Author Insights

Featuring Hanna Delaney

Hello everyone and welcome back for a special edition of Author Insights. While they are all special due to the fantastic guests I have been lucky enough to somehow convince to participate, this is a milestone of sorts for me. It is the tenth edition of Author Insights. It has been a wonder for me and I’m so grateful to have been able to meet and have conversations with each of these extraordinarily talented writers who are also by the way ten of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

Joining me today for this special tenth edition is Hanna Delaney who is just as special. In a matter of months, she has not only established herself as a notable and recognized writer on Substack, but she has also introduced a serialized version of a new novel titled Oceanus. The story has captivated a growing legion of readers, and this is just the beginning of much more spectacular work you’ll see from this rising author. Hanna is a delight to speak with and her obvious writing talent stretches across the genres of Sci-fi, Fantasy and Horror, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if she could write just about anything she put her mind to.

She is as fascinating in person as her writing is on a page, she owns a great backstory and has some very interesting things to share with us, so without any more yammering from me let’s enjoy a discussion with Hanna Delaney. 

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JW> Hello Hanna, let me start with expressing a heartfelt welcome to you as well as a feeling of deep gratitude for you agreeing to participate in this special 10th edition of Author Insights. Ever since I read the first story of yours that I picked randomly, titled Copycat, I have been a fanatical reader of all your work. It is very exciting to have you here. As far as I can tell, you made your entrance on Substack in February of this year and since that time, a remarkably short time I might add, your star has risen immeasurably. Here is my first 4-part (a repeating problem I have) question. Before Substack and maybe even before making a major commitment to writing as a whole, how would you describe the young Hanna? What did she enjoy doing in terms of hobbies, entertainment and fun. What did she dream of becoming, or aspire to be? – Or, are you basically living the same dream then as you are right now?

HD> Thank you! I am delighted to do this interview with you, Jim.

Hmm, young Hanna… She was a dreamer. She filled sketchbooks with artwork, read lots of books and had a fascination with Disney films. Hanna wanted to be an actor, above all other things. This lasted until she was 18 and realised that unless you had parents available to drive you to every audition out there, you may want to pick something a bit more realistic. Until then, she had simply floated around adoring art, books, music, films, games and swimming.

But seriously, I was a working-class kid and it was not expected of me to even pass all of my GCSEs at school, never mind do A levels and get into University. When I received my predicted grade slip, every single subject predicted a D. My English teacher at the time said “take no notice. They’ve just entered your postcode, your parents’ jobs and how many siblings you have to get this grade,” and I discovered something about myself after that– I was spurred on by spite. I revised so hard. I was outraged that I’d been judged like that. I’m still like this today– just tell me I don’t stand a chance and I’ll work to make it happen.

Results day came and there wasn’t a single D in sight. OK, I got an E in maths but it wasn’t exactly a maths class, it was more like daycare where I had to watch the pantomime of idiots wind the maths teacher up for an hour each day. I was– shall we say– academically slow, quiet, unassuming, unremarkable. I could spell well but when it came to essays… no idea. My history teacher called me a “late bloomer” because I wasn’t up to the same standard as the other kids. I just wasn’t ready.

The subject that unlocked everything for me was English. By 13, I was completely disengaged. No matter what I wrote, there would be red pen everywhere. I just thought, what’s the point? Then Miss Shepherd came. She took our second-to-bottom set and transformed us into English students. All of a sudden, I was banging out essays that she would photocopy and give out to the class as examples of high-grading answers (and I’d die of embarrassment when the bitchy girls discovered they were mine.) I didn’t recognise myself. The positive effects spread into my other subjects. A, B and C grades were everywhere I looked because one person believed in me.

I’m definitely not living the dream. Absolutely nothing in my life has been planned but I love that. Every day is an adventure.

JW> I read that you attended Hope University in Liverpool and earned a BA degree and then attained a master’s degree in Popular Literature, both with honors. Due to a host of reasons, I won’t get into here, I never received a college degree. Frankly, I’m not sure, even without any hurdles and hoops that I would have possessed the level of commitment that takes. I’m always in a little bit of awe when it comes to academic prowess and advanced scholastic achievements. So first of all, congratulations for the resolution and dedication that involves. Which of these degrees do you feel will ultimately be the most applicable, valuable and beneficial to you in the coming years?

HD> I think both degrees are amazing and have taught me so much. Interestingly, being able to read chunky books at speed isn’t the only skill you develop! I was reflecting on this the other day: studying drama actually helps me visualise what my characters are doing as I write them. It’s all relevant! Reading such a wide range of texts (under pressure) and writing about them has really informed my own writing, I think. English overlapped with drama a lot and I loved both subjects, so it wasn’t always tears and textbooks.

