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Hannah Allen Abbott

Goodreads Author

Born

in Newton, NJ, The United States

Genre

Fantasy, Young Adult

Influences

Patricia McKillip, Andrew Clements, Ellis Peters

Member Since

November 2014

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I love writing. I love words. I love the flow and music of language. I've been writing since the mid 60s and just hope I have time to write all the books that are in my head.

I love cats, Junior Mints, the smell of freshly cut grass, western Massachusetts (where I live), Maine (where I vacation), many special people in my life, and my two children. I have one daughter and one child in transition.

I majored in art at college and love beautiful art in books (Marilee Heyer) and on them (Kinuko Y. Craft). I was a tech illustrator for nine years, a tech writer for fifteen. Now I'm a copy-editor/proofreader of teacher certification exam materials when I'm not writing for myself. ...more

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How is writing for young adults different from writing for grown ups?

Hannah Allen Abbott When I met Tammy Pierce in about 1983, she was revising "The Song of the Lioness" for the young adult market. She talked about the challenge of confor…moreWhen I met Tammy Pierce in about 1983, she was revising "The Song of the Lioness" for the young adult market. She talked about the challenge of conforming to the word count, the fourth-grade vocabulary, and sentences of a certain length. Nearly fifteen years later, J.K. Rowling blew that all away with her Harry Potter series.

For me, writing for young adults vs old adults is a matter of content. I've only written one book so far that isn't suitable for young adults, and the difference pretty much boils down to the sexual content. For young readers, I write romantic relationships, physical attraction, even lovemaking, but not actual sex. In my three published books (the erotic one isn't published yet), all the lovemaking occurs in the context of marriage (which isn't true of a lot of YA). I have read all my finished books except for the erotic one to my children. I figure if I can read it to my ten-year-old daughter, it's suitable for young adult.

I don't believe in writing down to young readers. I don't avoid big words, just obscure ones that wouldn't be clear in context. I put in as much detail as the story seems to call for, and try not to get bogged down in descriptive material. But I don't tailor my stories for young or old readers either way. I just write fantasy. I'd like to think that if my story is engaging for a 14-y-o, it will also be engaging for a 40-y-o. In fact, most of my readers are at least 40, yet my few young readers love my books.

I don't write for readers much below the age of 13. I think that really does take a different approach just because so many of them are still developing their fluency, vocabulary, and stamina. For an example of good youth literature, in what I think would be called the chapter book category, I'd refer you to most of Andrew Clements's books. Somehow all my stories are too big for that medium. :-)(less)

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You have 3 varied influences listed. Can you say little about how each influenced you?

Hannah Allen Abbott The three you refer to are Patricia McKillip, Andrew Clements, and Ellis Peters.

I have loved McKillip's ethereal, lyrical prose ever since I first rea…moreThe three you refer to are Patricia McKillip, Andrew Clements, and Ellis Peters.

I have loved McKillip's ethereal, lyrical prose ever since I first read "The Throme of the Erril of Sherill" in 1979. Reading McKillip influenced me to pay more attention to the music of my words. Her success as an author gave me hope that some people out there still appreciate beautiful writing and are not afraid of words they might not have encountered before. McKillip's dreamlike storytelling also gave me the sense that sometimes letting the reader wonder what the heck is going on can be the very hook that keeps them reading.

I consider Clements my mentor in writing from multiple points of view. His stories are told primarily from the POV of the central character, but they're sprinkled with in-depth views into the psyches of parents, teachers, and friends. I don't do this in all of my books, of course. "The Black Stag" and "The Pearl Singer" are both first person, but "The Sword and the Tear" is told from multiple points of view. A lot of past history is presented in "Tear," and where dialog would have been unwieldy, I presented it through the memories of various characters. I wanted to tell only what the characters themselves would know (or believe) and weave that together.

Peters is a model for me of presenting a down-to-earth medieval world. I confess (how appropriate) that I'm still working on that ideal. Not the murder aspect, of course, but the feeling of real life and real people. I try to paint a real world yet not go overboard with detail.

These are three very different aspects of writing that I still work at. I will have to depend on my readers to let me know how I'm doing. :-)

Note: I have confirmed with this reader that these are the influences she intended. HAA(less)

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Hannah Allen Abbott’s books

Average rating: 4.63 · 8 ratings · 1 review · 4 distinct works

	The Pearl Singer 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Black Stag 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sword and the Tear 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Brummer of Iffrey 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Hannah Allen Abbott's Blog

My Life as a Fantasy Novelist, Part 6: Erotica or Not?

Evidently my book The Primer's Tale is not erotica after all.

Shows what I know.

According to a review on the publisher's Web site, what I find erotic doesn't work for at least one customer. And when I went back to my publisher's reader, she agreed.

Now wouldn't you think someone with the publisher would have told me this before they published the book?

Granted, the editor and I disagreed on the use o Read more of this blog post »

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