Caught Hannah Whitten at Chapters bookstore in Dublin talking about her upcoming book Reliquary and snagged an early signed copy (plus a signed copy of For the Wolf which I am currently obsessed with)☺️ She's succesfully convinced me to read horror (more specifically her book because I will not make a commitment to the genre lol)!
It was wonderful listening about her writing process. Hannah spoke about the need to write even when you are feeling uninspired, because that is what leads to ideas and inspiration. This resonated a lot with me in terms of art - when I start creating art, I start getting more and more ideas, my mind becomes more creative. However, in order to get to that place, I need to start first. Honestly, I needed that reminder because I keep taking breaks and then find it hard to get back into painting.
It was great to get a glimpse of Hannah's thought process when creating stories, how she likes challenging herself with different genres, and how her newest book Reliquary came about. She spoke about creating characters that are not always relatable, but have complex layers. Characters like Reliquary's protagonist Claire, who might not always make the best choices, and at times may not be likeable, but would still have readers rooting for her to some degree. Characters and books like these are very intriguing to me, which is the main reason why I will be picking up Reliquary despite not being a fan of the horror genre in general.
