A Book per Day: The Last She - Hannah Nelson + interview

Τι θα γινόταν αν η μόνη ελπίδα για να σωθεί η ανθρωπότητα ήσουν εσύ;;
Αφιερώστε λίγο χρόνο να διαβάσετε σχετικά με την ιστορία της Χάνα Νέλσον "The Last She" και τις απαντήσεις της στις ερωτήσεις του blog μας!
Το κείμενο είναι γραμμένο στα Αγγλικά και στα Ελληνικά, μπορείτε να πατήσετε μετάφραση στα δεξιά!

A dystopian science fiction story from Hannah Nelson which is 1# in Wattpad's rankings and has hit over 1 million reads!

Description : A plague has swept over the Earth, killing the majority of the population and every female. Except one. Ara witnessed the horror and destruction, but for the last three years has somehow survived.

Now desperation and hunger force Ara out of the mountains and onto a dangerous path; she must return to her home city. Across the flooded downtown and through the gangs of survivors Ara believes there is hope, one small leftover clue, that could save her. But when she is taken captive by a group of men, she must decide where her loyalty truly lies; with humanity or with herself?

This is the story of The Last She.

My opinion (you can hit the translate): Διάλεξα να διαβάσω αυτή την ιστορία λόγω του τίτλου και του εξωφύλλου και επειδή νόμιζα ότι ήταν ολοκληρωμένη. Η ιστορία ξεκινά με την Άρα, μία νεαρή κοπέλα που αποφασίζει να βγει από τα βουνά που κρυβόταν τα τελευταία 3 χρόνια μαζί με τον πατέρα της για να αναζητήσει την αλήθεια πίσω από το χάος. Ο πατέρας της έχει εξαφανιστεί και εκείνη πρέπει να βρει τον τρόπο να καταφέρει να επιβιώσει σε έναν κατεστραμμένο ανδροκρατούμενο κόσμο.

Η ιστορία ξετυλίγεται σιγά σιγά καθώς μία ομάδα αντρών συναντά την Άρα και την αιχμαλωτίζει. Από ότι φαίνεται, τόσο καιρό που έχει αποκοπεί από τον πολιτισμό ο κόσμος έχει αλλάξει. Και έχει γίνει πολύ πιο άγριος και αφιλόξενος για γυναίκες. Οι άντρες έχουν οργανωθεί σε ομάδες (clans) και τριγυρνούν μαζεύοντας προμήθειες, φάρμακα και ότι άλλο χρήσιμο μπορούν να βρουν.

Ο Κάντεν και η ομάδα του, πιάνουν την Άρα αιχμάλωτη νομίζοντας ότι είναι ένα ακόμη αγόρι που τριγυρνά στην περιοχή τους. Όταν όμως ανακαλύπτουν ότι αυτό το αγρίμι που έπιασαν, είναι κορίτσι όλα αλλάζουν, καθώς αντιλαμβάνονται ότι έχουν υπό την προστασία τους το πολυτιμότερο ίσως αγαθό της γης, την τελευταία γυναίκα. Προσπαθούν να την φροντίσουν όσο καλύτερα μπορούν μέχρι να φτάσουν στον καταυλισμό τους όμως εκείνη αντιστέκεται και συνεχώς προσπαθεί να το σκάσει.

Καλοσχηματισμένοι χαρακτήρες, δυνατές σκηνές, δράση, έρωτας, καταστροφή, αυτή η ιστορία έχει τα πάντα. Αν εξαιρέσουμε λίγα ορθογραφικά και μερικές ασάφειες εδώ και εκεί η ιστορία "The Last She" είναι μία ιστορία που ξεχωρίζει και αξίζει να διαβαστεί!

Hanna Nelson

Αν διαβάσει κάποιος το προφίλ της θα μάθει ότι η Χάνα, λατρεύει το βόλει, το "Ultimate freesbe" - ένα άθλημα που δεν ακούσει ποτέ ξανά κι όμως υπάρχει, google it - σκαλίζει νεκρά πράγματα με ένα ξύλο και να γράφει.