I think one of my main worries when studying was “what if it’s a waste of time?” because– being from a working-class background– you’re surrounded by people who say, “what’s that going to get you?” or “yeah and what job can you get with that?” There was a lot of pressure on me to prove that it was worthwhile. I picked up so many skills. I can work to deadlines, do my own research, read between the lines, flip perspectives, get under the skin of characters etc… It was amazing, it really was. I have already used them for teaching and then doing a lot of my own marketing and copywriting when I started my own business.

The Master’s degree was the hardest because I had 2 really demanding part-time jobs while doing it full time. I’d forego sleep, take pro plus and cry about chop suey rolls because I was so exhausted. I actually failed my first dissertation submission. I didn’t graduate with the rest of the class. I had to resubmit and hope for a pass the following semester. I got one! Adversity certainly makes you stronger.

JW> In some additional snooping around, I learned that you were an English teacher for a time after graduating from college. This is a matter very close to my heart as my youngest daughter graduated with a teaching degree and has taught 2^nd and 3^rd grade elementary kids for several years now. She has a natural way and gift with kids which has always been apparent, even when she herself was a kid. Where she got her patience and compassion from is no mystery – straight from her mother. For you personally, what did you find was the most gratifying aspect of being a teacher? On the other end of the spectrum, what did you find the most aggravating and challenging aspects of teaching?

HD> I think the most gratifying thing for me was being with the kids. I specialised in 16-18 post-compulsory education so I taught English to young people who had failed in school and just hated school and everything to do with it. I had a year to help them turn it around. There were some amazing success stories as English was the only thing holding them back. I really got on with them. The kids would start the year in a very “I hate teachers” mood and once I started dishing banter back to them, they were on board and learning. They are what I miss most about my teaching days.

I had to leave after 8 years because it just wasn’t a family-friendly job. By then I’d just had my second baby, I’d been diagnosed with depression and couldn’t find childcare (it was the pandemic) but also, I was headed back to a job where I had to jump through hoops and tick boxes that were absolutely nothing to do with teaching young people. I had to attend a weekly zoom meeting to talk about how depressed I was with people I didn’t really know, just to be able to receive the sick pay that I was entitled to. It felt so inappropriate and invasive. It was miserable, but then that was teaching in further education in Tory Britain. I’d worked at a couple of colleges, and they were insane. Literally like, telling us we should be doing things out of hours like home visits because they’d made lots of cuts and sacked the staff who were actually trained to do that kind of thing. I thought “nope”. Didn’t get paid enough for that. It was an incredibly stressful job and no matter how many barely-literate, anxious kids in your class went from E to A in a year, your appraisal report would just say you were working ‘as expected’. Tiring. Wasn’t for me.

JW> Okay Hanna, humor me here, I’m going to ask you some very simple, very random multi-choice questions. I truly enjoy this kind of exercise (I’m fairly sure readers do too) because it is informal and helps me understand a little more about you outside of the ordinary facts and figures. Feel free to comment too.

Do you follow the goings on of the Royal Family (as I compulsively do)?  

o   Yes

X No

o   Comment

Which is the most challenging?

o   Being the mother of three young children

o   Writing a novel

o   Keeping your sanity

X Well Duh, all of the above

Have you ever visited the States?

X   Yes (Where?) I visited family in LA when I was 4 or 5. I fondly remember Disneyland because Pocahontas had just been released. I then visited the same family in Vermont from the ages of 14-21. I’d probably visit for 3-4 weeks every other summer. Being out in the American countryside was weird when you were used to a mega busy UK city. I’d come back and need to readjust because at home, the roads were smaller, there were more people and you couldn’t just drive everywhere without traffic. We also visited places like Cape Cod while we were there. New England is such a pretty place. We have family on my husband’s side in NM so I’d love to go there one day.

o   No (Where would be first choice)

What is the most irresponsible, crazy, ‘what was I thinking’, or risky thing you’ve ever done?

o   Once jumped out of a slowly moving car (holding a beer, and not spilling a drop.)

o   Never returned that one library book. Oh, and a school textbook too.

o   Snuck into a bar while underaged.

X  Other - I think it was definitely when I fell off a stage at a concert. I shouldn’t have been on the stage. I know this now. I was 18. I thought I’d broken my arm. It was just a very bad bruise.

