And now (drum roll please) let's all welcome the lovely linahanson to be the willing victim uh...participant of the interview! If you guys haven't guessed already, or if you've been hiding in a hole all day, she is the author of 'Cursed Times -- What Now?', a book about a neurotic young witch who travels to Egypt and stumbles upon a 5000 year-old curse. In order to save the world, she teams up with a hot-but-annoying blind dude, a crazy priestess of Ra who is way older than she looks, and...a wig. Okay, not really, but hopefully this interview will want to make you find out more about that wig!

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Let's start with the basics. Ancient Egypt is obviously the main source of inspiration for 'Cursed Times -- What Now?'. When did your love for Ancient Egypt develop? And why?

 History lessons started when I was 12, which started with Ancient Egypt. I was hooked almost immediately and started reading on my own. Mainly about the rediscovery of the old civilisation, the early archaeologists, that sort of thing. It was all better than any adventure story. From there on I went on to history and the mythologies itself. I read the ancient fairy tales, starting to paint and draw a lot of the scenes.

Had there been Wattpad, I would have flooded it with my stories. We didn't have it, so I have to keep them in my head.

Trueth, the main character, is one of the last European witches. How did you get the idea to incorporate some medieval magic into the story?

Ah, that was my second history fixation -- the witchtrials. That and Harry Potter, in a way. I then thought, at one point -- most likely in the middle of the night -- what would happen 'if...'. And hey presto! 'Cursed Times' was conceived.

One important theme in the story is to accept oneself for who one truly is. For example, Trueth starts out as a neurotic and unconfident young woman who desperately needs yoga lessons. How do you think this message relates to people in all walks of life? And could society somehow play a part in it?

The question of 'Who am I and where do I belong?' is indeed key to the story. During her teenage years, Trueth had to live with the fact that she possesses talents, which she believed to be unique in our modern world.  Magical talents, to be exact. They are linked to emotions -- and she isn't good with controlling her emotions. You can imagine the rest. Those of us who don't have weird magical talents still face the same challenges, especially in our teens and tweens.

Society of course plays a crucial part -- most human beings need to socialise with others, as it's in our nature. Not playing by the rules comes at a cost of isolation. Yet, to what degree can you do it, should you change who you are.

Your book is a crossover of sorts when it comes to genre. It can easily be in paranormal, urban fantasy, new adult, adventure etc. What do you make of all these genres? And how do you feel about your book transcending into all these categories, and possibly more? 

I'm easy with the mongrel nature of the Cursed Times series...In fact, it's what I aimed for.

Writing is all about tossing existing elements into the air and creating something new. I just used all the elements I liked to read about and created the type of novel I haven't seen anywhere. The book being New Adult was, however, very deliberate. The age bracket falls into my formative years and I wanted to share my experience, hoping it would help others

Romance, whether subtle, passionate or steamy, seems to be present in every single novel of every genre you can find on bookshelves nowadays.

However (minor spoiler) by the end of the first book, the two mains, Trueth and Metjen, do not end up together. What's your opinion on the romance angle in books, and why are people so eager to 'ship' something? 

Well, I will only say so much -- I like bittersweet endings. I have, of course, no issue with romance in novels; it's part of our life experience and no novel would be complete without it. In 'Cursed Times' there are certainly sparks flying, including those of the non-magical variety. Yet I would not classify it as a romance. Let's just say that it's an important sub-plot and I like it that way. CT is New Adult, and not a book written for teenagers, so maybe this is why the 'shipping' is a bit more subtle. If you would like a teaser to on what is going to happen, WELL, I have put out a short version of the first chapter of 'Cursed Times -- Only Yesterday' in the LOL 35 anthology! Here's a link for those who can't wait -- be careful, it contains spoilers! : http://www.wattpad.com/87479414-cursed-times-what-now-wattys2015-prologue-do-not

(Author's interjection: Since Wattpad does not allow me to paste links in the text, you might have to copy the whole URL and paste it into the search box. OR you can just head over to my profile -- I'll be posting the link there. Sorry guys! )

In 'Cursed Times', family is a huge support system in the whole storyline. The biggest example being Metjen's family -- the al-Nours. It's evident that although they step on each others' tails sometimes, they have a bond that no one can break. Even the cats are a big part of this particular family!

However, in most NA or YA novels nowadays, adults or even family members are virtually nonexistent. Do you think that this is deliberate on the part of modern authors? And why do you think that family is important?

Novels without family content are either written by a) younger authors; or b) explicitly for them. I do remember not being exactly keen on my family at a certain age. Western societies also do not foster close families either -- both parents are working, kids at school, going their separate ways...And then there's the modern media. You might have a whole family together -- staring at the screen or, their tablets or smartphones. Talking is definitely out of the question. So I wanted to show an alternative, for I do think that family is important. I have seen that many times in my own life; at critical points I could always revert to my primary support unit.

However, there is a bigger topic that you haven't mentioned -- 'Cursed Times' also shows the generations working together. That is another aspect of life I wanted to get across. Society only has a future as a 'mixed team', so to speak. Older people have a lot to give, a lot to share; younger people have a lot of energy and drive. Both together work a lot better...XD

Last but not least, any tips for your fellow Wattys 2015 contenders? Or any words of encouragement?

Well, I've made a number of great friends on Wattpad who are also really good authors. A lot of them -- like me -- do not have many thousands of reads. I still believe that writing what you want to write, and to do so as well as possible is the right thing to do. With or without the Wattys. In any case, I have not had so much fun for a long time, and that in itself is a good thing. 

I wish every single one of you the glory you deserve! 

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Thank you Lina, for this amazing interview! Seriously, she's provided so much food-for-thought that you'd be a dodo if you don't think about everything she'd said! So what are you waiting for? Go check out 'Cursed Times -- What Now?' now! As always, you can click on the external link down below if you feel a bit lazy.

By the way, by the suggestion of Jamiemc, I've decided to do a little Q & A session for yours truly. So post your questions in the comments below! I'll try to answer every single one of them in the next update. My rules? It can't be repeated by another person. And it can't involve major spoilers (like duh). Until then, ask away!