Ζει στο Γουινσκόνσιν με τον άντρα της και την 'τερατώδη' γάτα της και φοιτά στο κολλέγιο για να γίνει δασκάλα!
Τα αγαπημένα της βιβλία είναι το "Where the red fern grows", "The princess bride" και η αγαπημένη όλων μας σειρά του Χάρι Πότερ.

Η Χάνα δέχτηκε με χαρά να απαντήσει σε μερικές ερωτήσεις για το blog μας!!!!

Απολαύστε τη!

Hi Hannah! I’ve been reading your story “The Last She” and I love it! But I don’t know anything about you. Would you like to introduce yourself?
Hi! So a bit about me… I was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, and grew up camping and backpacking in the mountains. As a family we often went white-water rafting, skiing, mountain-biking, and traveled to national parks. I always loved to read and did so voraciously. I also wrote often, but I didn’t share my stories with anyone.
I attended the University of Idaho, and met my wonderful husband there. We moved to Wisconsin a few years ago, and I am currently getting my Masters in Secondary Education. I hope in the coming years to be able to teach part-time and write part-time.

How long have you been writing? Do you ever get a writer’s block? How do you overcome it?
I’ve always loved to write, but I think Wattpad is the first place I was brave enough to share my stories. Honestly, I didn’t think that anyone would read The Last She, I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.

I’m not sure I would call what I get writer's block, but certainly life gets in the way. I get busy or stressed and it becomes hard to find time to write. One of the hardest things about Wattpad is that I don’t get paid to do it, but I spend alot of time doing it. I am also in a Master’s program, which is extremely time-consuming.

I think to overcome it, I try to find ways to stay motivated. Sometimes I listen to a favorite song, and write out the lyrics, and then when the words start to flow I switch to writing my story.

Is "The Last She" your first story?
I guess it depends on what you mean by story. I always have stories rattling around in my head, and have written stories since when I was little. However, The Last She will be the first novel-sized project I’ve ever finished, and I think alot of that is because of the accountability I’ve found on Wattpad.
It’s really motivating to keep writing when readers are waiting for your next chapter.

What inspired you to write Ara's story?
Hmmm, that’s a difficult question… I don’t think it came in one sudden burst of inspiration, but slowly grew into an idea. I’ve always loved post-apocalyptic stories, and I think it just seemed a fascinating idea to me of what would happen if there was only one female left of Earth…. What would she feel like? How who she survive? I think Ara was born from those ponderings.

Recently your story reached 1 Million reads and the #1 Rank in Sci - Fi!!! How do you feel that your story is so broadly loved?
It’s very exciting! I’ve found a new type of confidence in myself as an author, and am really excited to try and take my story to Radish and then to try and publish it.

“The Last She” has been translated in other languages too! Can you tell us some things about it? In which languages can we find the story and how did the translation happen? Is it from your fans?
The story is being translated into Romanian and into French. Both translations are still ongoing, and can be found on my profile under works. This is really exciting, because I was approached by fans of The Last She asking if they could translate the story. I was really excited to see the enthusiasm for the book, and glad that the story can be enjoyed by an even larger fanbase.

Are you considering to follow the publishing path in the future?
I will be editing the book and posting the revised version on Radish. Once I’ve finished revising it, I want to submit it for publication and then hopefully begin the sequel after that.

Ara's story is going to end soon. Are you planning to write a sequel? Or a new story?
I do plan on writing a sequel, but I’m not sure I will post it on Wattpad. I want to see how writing goes on Radish first. I think my primary focus right now is to focus on The Last She and submitting it for publication.
My plans for the sequel are really exciting, and the end of the book will hint about what is coming next.

If your story had the opportunity to become a movie, which actors would you choose for Ara, Kaden, Gabriel, Isaac & Addison?
I would probably choose the characters I’ve already put up as the cast of the book. Soarise Ronan as Ara, Alex Pettyfer as Kaden, Jesse Williams as Gabriel, Idris Elba as Isaac, and Thomas Brodie as Sam.

Will we learn the secret that Ara’s father is hiding before the end of this book?
You will have to wait to find out!!

Thank you so much for taking time to answer my questions!
Last one: Do you have something to say to your readers?
Thank you so much for supporting me and the story of The Last She. I’ve found a passion and a dream because of all of your support. I wouldn’t be here without you, so thank you for your continued readership and enthusiasm.