It’s the year 2100. Earth is dying. A young woman, Elsie, has risked everything to get her newborn son, Will, aboard ‘The Mayflower’ – a spaceship that will transport a select number of people to a new planet they can call home. Elsie’s luck takes a turn when she discovers the captain of ‘The Mayflower’ is an old friend. He allows her to board with her son, giving them a place on the luxurious Floor One, where they live amongst the most honoured of ‘The Mayflower’s’ passengers.
Thirteen years later, and Will is ready to start school at Space Academy, an institute specialising in subjects such as Alien Studies, Technology, and Rocket Control. While a pupil there, Will starts to uncover secrets about his father’s death, becoming wrapped in a mystery that he and his friends must solve if they are to have any hope of saving humanity from the threat that lies in wait.
Lose yourself in this brilliantly addictive novel as it takes you on a journey through the stars. But be warned – you might be surprised by what you find.
Today I’m delighted to welcome author Hannah Hopkins to Booksaremycwtches as part of the blog tour for her novel Space Academy.
What does literary success look like to you?
To me, literary success would be solely writing for a living. I also think a healthy following of readers who look forward to your next book is a great mark of success! You know you’ve done your job well when someone asks you when the sequel is coming.
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How many hours a day do you write?
On average, probably 2-3 hours a day. When I get the opportunity, I write on and off all day. My brain definitely needs breaks in between, but as long as I have the right music on and some good snacks, I can lose myself in a fictional world for hours.
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Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?
Obviously, a lot of writing comes from emotion, and I believe a very high proportion of creativity comes specifically from pain. However, I believe in the ‘write what you know’ idiom, and so if someone doesn’t feel strongly, they could possibly write a very interesting novel about a character who also doesn’t ‘feel’ as much as other people.
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What does your family think of your writing?
My family have always been supportive of my writing. I think they thought it was going to be a hobby, and were quite surprised when I revealed I’d written a book and was trying to get it published. My grandma, however, has always told me I would be a writer one day. She was there when I wrote my first story about a beetle in her garden, and she still helps me now with my work.
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Which character in your novel do you feel the strongest connection to?
This is a tricky question! I feel a strong connection to Elsie as the single mother who was willing to do anything for her son. However, I am also attached to Finley for the way he overcomes adversity and betters his circumstances. The oppression he experiences as a lower-class citizen on The Mayflower is reminiscent of the socio-economic inequality that currently exists in the world, and I find myself rooting for Finley to succeed.
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What makes your novel unique/stand out in its genre?
What makes ‘Space Academy’ unique is that, although it is set in the future and in space, I wouldn’t describe it as being a hard sci-fi. The book is very character focussed, and the issues the characters experience, including bullying, parental abandonment, and dysfunctional families, are relatable and relevant, despite the novel being set in the year 2113. I would describe the book as a being a strong YA novel, with a futuristic and exciting setting!
You can purchase Space Academy from Amazon UK and Amazon US.
About the author
In 2017, Hannah Hopkins released a self-published novel entitled ‘The Split’; the story of four teenagers navigating life after Earth as they journey through space to a new planet. Two years later, the book was picked up by ‘The Conrad Press’ and re-vamped as ‘Space Academy,’ with a new cover, new title and new additions to the story. ‘Space Academy’ was released in 2020, kickstarting Hannah’s career as a writer.
Hannah is currently busy writing a historical fiction novel with a feminist twist. She spends the rest of her time working at a University and caring for her two young children in the UK.
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