Please share a little about yourself, your
genres, any other pen names you use.
Well, the “H.Y” stands for my first name,
Hsin-Yi, which is pronounced “Sin-Yee”. I thought it would be easier for
readers to remember initials rather than my hard-to-spell, hard-pronounce
Chinese name! ;-) I’m originally from
Taiwan but left when I was very young and have spent most of my life in “the
West”, growing up and living in various countries, from the U.S.A to the United
Arab Emirates, Britain to New Zealand.
I started my author career with a children’s
mystery series for 9 ~ 12 year olds, called the Big Honey Dog Mysteries, and am now stepping into the world of
adult books with my first romantic suspense, featuring danger, mystery and
romance set against the exciting backdrop of cosmopolitan Singapore.
Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming
release.
Tender
Deceit is a romantic mystery in which the heroine,
Leah, returns to her childhood expat home of Singapore, after her father dies
in mysterious circumstances. She finds that there are more secrets in her past
than she realised and the boy she once loved has grown up into a dangerously
attractive stranger who not only threatens her heart but may threaten her life
as well.
The story was actually inspired by a series
of “what ifs”—I was wondering what would happen if you did meet your “first
love” again? You know, we all have one: that first special person who made your
heart beat faster, "the one that got away", the one you still
remember with a little smile… What could happen this time, now that you're both
adults, if the attraction is still there? And what if there is deceit and
danger? What if you find yourself falling in love with him again… but you’re
not sure you can trust him?
Have you ever based your book or characters on
actual events or people from your own life?
Ha! Ha! Well, you know the old saying about
never annoying a writer otherwise you end up as a villain dying a horrible
death in one of their books!
No, seriously, I’m sure all writers draw
inspiration from people or events in “real life”, even if they’re not conscious
of it. Even if you’re making up a story in a dystopian future with alien life
forms, I think you still need some kind of “genuine experience” to draw on to
give your characters and situations that spark of realism, so that readers can
relate to them. It doesn’t mean you have to have really murdered someone or
been on the run from police or had a secret affair or whatever—but I think you
need to be able to access similar emotions of fear, excitement, uncertainty, loss…
to write about it realistically.
With Tender
Deceit, I myself grew up in a foreign expat community (in Dubai) and so the
setting and events of the heroine’s early life was partly inspired by my own
experiences. I’ve visited Singapore many times so a lot of the scenes are
definitely based on things I’ve experienced in my own life (although I’ve never
been stalked and chased through an underground railway metro!)
Is there a theme or message in your work that
you would like readers to connect to?
It’s funny—I never realised this until I
started writing but I seem to be preoccupied by the idea of not judging by stereotypes,
of characters being fundamentally different to what they first appear. This has
appeared several times in my novels, especially my middle grade children’s
books, without me consciously intending to write about it. I think this may be
because I believe strongly in “shades of grey” in real life and having lived in
several countries and different cultures, I have seen first-hand how wrong it
is to judge instantly by stereotypes and generalisations. People always
surprise you.
What would your readers be surprised to learn
about you?
This is a funny
question coming straight after my answer to the last one! I guess from a looks
point of view, because I’m short and small and quite slight in build (as well
as being Asian), people tend to think that I’m a lot younger than my real age.
My fans have mentioned
being surprised to learn that I graduated from Oxford University with a degree
in Biological Sciences and that I have a strong science background—since I
haven’t really applied that to any of my various careers. I do still have a
very analytical way of thinking that’s a leftover from my science training: I like
evidence-based proof, I always want to hear the other side of the argument and
I am skeptical of statistics unless I know it’s backed up by good sample sizes
and research methodology, such as the use of proper controls. I’m also very
cynical in general. ;-)
When you’re not writing what do you do? Do you
have any hobbies or guilty pleasures?
It’s terribly clichéd
to say this but like most writers, I’m a huge bookworm. I’m really bad when I
get into a good book—I do things like take it into the shower and stand there
holding it with one hand, still avidly reading, while trying to soap myself
with the other (much easier, actually, in the old days of paperback than with
eReaders!). I don’t know how people can read for just a half hour before bed
every night, over several weeks… once I start, if the book is good, I just
can’t stop and have to read it in one sitting. If the book isn’t good enough to
hold my interest after the first few chapters, I chuck it. I don’t ever force
myself to finish a book just because I started it—life’s too short.
