Here we are, the end of Hana's journey to find Humankind's roots. Lina (a.k.a lhansenauthor) brings a conclusion to this epic tale. 

Let's meet with the author first, and see if we can get a glance at what the last chapter of the Lost Cradle is about to reveal...

Dear Lina
We are glad to have you on board for this SciFi Relay adventure.
And we want to thank you for spending this moment with us for this interview.

Tell us a bit about yourself, your journey as a writer and your foray into the Orange part of the web (a.k.a. Wattpad)

I only started writing novels when I found Wattpad back in 2014. Writing press releases and professional texts doesn't really prepare one for this task. Okay, the bit with the travel journo freelancing might have helped a bit with the settings. But otherwise, I started something totally new. It was like "Oh, publishing is that easy?" And that really motivated me to kick off my first novel (which then went on to win a Watty in 2015).

1, 2, 3... Tell us about ONE story you would have wanted to write, TWO authors you admire, who inspire you.... THREE characters who often come into your mind when you start a new story...

I think I've written all the stories I wanted to write. What else might pop up in my head - who knows? Authors who inspire me? Mh, Maybe Jana DeLeon because of her dialogue. And Agatha Christie because she invented cozies. And... There are so many more. The third question I can't answer. My characters are always specific to the novel I wanted to write.

What made you want to participate in the relay?

I participated in the last relay and thought it was fun.

How did you find the experience?

Honest answer okay? I'm not per se a sci-fi author, though I've written the odd piece. I also worked in the space sector, so I'm not unfamiliar with the subject. And OF COURSE I'm a total trekkie. But this was tough, especially right at the start when there was so much techie stuff flying around. I had to put up my shields and wait for things to die down a bit. I always like the exchange with others, though, and I think what we have is great.

What challenged you the most in this venture? Something that maybe brought you out of your writer's comfort zone?

See answer above. This was tough, simply because of the nitty-gritty details and the many discussions on so many different subjects I got lost a bit. Luckily I had the last chapter, so I could wait and see what transpired and how I could pull it all together. That worked for me.

Something we are most curious about... How about you give us a little teaser of your part in this story? A sentence or two that will keep us on our toes and impatiently wait reading your chapter?

The orange glow of the human Sol setting sent sparks dancing on the water and made it hard to work out what might be going on under the surface. It looked like a long, shimmery band of particles, some of them smaller than the nail of her pinkie, some as large as her hand. The band was in constant motion, always drifting and shifting in synch with a soundless beat.

And while we are feeling the tease, as we consider the Science Fiction genre, we are all expecting wondrous worlds and weird alien species... Can you tell us about one element you brought to the Relay, one element you created for this story? It may be an alien race, a location in space, or maybe a special technology... Tell us about this special character, object, environment or settings you built up for your part in the story. What was your inspiration for it?

The shimmering band of particles mentioned above. It's a very special character, a telephathic and symbiontic entity made up of nanoplastics--and fish. No ispiration needed - they are very much in the news, and very much a problem. Though this version is reasonably benign. I wanted to give this amazing journey a happy ending.

And just to make it even more understandable. This little part of yourself you added to make the story even greater, can you give us a definition as if it was an entry in The Great Dictionary of Science Fiction?

Nano, aka the swarm - telepathic entity (hive mind) composed of fish-nanoplastics symbionts. 

So, this is it! Chapter 20 is here and we will know how the story ends. And meet the Swarm!
Enjoy!