January 2018 Newsletter
Kristin Hannah shares news about THE GREAT ALONE, The Nightingale Movie, and More No Images? Click here Happy New Year to You All!Can you believe it’s 2018 already? This holiday season seemed to fly by. I hope you all had a wonderful December, and found the time to make new memories and enjoy treasured traditions. Now that my decorations are down (they aren’t yet put away, but hey, it’s one thing at a time in my house), and I am back in real life, I find myself swept into the storm of pre-publication for my new book, The Great Alone. That’s right. I have a new book coming out! It will be in bookstores on Tuesday, February 6th, and I am thrilled to share a special giveaway exclusively for my newsletter subscribers. An Exclusive Giveaway for My Newsletter Readers! Want a chance to win one of five signed advance reading copies of The Great Alone? Enter by Wednesday, January 24th at 11:59 PM EST for a chance to get the book before it’s in stores. We will notify winners by January 28. After you finish it, I would love for you to share your comments on Goodreads and my Facebook page.I know, many of you are saying, finally, a new book! Yes, it has been three years since The Nightingale was published, and I thank you for patiently—or maybe not so patiently—waiting for The Great Alone. For me, coming up with a story is always a challenge, but the journey to find my voice after The Nightingale was particularly daunting. I was blown away (and a little intimidated) by the way readers felt about The Nightingale. It took me a while to remember—oh yeah, I’m a writer. I write books I want to read and tell the stories I can’t ignore. So, I just went back and did what I do. I wrote a book that captured my imagination. The result was a novel that is much closer to my own life than The Nightingale. After a few years spent in World War II France, I came home to a place I know and love. Alaska. America’s Last Frontier. My family has had a long history in Alaska. My parents joined with a local Alaskan homesteading family to found the Great Alaska Adventure Lodge on the rugged banks of the Kenai River. Three generations of my family have worked there, and over the last twenty years I have spent a lot of time up there. Every time I land in that majestic, otherworldly landscape, I fall in love all over again. Research is hard work. I needed a glass of wine at lunch. The book opens in 1974—a time that is surprisingly like today, an era of social and political unrest. The country has been divided by the Vietnam war. Ernt Allbright is a former POW, suffering from then-undiagnosed PTSD. After losing yet another job, he decides impulsively to move his family to Alaska, to live off the grid in peace. Caught up in the turbulence that swirls around him are his wife Cora, who will do anything for this man she loves, and his thirteen-year-old daughter, Leni, who hopes this move will lead to calm for her family and a place for her to belong. At first Alaska brings them some peace as they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. But then winter comes and with it the darkness of the shortened days again fractures their family as Ernt’s mental state deteriorates, and Leni and her mother learn a terrible truth: They are on their own in the wild. Watch a video of me discussing The Great Alone and Alaska here. Some early reviews are already in. A starred review from Kirkus called The Great Alone “A tour de force.” You can read more from early readers and reviewers here. For fun, here are some photos that I took in Alaska that will give you more of a sense of the beauty and grandeur of the place. Flying to one of my favorite places in the world, Bear Camp. I took this photo at Bear Camp! And not even with a major telephoto lens. Seldovia, Alaska. One of the many inspirations for my town of Kaneq in The Great Alone. Pre-Order The Great AloneThe Great Alone is available in Hardcover, eBook and Audio CD from these retailers: The Great Alone is available as a Digital Audiobook from these retailers:Book TourI am going to be doing a very limited book tour for The Great Alone. The first portion of the tour in February will have me in New York, Massachusetts, Toronto, Washington, DC, North Carolina, Florida and Washington. And then there will be a second leg of the tour in March with one event in Arizona and four in California. The complete schedule is on my website. I hope to see you there! Signed BooksYou can request signed books from many of the stores that I will be visiting on my tour. All of my books signed also are available at Liberty Bay Books. The Nightingale MovieYay—The Nightingale is on its way to the big screen! I am very happy to share that there is an all-female team at the helm for The Nightingale. I hope to be able to share more details—like our amazing cast—in the weeks to come. This is an especially cool year to be making a movie like this. In 2017, the three top-grossing movies all had a female lead for the first time in almost 60 years. |