99 ratings | 26 reviews | avg rating:4.41

more photos (5)

Serina Hartwell’s Followers (169)

Serina’s Bookshelves

read (97)
currently-reading (7)
to-read (14)

Serina’s Friends (2,155)

Penguin Random House Canada

563 books | 4,862 friends

Dianne

12,038 books | 4,045 friends

Ana O. ⭐

1,157 books | 448 friends

TeriLyn

1,675 books | 994 friends

Sherry Fundin

5,170 books | 2,605 friends

Philip Fracassi

869 books | 579 friends

Autumn

4,322 books | 639 friends

Darcia Helle

3,042 books | 3,337 friends

More friends…

Serina Hartwell

Goodreads Author

Born

West Yorkshire, The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.serinahartwell.com/

Twitter

SerinaHartwell

Genre

Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

Influences

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog... ...more

Member Since

January 2013

edit data

Did you ever have an itch you couldn’t scratch, a feeling that you’re supposed to be doing something else, something bigger with your life? Something that would touch the souls of the rest of mankind and justify your place amongst our fellow men, but you just couldn’t put your finger on what? Well Serina Hartwell spent the best part of 40 years looking for the answer and low and behold, she finished up back where she started, with writing. She sometimes questions why she didn’t just turn in the opposite direction, it would have led her there straight away, but her path led her away from writing when she was just a teenager, because of a lacked of confidence to pursue her dream. Reminiscing one day, the thought occurred to her that if she ha Did you ever have an itch you couldn’t scratch, a feeling that you’re supposed to be doing something else, something bigger with your life? Something that would touch the souls of the rest of mankind and justify your place amongst our fellow men, but you just couldn’t put your finger on what? Well Serina Hartwell spent the best part of 40 years looking for the answer and low and behold, she finished up back where she started, with writing. She sometimes questions why she didn’t just turn in the opposite direction, it would have led her there straight away, but her path led her away from writing when she was just a teenager, because of a lacked of confidence to pursue her dream. Reminiscing one day, the thought occurred to her that if she had found writing back then, she wouldn’t have taken the journeys that led her to write The Hidden Saga.

Her name is Serina Hartwell. She is the mother of two wonderful children, who grew up when she blinked. She is from an average size town in West Yorkshire, England; the same place the Bronte sisters were born, and is from the village in the mill town she wrote about.

Growing up in an industrial town, and coming from a working class background, Serina Hartwell was surrounded by the mills, which were once the life blood of the community. Decrepit and falling into disrepair, they shadowed the place where she lived, serving as a reminder that her town once thrived. She watched as one by one, the mills went out of business and closed, serving to inspire her story, while changing the landscape around her.

Her mother worked in the mills when she was a child. She recalled every night, her father taking her brother and her to the mill to collect their mother and walking home over the lonely beck-side. These trips along the shortcut are embedded throughout Hidden, as her childish imagination finally materialised on the page.

It was only recently that she found her way back to writing. ‘It’s funny how life has a way of bringing you full circle. Today I have the beginnings of something big within my grasp,’ she was quoted as saying.

Follow her journey to becoming an established author. Step into her world and let her take you on a journey...

You can find out more about Serina Hartwell @ http://www.serinahartwell.com/ and http://serinahartwell.info/
...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Serina Hartwell questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?

Serina Hartwell My favourite fictional couple have to be Romeo and Juliet.

Love is the most powerful emotion of them all. It can elevate you to heaven or cut you down…moreMy favourite fictional couple have to be Romeo and Juliet.

Love is the most powerful emotion of them all. It can elevate you to heaven or cut you down and keeping you living in your own personal hell. Other emotions are promoted or demoted by love. Romeo and Juliet broke all the rules to be together. They denied their parent's their wish to keep the two families apart and instead brought them together through tragedy. This couple made the ultimate sacrifice to be together and that is something that I found moving and has always stayed with me.(less)

flag

like
Comment

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? Where do the your ideas come from? What is the hardest thing about writing? Do you read much and if so who are your favourite authors.

Serina Hartwell That's quite a list. Let's work through it, Saiprasad.

It never occurred to me to write until I became really sick. I made a full recovery, but it mad…moreThat's quite a list. Let's work through it, Saiprasad.

