Today we have @hjnelson, the writer of The Last She and it’s sequel, The Last City, with us.

Warm regards Hannah. Welcome to an official interview from @TheCRYPTIC_ . It's our honor to
interact with an inspiring writer like you. We hope that you'll have a great time.

First of all, tell us how you stumbled upon Wattpad and when.

- A friend recommended it to me, let’s see, maybe a year and a half ago. I went to read his
book on Wattpad and thought, hey, I can do this! I liked that it was online and seemed a very
low risk place to start uploading a book of mine. I never really thought anyone more than my
family would read it.

Wow! So what do you think about THE CRYPTIC's theme? What are your views regarding dark
fiction?

- I think it’s a very unique theme, and I think it reaches a wide audience, because it speaks to
something that lives within us all. I just wrote a short story called Eyes in the Darkness that
falls into dark fiction, so it’s something I dabble in occasionally.

What do you like to read? Do you have a favourite genre or any specific likes?

- I love to read! I read almost everything, but I would say my favorites are young adult,
fairy-tale retellings, science fiction, fantasy and historical fiction.

What compels you to pick up a pen and scribble down your thoughts? Do you have any inspiration
or motivation?

- I love writing, I’m not really sure why. How do you explain why you love something? I love
creating things, making characters, getting lost in a world, making something beautiful with
words- I love it all. I think that people place too much emphasis on inspiration. Genius is 99%
perspiration, 1% inspiration. Good writing just takes a lot of time, effort and passion.

Being a writer, what's the easiest part of writing and which aspect do you consider the most
challenging?

- I don’t really love trying to figure out how to make money off my work to be completely
honest. Sometimes I wish I could just write and it would all figure itself out, but I know I need
to be better at that. So that is the most challenging for me, trying to take my writing and
figure out what to do with it. The easiest part is creating the world and characters and plot. I
love bringing everything together. I love that I sometimes surprise myself when I go back and
think, cool, I wrote this!

What kind of environment do you prefer to write in?

- I take whatever time I can to write in. Yesterday I was editing The Last City on my smart
phone crammed in the back a car while my dad drove us back from visiting some family.
Ideally I like to be write at a coffee shop, in my office or at the library, and be listening to
some chill music, but life isn’t always ideal.

What's your first piece of writing, if you can remember? What thoughts does it bring to you when you
look back at it?

-I’ve wrote stories all my life, and before I could write I told stories, so I don’t think I could
pinpoint it back to one specific piece of writing. But I do have wonderful memories of my dad telling
my sister and I stories at night, and I loved that he made them up himself.

Tell us about your growth as an author.

- I think I’ve always wanted to be an author, but it’s been a slow journey figuring out how to
make that a reality. I think the biggest growth has simply come in trying to believe in myself,
and believe that people really do enjoy my work and that I have something to say. I still have
a long ways to go, but I never want to lose my love for writing. As long as I have that, I don’t
care where I end up.

Do you have a favorite author or book?

- Several, in fact! I love The Princess Bride, Peter Pan, The Hobbit, and I really admire
J.K.Rowling because I think she never lost her love for writing, even when life got difficult.

Besides writing, do you have any hidden talents?

I’m pretty athletic, I really love to play sports. Also I’m 6 feet tall, so that helps a lot.

You're sitting in front of a brand new aspiring writer, what do you say?

-There is no glory in writing. So don’t bother if that’s what you are looking for. But if you want
to write because you love it, then keep writing and never stop.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Don't be afraid to tell us something funny, we won't tell.

- Well besides writing, I like to hang out with my extremely destructive cat. He likes to play
fetch and break things. My husband and I play a lot volleyball and Ultimate Frisbee. I also
live downtown, so my husband and I go biking a lot, or go out to bars and restaurants with
friends. I grew up near the mountains so I love hiking, skiing, white water rafting,
backpacking, or anything in the mountains, but now that I don’t live in Idaho I don’t get to do
that as much as I want to.

Now, the most awaited question of every young reader, do you have any childish habits? Do you like
cartoons or chocolates?

- I’m not sure if this is a childish habit, but my husband always tells me I have really bad “knife
safety skills”. But I so do not! *starts juggling knifes in background*
Do you prefer sweet or salty? Sweet! I think I might be addicted to sugar....
It was nice talking to you. Thanks for your precious time. We really appreciate it and hope you'll
prosper leaps and bounds.

COVER