Check out the interview to discover the original title of Speechless (it was much longer!), which writers her she finds most influential, and her favorite place to lose herself!
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The Interview
Chelsea was a little rough for me to write, especially at the beginning. Her character is very different from who I am, so I had to step out of the box when developing her character. I really enjoyed writing for Andy the most; I think of all the characters, he is most similar to me.Has the title changed or stayed relatively the same as your novel journeyed towards publication?
What book or author has most influenced you as a writer or in general?The original working title was The Redemption of Chelsea Knot. Harlequin Teen suggested the change to Speechless, and I agreed with no problem because I thought it was a lot better!
There are so many books and authors I found influential growing up. I devoured Sarah Dessen as a teenager. Rachel Cohn, David Levithan, and John Green were also influences of mine. Of more adult authors, Margaret Atwood is so inspiring to me—I marvel at her writing style.What jobs did you have on your way to becoming a writer/published author? Is there a certain work experience that has shaped your writing?
I’ve had a lot of different jobs since I was a teenager. Stable girl, grocery bagger/cart pusher, pizza cook, administrative assistant… I think they all helped my writing in the sense of giving me more life experience to draw from, not just the work itself but the people I interacted with while working those jobs.If you had to pick a favorite word, what would it be and why?
Persnickety is a great word. It sounds exactly the same as what it means!My blog is dedicated to my personal hiding spot, books. Who, what, or where can be credited as your personal escape from reality?
I do the same with books, too, and films and television shows… they definitely provide some escapism. But music may be my number one. There’s nothing better than losing yourself in a good song!
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Author Bio
Hannah Harrington is a 25-year-old born and bred Michigander. She grew up in the town of East Grand Rapids before later moving to the Lansing area, where she currently resides with three cats and a black labrador, all of whom are named after famous musicians.Learn more about Hannah and her novel's here!
She wrote her first book at age nine, a stunning, forty-page Call of the Wild/Black Beauty ripoff ode to her dead dog. She later attempted her second at fourteen (by longhand), but failed miserably. She got the idea for Saving June during the summer after high school, while living out of her car and working as a pizza cook. It wasn't until she was twenty-one that she decided to write a story around the scenes she'd scribbled into a notebook years before.
Saving June, Hannah's first novel, was published by Harlequin Teen in 2011. Her second novel, Speechless, was released in the US on August 28th, 2012.
When she isn't busy writing like a crazy person, Hannah enjoys horseback riding, arguing about politics, watching documentaries, playing guitar (very badly), and speaking about herself in the third person.