Because I have such an
addictive attitude to reading, it has become a sort of “guilty pleasure”. Since
I have no self-control, I actually don’t read anything I really like when I
need to be working, such as finishing the first draft of a novel. I’ve got
several books by favourite authors that are being saved up for when I have a
“break” between projects and I can just take a day out and indulge myself.
Is there a genre(s) that you’d like to write
that you haven’t tackled yet?
Aside from romantic suspense, I’ve got a
cosy mystery series in the works and I would quite like to write a thriller in
the future. And I also have an idea for a YA paranormal novel based on the
Chinese fox spirits legend. So many ideas, so little time!
I love mysteries—it’s what I enjoyed
reading as a child and as an adult, I read a lot of crime (what’s called
mysteries in the U.S., I think) so no matter what genre I write in, the plot
always has an element of mystery and suspense.
Of all the characters you’ve ever written, who
is your favorite and why?
It would have to be a character from Curse of the Scarab, the first book in
my middle grade mystery series—a scarred, ex-fighting Pit Bull named Max who
was rescued from the dog fighting gangs but is still ostracised by the other
dogs who judge him simply because of his looks and his breed. I think I’m a
little bit in love with Max because he embodies for me what being a “hero” is
really about—having the courage to stand up and face your worst fears, even
when you know the odds are against you.
If this book is part of a series…what is the
next book? Any details you can share?
Yes, I’ve just started
writing the next book of this series! You get to find out what happens in that
last scene at the airport—do Leah and Toran have a second chance together? What
really happened 12 years ago? What about the fiancée? And a completely new
mystery involving a sinister, all-women cult. So more danger, mystery and
romance in sultry Singapore!
First Love Series
Book 1
H.Y. Hanna
Genre: Romantic Suspense
ISBN: 978-0-9923153-6-8
ASIN:
Word Count: 67,000 words
Cover Artist: Kim Killion
Book Description:
First love. Second chance.
All they have to do is stay alive...
Following her father's mysterious death in Singapore, Leah leaves her life in London and returns to the island that was her childhood home - braced to confront her past. Toran James may have been the boy her fourteen-year-old heart yearned for, but the magic of stolen glances and first kisses faded with his betrayal.
The enigmatic man she meets upon her return, though, is nothing like her memory, and the past holds more secrets than she realised. Was her father's death really an accident? What was hidden in his study? And why has Toran contacted her again after all these years? Someone is out to silence Leah - and that someone might be the man she is rapidly falling in love with... again.
Excerpt:
He looked up as
she approached and she stopped short, stunned by the intensity of his green
eyes.
“Leah.”
He made as if to
rise and suddenly Leah panicked. Should I shake hands? Kiss him? Hug him?
Quickly, she sat down at the table and waved him back down with her hand.
“Hello, Toran.”
It was
hopelessly inadequate, a stupid inane greeting after all these years, but Leah
didn’t know what else to say to the stranger sitting in front of her. Except
for those brilliant green eyes, there was little left of the boy she used to
know. The jaw had widened and hardened, roughened by a faint shadow of stubble,
and the warm smile had been replaced by a steely line of a mouth that was at
once forbidding and sensual. Dark, unruly hair fell over his brow and didn’t
quite hide a thin scar along his left temple which Leah was sure had not been
there before. His skin was more tanned than she remembered and that lean,
boyish frame had filled out into broad shoulders and a hard, muscular physique
that spoke more of outdoor pursuits than time in a gym. More than that, though,
was the feeling of latent power and cool authority. Leah caught her breath.
Toran James had grown up into a dangerously attractive man.
There was a
glass in front of him filled with a pale amber liquid; and next to it, a cigar,
its wreath of smoke curling lazily up to the ceiling.
Her eyes met his
in accusation. “You said you would never smoke.”
“You said you
would never cut your hair.”
Leah touched her
head self-consciously before she could stop herself. She wondered if he was
assessing her too and searching for the girl he used to know. Her hair fell in
waves just past her shoulders now and she had learnt the art of eyeliner to
make the most of her deep blue eyes. She wasn’t a gym bunny either, but walking
everywhere in London had kept her trim. Leah saw his gaze flick appreciatively
over her, lingering on her bare legs exposed by the short hem of her black
dress, and she felt her pulse quicken.
“I guess people
change.” Leah attempted a light smile. “It’s been over twelve years, you know.”
