Blog Swap with "Zarconian Island" author, Aja Hannah

The lovely Aja Hannah graciously agreed to host me on her blog, and so, while I'm there today, she's here. She has a book due out soon Zarconian Island, that piques my interest on many levels. I can't wait 'til it's out :)

My stomach knotted tighter, winding so hard it hurt.

Kate watched me, rubbing a piece of her hair between two fingers.

I bit my tongue, trying to work the words out.

"The boat …we're going under.”

Possessing powers that are feared and shunned, eighteen-year-old Alexandra “Attie” Hotep is no virgin to attacks. Her ancestors, the Zarconians-- mixed-blood inhabitants of Atlantis--were rumored to be the English fairies who kidnapped children, the Caribbean sirens that sunk ships, and the dream-like apparitions who broke into psyches. By the 1850s, they were hunted to near-extinction, leaving the existence of Atlantis and Zarconians little more than myth.

When a class trip turns deadly, Attie and her friends become stranded on an uncharted tropical island in the middle of the Pacific, and Attie finds herself targeted once more. With a jungle full of extinct and prowling animals, she struggles to find a compromise between keeping her friends safe and keeping her family's secret.

Enter Doug Hutchinson—the school’s soccer star, and a handsome boy with his own secrets. But Attie and Doug soon realize the animals aren't the only threat. There is a traitor amidst the group, one that plans to turn all Zarconians into permanent myths. And Attie is next on the list.

On with Ger's Questions:

1)  Personally, being someone who adores Atlantis and Egypt (granted, there's no specific nod to Egypt in your blurb, but the main character Attie's last name, Hotep, brings it to mind), I suppose the first natural question would be: What inspired this story?

You're right about the Egypt part! Attie is Egyptian, though Egypt doesn't come into play until the sequel. I was inspired to write this story after reading Dr. Franklin's Island about some kids who got stuck on an island and a crazy doctor ran experiments on them. Now this is quite different than my book, but I have always enjoyed the idea of exploration and the unknown. I also wanted something where the kids survive on their own, probably because my favorite book as a child was "The Girl Who Owned a City."

2)  Have you always been fascinated with subjects like mysticism and ancient cultures?

I have always been interested in ancient cultures. In traveling and finding new places. In the Galapagos. In Egypt and the hieroglyphs. In unnatural nature and what lies beyond the Bermuda Triangle. Perhaps that is why I travel so much in real life. I want to find something unfound.

3) What is your favorite quality about Attie?

I wrote Attie to be a strong female lead. That's what I like the most. She says what she wants even if it's sometimes too blunt. She seems cold at first, but her interactions and deep feelings about the people around her show otherwise. Finally, she doesn't always need saving like Disney princesses.

4) Something I'm always fascinated by is how different, or similar, paranormal authors can be in their opinions on the paranormal. May I ask, do you feel there is more to our world than we can see and touch?

I feel like I could write a paper on this subject. Let's see if I can condense it. My sisters and I are very superstitious to start with. I have written three blogs onwishing, good luck, and bad luck superstitions. Then, we believe in ghosts. While I haven't seen one, I do think they exist. I just try really hard not to think about it because that sort of thing freaks me out. 

But when it comes to paranormal things like Atlantis or psychic energy, I think I'd like to believe for the adventure of it. Like I said before, I like the unknown. I wish there was more mystery in the world than there is.

5) Why YA?

 I answered this a little bit on Jessie Krehlik's blog. I write YA because it was my favorite genre growing up (and I don't quite believe I'm grown yet). I feel like it's more open to the world of mysticism and paranormal without needing the hard facts or hard fears of adult life. Also, I enjoy the readers, whose minds are still flexible and malleable. They learn lessons from books and it shapes the person that they become.

Good answers :)

Zarconian Island by Aja Hannah due out March 28th!!