We are reaching the last leg on the adventures of Hana and the crew to find the way Home. Will Bill (a.k.a wdhenning) send us in the right direction in chapter 17?

Before we follow the STrawberry Mollusk among the stars, let's sit for a moment with Bill for some questions.

Dear Bill
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)

My first experiences with writing, outside of schooling, were producing engineering technical service and research reports. Almost six years ago I stumbled across Wattpad and thought 'cool, free stories'. Not much later, I tried my own hand at fiction, starting with at few science fiction short story contests. My writing style has improved considerably since those initial cringe-worthy attempts.

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...

At the risk of jumping in too deep, the one story I would like to author is my life journey. I suppose most people would. But the reality is, there are many authors, and I am not wise enough to write it on my own.

I have read several sci-fi classics, but perhaps two who sent me down that genre were Isaac Asimov with the Foundation series, and Frank Herbert with the Dune series.

Three common characters in my stories include a sarcastic male character that finds it difficult to follow rules; a strong and sometimes kickass female character; and some sort of clueless side character to play off the former.

What made you want to participate in the relay?

Collaboration stories sorta scared me, particularly how I could fit my part into the overall style and plot line. But because I usually write speculative fiction, I decided to take a small leap of faith.

How did you find the experience?

This has been fun, the group is good to work with, and everything is coming together quite well.

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

The biggest challenges for me were maintaining consistent flow of my chapter within the overall story and getting all the many details right.

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?

Hope is the cruelest of virtues.

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?

One unique element was the Ark Hope, an Earth colony ship long lost in interstellar space. Finding the ark and rescuing the passengers became a turning point for Hana and her friends. In a way, it represented Hana's own quest.

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?

Ark Ship (noun):
A large star ship carrying many colonists to a new world in hopes for a better life. 

Hope may be cruel... So let's just read chapter 17 and see for ourselves.
Enjoy!