Seventeen year old Ella Hanna sat down and talked about her psychological thriller, ‘From Stockholm to Salem’ that was published last year. Ella was 16 years old when her first book was published; the book was a three year project that she started at age 13. Ella is a Flagler County resident and attends high school and college hear in Flagler County.
The book is based on two teenage orphans, one emancipated, who are just trying to make it in the real world. The story takes many a twist and turn through harrowing experiences including homelessness, legal troubles, and more. Ella tells us that this story really didn’t have any inspiration, but it just sort of came together over the years. “I have debated starting a sequel to this story, a lot of people who read it have asked for a sequel but it isn’t set it stone yet,” said Ella.
We wanted to know what author inspired Ella to write a book at such a young age, “I would say, S.C. Hinton, author of the Outsiders. I really liked that book when I read it in middle school. It definitely evoked something in me, that made me want to start writing like that,” she said.
Ella didn’t always want to be an author even though she was a bookworm as a child. Writing is something she has always loved, even though she admits she wasn’t always good at it.
“I hopefully plan on going to law school later on. I am dual enrolled right now at DSC. But that is where the legal aspect for this book came from. I did a lot of research for this book” Ella explained, when asked about her goals in life. She continued on, explaining how it felt to be a published author at a young age, “It is something I take pride in for sure, I get a lot of congratulations and good jobs from people who have read my book.”
We asked her what she would say to new budding authors or people who may want to write a book; “Find your own inspiration first. Find your writing style, find a topic and start writing. You can always fix it later. Write and have fun with it.”
You can find Ella’s book, From Stockholm to Salem’, on Amazon, download it on Kindle, online at Books-A-Million and on Barnes and Noble. Ella has hosted author signing events in the past and is always looking to interact with the public and offer signed copies of her books whenever she can.
Every author has a favorite line or paragraph from their book. We wanted to know Ella’s. “Sometimes your brain could be your best friend. The one to get you an A+ on an algebra test. The one to help you remember your uncle’s birthday. But other times, it could be your worst enemy. The thing that was holding you back from pursuing your dreams. The thing that presumed your sister dead because she didn’t reply to your text from last night. The thing that forced you to starve yourself so you could drop ten pounds. Everyone’s brain was different, but they all had one thing in common. They all had the power to send us into a downward spiral. Some people, unfortunately, couldn’t get out of that spiral. And I think I was officially slipping.”
