Nature, Religion, and Star Wars: A Look Into the Creative Mind of Hannah F. Whitten

Hannah F. Whitten is making a name for herself in the world of fantasy literature. Whitten is a Nashville-based author who recently released her third novel — and the first in her upcoming “Nightshade Crown” trilogy — “The Foxglove King,” an enthralling fantasy that follows Lore, a witty and enjoyable 23-year-old spy imbued with death magic, as she tries to infiltrate the royal court of the fantastical city Dellaire and solve a mystery.

Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, and later Nashville, Tennessee, Whitten was surrounded by the influence of evangelical Christianity, which often makes its way into her writing. These religious influences can be seen throughout all three of her novels.

“Growing up in the Bible belt and around evangelical Christianity made me very much want to write things kind of deconstructing that,” Whitten said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson. “Dealing with my own trauma and hang-ups in those areas just because it’s so baked into the culture around here. You can’t really get away from it.”

Whitten’s writing is also inspired by the natural world, as she is an avid hiker and camper, spending much of her free time exploring the outdoors. She often incorporates plant imagery into her writing, and her descriptions of forests, mountains, and rivers are vivid and immersive, transporting readers to the heart of the wilderness.

For Whitten, writing has always been a form of self-expression and a way to explore the world around her. She began writing stories as a child and continued to do so throughout her teenage years and into adulthood, but it wasn't until after she had her daughter that she began to take writing seriously as a potential career.

“I really started writing it because I needed something that was just for me, that was not taking care of my kid or my house or my family. Something that was just mine,” she said.

“For the Wolf,” Whitten’s debut novel, was originally intended as a young adult passion project she described as “self-indulgent.” But after signing with an agent and going through the publishing process — during which the manuscript was revised from YA to adult fiction — Whitten realized that she could turn her passion for writing into a full-time job.

Whitten’s process for creating the immersive worlds of her stories is a long one. She spends a great deal of time working to convey the images and ideas in her head in the first draft of a novel and then revises extensively to make the picture as clear as possible. She also emphasizes the importance of using all of the senses to create a richly detailed experience for the reader.

“I am very much one of those writers where there is a movie playing in my head, and I am just trying to describe it,” Whitten said.

Rather than having only surface-level strength, Whitten’s characters are three-dimensional, flawed, and relatable. She believes that there is a big difference between a strong character in a book and a strong character in writing. By writing, she was referencing the actual depth of a character.

“[Writing strong characters] means leaning into them and what makes them flawed and unlikable just as much as the things that are going to make readers root for them,” Whitten said. “I really think that making someone who reacts realistically to what’s around them is what makes a strong character.”

Whitten’s inspiration for these characters can come from unexpected places. Lore’s character in “The Foxglove King” was inspired in part by her frustration with the “Rey Palpatine” twist in the movie “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” — the reveal that the protagonist, Rey, is the granddaughter of the evil Emperor Palpatine.

“[Rey Palpatine] could have been a really cool and impactful twist, kind of been something that was telegraphed from the beginning, and, you know, actually planned out and developed,” Whitten said. “It could’ve worked as a middle installment of a trilogy, but it doesn’t work as an end installment.”

The movie got Whitten thinking about writing a trilogy where a momentous reveal about the main character’s backstory as the heir to a dark legacy occurred in the middle installment.

For Whitten, the most rewarding aspect of writing as a career is sharing her stories with the world — connecting with a community of readers who can find solace in escaping to her fantastical worlds. When asked what message she would like readers to take away from “The Foxglove King,” she said, “Where you come from doesn’t dictate where you are going, even whenever it feels inescapable.”

Looking ahead, Whitten is excited to continue exploring the in-between spaces of YA and adult fiction and the realms of fantasy and romance.

“I would like to explore writing older characters, actually,” Whitten said. “I’m 31 and would like to, with my next few books, write characters who are my own age.”

Her next two projects will be the final two installments in the “Nightshade Crown” trilogy, the second of which will be coming out next spring.