Author interview: Shantelle Mary Hannu

Well! What a nice thing you decide to stop by. 

Hope you have a good time while we discover a new author.

What will you see on this post? 

1) An interview with Shantelle Mary Hannu (the new author)

2) A description of Shantelle’s first book «A Dream Not Imagined«

3) The link to Shantelle’s complete blog tour schedule and the chance to enter a giveaway.

Are you ready?

Here we go.

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MEET SHANTELLE

Shantelle Mary Hannu is a christian with a very strong passion for writing to bring glory to God (I know, you already like her). 

—- Interesting facts about her

1) Has 7 siblings

2) Spent her chilhood years on the west and has relocated time and again in both the South and Central United States.

3) Blogs about her stories, favorite books, movies and more.

Shantelle just released her first book “A Dream Not Imagined”, a non-magical fairytale novella based on the classic tale of Cinderella.

Here, she shares a bit about herself and the story she wrote:

1. Natacha: Just for fun, what are your favorite singers and what song could you hear forever?

Shantelle: I’ve really been enjoying some of Rend Collective, Hillsong United (or Hillsong Worship), Plumb, Anthem Lights, and Jessa Anderson.

«Build Your Kingdom Here» by Rend Collective is an amazing song I’ve been listening to over and over! 🙂

—- Dear reader, have you heard the song? Here you can give it a try:

2. N: Here’s the thing: all books will be destroyed soon and you have this unique chance to keep two of them. One will be your Bible and you can choose another. Which one would you pick and why?

S: Ooh . . . my . . .  that’s hard. I think I actually might choose one of my own, a Christian fantasy called Silver Rose. Just because it’s so close to my heart. Real. It sort of follows my personal life to some extent—concerning faith, struggles, and whanot. It’s kind of funny how God can work through my own stories to help me draw closer to Him! ^__^ So yeah, I think Silver Rose would be a comfort to have, after my Bible.

And I just love my story! 😀

3. N: What would you say has been your greatest challenge as an author and how have you overcame it?

S: Hmm, it might be that I was just so self-conscious of my work. I didn’t want to let anyone read my stories . . . except for two of my younger sisters and maybe my mom, :p But I realized if I ever wanted to know if they were good enough to be published, I’d have to let people read them!!

Something that has also helped me with that, is realizing the God gave me a gift for writing, and He gave it to me for a reason. Even when I’m feeling insecure, I try to keep my eyes on the Lord and His plan and say, “No, I’m not ashamed of my stories!” 😀

4. N: How would you advice a young writer that is afraid of his work not being good enough?

S: We just need to realize that God gives us gifts for a reason! And He has a plan for that gift! So just keep your chin up, keep writing, and trusting the Lord. And take that scary step and let others read your work. They might have some “negative” comments, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good enough. It just needs some more work, some polishing perhaps. Never give up! 🙂

5. N: Why did you decide to write a Cinderella Story?

S: I always think about writing a whole collection of retellings. Why I started with Cinderella, is pretty much because author Anne Elisabeth Stengl was putting on a writing contest, and the stories had to be retellings of Cinderella.

6. N: If you had to sum up in two lines the message you want to share with «A Dream Not Imagined», how would you do it?

S: Persevere, God has a plan and a future for you. Beautiful dreams can come true; surrender and follow God’s path.

—- How beautiful, isn’t it?

7. N: It is impossible for us to create something (a novella included) without putting some of ourselves in it. So, what things about your character would you say are clearly seen in this book?

S: I agree!! 🙂 I think like Ellie (Cinderella), I tend to dream big, but in kind of a doubtful way. So yes . . . You’ll have to read A Dream Not Imagined to see how that works out for Ellie! 😀

N: Oh, we will, Shantelle. We will.

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A DREAM NOT IMAGINED – DESCRIPTION

A MAID, a PRINCE, and a DUKE. A GARDENER, a STEPMOTHER, and a secret…

Ellie Abbington, a beautiful yet unassuming young woman, quietly longs for her life to change. Too privileged to associate with the servants—too underprivileged to associate with her own family; she dreams a dream of a prince and a happily ever after.

But it could be that her own stepsisters, conniving Dezmarie and easily-influenced Adelaide, are dreaming the same dream…of the same prince.

In the end, are dreams even all they’re made out to be? Especially with deep and long-hidden secrets about to be unearthed?

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You can check all Shantelle’s blog tour schedule and enter a giveaway on her blog.