Ashley Hards on Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway

In this post, we feature debut author Ashley Hards. You can hear her speak about her first novel, Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway, and try her “invitation to imagine” activity. You’ll also find other resources to explore. Thanks for joining us, and let us know what you think in the comments below!

Ashley Hards and the cover of Hannah Edwards

Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway

Written by Ashley Hards
Published by Fabled Films
Release date: September 10, 2024

Hannah Edwards has a lot on her mind. For starters, her father—the Canola King—has been missing for months. And no one—not her distracted mother, her meddlesome guidance counselor, or her evil Uncle Fergus—seems to care. Luckily, she has her secret journal to keep her focused and her best friend, Sam Castillo, for support in solving the case. So when Sam tells Hannah he thinks he saw her father’s ghost, Hannah decides to take matters into her own hands. She soon learns that Uncle Fergus has a plan to steal the family farm, drain the river, and find a hidden treasure. Risking her “good kid” reputation, Hannah stops pretending to pay attention to her endlessly boring classes, and with Sam and her secret journal, she sets out to solve the mystery of her father’s disappearance. A reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, this first entry in the new Hannah Edwards series is both a gripping, supernatural mystery and a heartfelt story of a neurodiverse girl determined to do the right thing.

From Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway, written by Ashley Hards.

“Warning! Stop right now. Trespasser, this is my journal, and if you’re reading it, you’d better have my permission.”
Click here to view a longer preview of Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway, written by Ashley Hards.

Explore Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway

Listen to Ashley Hards talking with TeachingBooks about creating Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway. You can click the player below or experience the recording on TeachingBooks, where you can read along as you listen, and also translate the text to another language.

Invitation to Imagine

TeachingBooks asks each author or illustrator on our Virtual Book Tour to share a writing prompt, a drawing exercise, or just an interesting question to spark curiosity and creativity. Enjoy the following activity contributed by Ashley Hards.

Imagination Activity with Ashley Hards

When you sit down to write a story, your brain usually tells you to write a classic story, with sentences and paragraphs and “once upon a time.” My brain doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes it doesn’t want to write at all. So, I use this trick to help me write when the words aren’t flowing:

Imagine that you’re writing a journal about a field trip. Where was the field trip? What is your character thinking about? What important things happened during the field trip? Where are they writing? What is the room like? Are there other people writing in the journal too?
Create a list of things that happened during the field trip. For example, what cool things did they see? Who attended the field trip? What did they bring with them?
Write a newspaper article about your field trip. What are the key events for the reader? Are there any interviews? What are the important facts?

Using different types of stories will allow you to write and have fun without creating the pressure to create a “perfect” story.

Finish This Sentence . . . with Ashley Hards

As part of our Virtual Book Tour, TeachingBooks asks authors and illustrators to complete short sentence prompts. Enjoy Ashley Hard’s response.

“A surprising thing that helps me work is…”

A surprising thing that helps me work is recording myself speaking. Sometimes, my brain gets worried about writing words on a blank page. Pretending that I’m telling a story to my mom allows me to get excited, cut to the chase, and have lots of fun with my storytelling. I use a computer program that writes my words down for me, so afterward I can see what I’ve created!

“I hope my book may encourage readers to think about…”

I hope that my book may encourage kids (or teens) to think about what goes on behind everyone’s actions, especially if somebody has ADHD. For example, you might think that the kid who is always speaking first in class is a teacher’s pet or that they think they are smarter than you. But Hannah Edwards speaks first in class because she has a really hard time sitting still. Imagining somebody’s life through your own eyes is an important skill for life—plus, it can help you make friends.

More Connections to Ashley Hards and Hannah Edwards Secrets of Riverway

Explore all of the titles featured in the TeachingBooks Virtual Book Tour: one link with author interviews, lesson plans, activities, and more!

All text and images are courtesy of Ashley Hards and Fabled Films and may not be used without expressed written consent.