curiosity Quills Press, has been opening its doors to speculative fiction authors since 2011. Spanning the gamut from hard science fiction to urban fantasy to horror to quirky “zombie noir”, readers have come to know that Curiosity Quills Press can answer to their tastes and interests.
Operations director, Lisa Gus, explains her vision for the future of publishing:
“With readers, bloggers, and aspiring authors playing such an important role in published authors’ success in this new publishing climate, we realized it might not be such a bad thing to share the publishing reigns with them. When read-ers, writers, bloggers, and everyone in between get involved in the excitement, publishing becomes a collaborative process in which everyone ultimately wins.”

Web: CuriosityQuills.com
Post: Whampa, LLC P.O. Box 2540
          Dulles, VA 20101
Tel:   (800) 998-2509

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