If given the choice and with no immediate bodily repercussions, you could happily eat great quantities of what for a week straight?

o   Steak, Pork, Chicken or Fish

o   Ice Cream

X  Chocolate

o   Pastries/Donuts

o   Other

You have one author to choose from in selecting the book of his or hers that you never read, who would that one author be? (I cheated a little here)

X   Sylvia Plath - She had so much more to give.

o   Garth Nix

o   J. R. R. Tolkien

o   Charlotte Bronte

o   William Shakespeare

o   Other

JW> Your debut novel Oceanus is currently available by preorder on Amazon and lists a firm publication date of September 6, 2024. You have been introducing it by chapter, in serial form, on Substack for months and it has been enthusiastically received to say the least. Excitement, anticipation, and the great satisfaction of having completed a novel are all obvious emotions you are no doubt feeling. There are so many other things I could ask you about the writing of this book that it’s hard to boil it down. I read that you were inspired by Shakespeare’s, The Tempest. Was there another motivation(s) as well. What else do you think was a driving force or a strong stimulation behind creating, writing and finishing Oceanus?

HD> I wrote fiction to recover from burnout.

I started a craft business on the back of quitting teaching in 2020 and I needed something that worked around my family. For a couple of years, it was really working out. It was February this year, staring at a screen and seeing absolutely no sales coming through that made me think “I need something else.” Designing knitwear and crochet patterns used to be a passion of mine but it died. All of a sudden, I couldn’t even pick up a hook. I realised that my hobby had been tied to my finances and sense of success.

I needed something else that was creative. I didn’t really think about the money (there’s no point)-- the very idea of writing fiction made me happy. Writing entertaining stories gives me something I was clearly missing and that’s more important than any payslip. If it starts paying the bills, I’ll be delighted but the main motivation was to have a creative outlet that I was completely able to throw myself at. I love sharing my fiction with the world. I’ve even been able to crochet again because I’m not tied up in feeling awful about my work. I wanted to see if I could do it. You’ll never know what you’re capable of until you do it. The Tempest is a cracking story and for a while, I’d wanted to take it into the future in some way. I’m glad I did. It’s been so much fun.

JW> It is time for what has become a tradition in this series. A question that I ask all of my guests here on Author Insights. You are an accomplished writer of Fantasy, so I expect big things here, haha. In a perfect world on a perfect day, what would you be doing in the morning, at midday and in the evening?

HD> In the morning, I’d be sitting by a pool with a glass of something, reading copious amounts of books. In the afternoon, I’d be eating tapas or cheese and crackers while people watching (I feel so weird admitting that) and in the evening, I’d be having a three-course dinner at a little restaurant in the middle of Florence with my husband. The kids can come too but only if they’re good.

Sorry– not very exciting but it would be so good. I haven’t been on a holiday like that for almost 10 years! In a way, a holiday like that is a fantasy right now. We all have to have dreams, right? That’s my dream.

JW> It might be too soon to ask, but what genre might that next book be? Sci-fi, Fantasy, Horror? Or maybe it’s already in the works, fess up Hanna.

HD> The next book is called The Devil At The Door. It’s a psychological thriller/horror set in Victorian Liverpool. I’ve written 5 chapters and for the first time ever, I’m actually going to have to trim them down rather than bulk them up. I’ll be sharing it on substack just like I did with Oceanus. The blurb is something like this:

When Frances Bryant and her family arrive at their new home at number five, Percy Street, she doesn’t feel welcome. Something lurks within the house, trying to catch her at every turn. What Frances discovers will force her to uncover the unforgivable, shattering the life she craves to pieces.

At least, this is how I think I’m going to describe it. Stay tuned!

JW> And that brings us to my final question but before I ask, I want to take another opportunity to thank you for graciously accepting my invitation to participate in this edition of Author Insights. It’s been my pleasure and honor to host you and I appreciate you putting up with me. Thank you again, so much. All right, to wrap this thing up and put a bow on it, I’m going to ask you something I’ve never asked a guest before (and no doubt should have). What did I miss? What should I have asked? Help an intellectually challenged old man out here, please, for the sake of our poor readers.  

HD>  Well Jim, you’re the more experienced of the two of us here when it comes to interviews. I don’t know. Maybe asking what my favourite genre was so I could agonise over it and not give a clear answer? I think you’ve covered a lot!

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So, that will wrap up another edition of Author Insights and I thank Hanna Delaney sincerely for this wonderful conversation. I say it every time but I’m so appreciative and fortunate to keep getting great guest authors like Hanna to commit the time to participate. I hope you enjoy these discussions as much as I do.

Please follow Hanna on her continued journey of writing great fiction and to the fast approaching September launch of her new book, Oceanus. Here are quick links to her official website and her Substack page.

As always, if you should feel like contributing a one-time gift or an optional paid subscription to help support Writing Wrongs and my efforts, I would be eternally grateful. Until next time. - Jim