Festive Fun with... Annette Hannah

And now it's time for the final festive feature for 2021 and it's my pleasure to welcome Annette Hannah back to the blog. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hi, I’m originally from Liverpool but moved to Hertfordshire in the 80’s but as you know Sharon I kept my accent even after all these years. I have three grown up children and a husband and a cheeky cocker spaniel called Toby. I’m an author of three published books, Wedding Bells at the Signal Box Café, The Cosy Little Cupcake Van and Poppy’s Christmas Wishes which has only just come out.

What are you most looking forward to this Christmas?
I’m mostly looking forward to having all my family under one roof as two of them live quite far away from home.

Do you have any favourite family Christmas traditions?
My grown-up children still bring their present sacks into our room and open them on our bed which is a tradition I got from my mum and I love that they indulge me in this

What is your best Christmas memory? The Christmas before last we went to visit my Uncle and Auntie in Australia and were able to walk along the beach in the glorious sunshine on Christmas morning and we had an amazing dinner with their family and friends.

Author Interview: Annette Hannah

Today it's my pleasure to welcome blogger and author Annette Hannah to the blog to celebrate the publication of her latest book Poppy's Christmas Wishes which is published this Thursday.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how your writing journey started?
Hi, I’m originally from Liverpool but moved to Hertfordshire in the eighties with my husband. We now have three grown up children and a cocker spaniel. I’d always wanted to write but didn’t really know where to start and I’ve always been an avid reader. One day I saw a message on Facebook asking for fans of Milly Johnson to be part of a promotional team called #TeamMilly. I put my name forward and was one of the lucky ones to be chosen. I can honestly say it changed my life. I’d not long lost my Mum and was feeling quite lost at the time but then I was being invited to afternoon tea at the Grosvenor House hotel in London with Milly and all the team. Then I was invited to a Spring Blogger evening as Simon and Schuster Head Office. I didn’t know what to expect but I saw five wonderful authors launching their books, including Milly Johnson and Heidi Swain who was promoting her debut at the time. I went home and told my daughter about the event and she said I can set a blog up for you and that’s when Sincerely Book Angels was born and I became a blogger. It wasn’t long before my quotes were appearing on my favourite authors’ books and I just couldn’t believe it. I loved blogging because it was so exciting reading books well in advance of them being published and being invited to launch parties and meeting some absolutely wonderful people. The other thing with blogging was that it helped me to find my voice and to be brave enough to share what I wrote with others.

Having been involved with #TeamBATC over at Simon and Schuster with the lovely Sara-Jade Virtue I became aware of their #ONEDAY #DigitalOriginals where un-agented authors can submit to them. I plucked up the courage to write three chapters to send in but then I panicked and thought what if they want more, so I panic wrote the rest of the book in three weeks. It got rejected but that didn’t matter because I’d fulfilled my lifelong ambition and written a book. It was an amazing feeling and that book was actually Poppy’s Christmas Wishes which has since been through several rounds of editing.

I wrote a book a year after that and when Simon and Schuster asked for a full of my third attempt, I knew I must be getting close. That one was rejected too but last year I submitted it to Dash Digital who are now Orion Dash and I was offered my first two book deal. That book was Wedding Bells at the Signal Box Café and this year I’ve been offered another two book deal with Poppy’s Christmas Wishes being the first of those. It’s been an exciting journey and is a real dream come true.