“I know.” He
made a gesture with his hands. “I’m sorry to hear about your father, Leah.”
She nodded.
“Thank you.”
Silence settled
over them. Leah found herself unable to look at him and was furious to realise that
her heart was pounding. What was wrong with her? Anyone would think that she
was still fourteen! She had thought that meeting Toran again would help to lay
the ghosts of her schoolgirl infatuation to rest. Instead, Leah was dismayed to
discover that her feelings for him seemed very much alive, her awareness of him
even more heightened than when they were teenagers. Not that he seemed to share
her turmoil, she thought, glancing at him from beneath her eyelashes. His
handsome face was inscrutable, the green eyes cool and remote.
The Indian woman
came over with a menu. Leah ordered the house special, a coconut mojito, while
Toran ordered another whiskey. When the drinks arrived, he settled back in his
chair and gave her a small smile. It was just a glimmer, but it was enough to
remind her of the boy she used to know and Leah felt her shoulders relax
slightly.
“So you work in
London now?” He raised an eyebrow. “Tell me about your job…”
He was a good
listener, as he always had been, and Leah found herself relaxing even more as
she told him about her work, friends, life back in the U.K… Before she knew it,
half an hour had passed and she realised that she had not learnt anything about
him.
“What about
you?” Leah asked. “What’s—”
A shrill beeping
made her jump. He took a phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen, his
face tightening. He stood up with an apologetic smile. “I’ll be right back.”
Leah looked idly
around the lounge as she waited for him to return, not quite sure of the
feelings churning inside her. Why did anyone look up their childhood
sweetheart? To reconnect? Rediscover? Re-ignite what had once been…?
“I’m really
sorry—something’s come up and I have to go.” Toran stood by the table, those
green eyes once again belonging to a stranger.
Leah stood up
quickly and found that he towered over her. He had always been tall, but now he
was well over six feet. She stared at the front of his shirt, where the crisp
cotton parted to reveal a glimpse of tanned chest. He was standing very close.
She found herself unable to meet his eyes. “Um… Sure, yes, of course…”
“I’ll be in
touch.”
Leah felt
something brush her hand—she could almost have imagined it—and then he was
gone. Slowly, she made her way back to her hotel, her head dizzy with thoughts
she didn’t really want to acknowledge. Alone in her room, she grabbed the phone
on an impulse and dialed the number.
“Hello?” Julia’s
voice hadn’t changed, despite the years.
“Hi, Julia.”
“Oh my God,
Leah? Is that really you?” She laughed. “I was so excited when I read on
Facebook that you were coming back to Singapore. When did you arrive? Where are
you staying? Hey, if you’re not doing anything tonight—”
“I arrived
earlier today. Listen, Julia,” Leah said breathlessly. “I know this sounds
crazy, but I’ve got to tell somebody—somebody who understands. I…I saw Toran
again and he—”
“What?” Her
voice was sharp. “Toran James? When? Where?”
“Tonight.” Leah
was taken aback by her sharpness. “I just got back, in fact. I went to meet him
for drinks. I got this message and I couldn’t believe it… But then I thought,
hell, why not, and…” She trailed off as she realised that Julia wasn’t
listening.
“Tonight? You
saw Toran tonight? Leah, are you sure?”
“Of course, I’m
sure. I mean, he looks different—you know, all grown up—but his eyes…”
“Wait, Leah,”
she cut in urgently. “That’s not possible.”
“What do you
mean?”
“You couldn’t
have met Toran tonight.”
“Why not?”
“Because he died
in an accident yesterday.”
H.Y. Hanna was born in Taiwan and has been a globe-trotter most of her life, from growing up in the United Arab Emirates to attending school in New Jersey, from working in the glamorous world of London advertising to emigrating Down Under.
Along the way, she somehow managed to pick up a wonderful husband, a huge, slobbery dog, two rescue cats, an assortment of cardboard boxes and a slightly dodgy "trans-atlantic" accent. After graduating from Oxford University, she tried her hand at a variety of jobs before returning to her first love: writing.
She’s the author of the Amazon bestselling children’s mystery series, Big Honey Dog Mysteries, and is now diving into the world of romantic suspense with the launch of Tender Deceit, Book 1 in the First Love Series.
You can find out more about H.Y. Hanna and her books at: www.hyhanna.com or catch her on Facebook at “H.Y. Hanna” or the Big Honey Dog Mysteries Facebook Page.
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