It never occurred to me to write until I became really sick. I made a full recovery, but it made me question what I was doing with my life. I wasn't happy at work and I had a missing piece from my life. Something that I just couldn't ever put my finger on. I'd been looking for it for 38 years and had changed jobs and careers many times in order to find it.

They always say that if you never put a racket in a child's hands then you may never find out that they were the next champion tennis player. This was the same instance for me. I had an old computer, but it was sat in an awkward place. Somewhere where I had to sit on the arm of the couch to use it. I didn't have a desk and sitting at the kitchen table with the computer was out of the question. I woke one day having just had a quite prolific dream, which left me with the overwhelming feeling that I should write. I'd just finished reading everything that Stephenie Meyer wrote and had run out of her work, leaving me hungry for something else to read, but she wasn't writing, because she was concentrating on her films. The thought occurred to me that I should write something of my own, so I borrowed my daughter's reconditioned second hand laptop and headed down to the bottom of the garden.

On that first day, I wrote the first chapter of Hidden. On the second day, I wrote the second chapter and I just kept on going. I knew immediately that I'd found the thing that was missing from my life and I haven't stopped writing everyday or doing something towards the writing since. That day was in August 2010. It turns out that I was born to be a writer. The realisation opened my life up in ways I cannot measure and I am so grateful that I finally found it.

I gain my ideas from all sorts of places. Life experience, watching people interact, I am a sucker for a documentary, so this inspires a lot for me, but I mainly take inspiration from random things that occur around me. That keeps the writing more interesting.

The hardest thing about writing is getting the work out there. As an author, my work is competing with the work of millions of other writers and it's really hard to stand out. Finding my work is like finding a needle in a haystack, so I spend more time promoting than writing these days. It's an unhealthy balance, but a necessary one, and one that I have to accept until my work is more widely known. It is a heavy burden that takes a lot of creative energy away from the writing and that's what I find hard.

I go through bouts of reading loads and then not reading at all. While I'm writing, I tend not to read, purely because I don't have time and don't want to be distracted by other people's work. Reading is always something I associated with my dad and my daughter. My dad was rarely seen without a book in his hand and his granddaughter has definitely followed in his footsteps. I never thought of myself as a reader, but I have always been one, when I think about it. When I look back to being a child, I spent all my time in the school library. I read constantly, and even went to the public library after school to do my homework. I used to walk home from school reading books and never once fell over or bumped into anyone. It's only when I thought back to these early days, I could see that it was always there. Always a part of my life.

Choosing my favourite authors is a difficult one. Having to choose between them is like choosing between your children. I would have to go with the ones who have inspired my work the most, I suppose. Stephenie Meyer taught me to create full characters. John Steinbeck taught me to be descriptive. Shakespeare taught me to be engaging and use hooks and create cliffhangers to leave your audience wanting more, while James Herbert taught me to get straight into the action. I would probably go with this list as my top favourites, not just because they influenced my writing, but because I enjoy reading their work too.

I hope I've covered all your questions there, Saiprasad. Thank you for asking them. (less)

flag

like
Comment

See all 9 answers from Serina Hartwell…

Combine Editions
Serina Hartwell’s books

Average rating: 4.53 · 19 ratings · 8 reviews · 1 distinct work

Hidden

4.53 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2014 — 11 editions

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

1179 posts
Serina Hartwell's Blog

Hidden – Earth – Hidden Beneath the Surface Level Lies a Family Secret, Which Could Change Lives Forever…

Find out more in Hidden – The Hidden Saga – Book 1.

A life in turmoil, a dare gone wrong; will Bronte and Riley make it out of
the mill? What will unfold? Is the family secret going to change Bronte’s life
forever or will she be able to maintain the status quo?

With humble beginnings, this epic fantasy will take you down an
ever-darkening path into a world of mystery and intrigue where secrets are

Serina is Currently Reading

Serina Hartwell is currently reading

Morium

by S.J. Hermann (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Apr 21, 2018 12:18PM

Serina Hartwell is currently reading

Sin City Meat Locker: What Happens In Vegas...

by Jordon Sagel (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Apr 21, 2018 12:18PM

Serina Hartwell is currently reading

The Damaged

by Simon Law (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Nov 10, 2015 08:14AM

rss
Serina’s Recent Updates

Serina Hartwell wrote a new blog post Hidden – Earth – Hidden Beneath the Surface Level Lies a Family Secret, Which Could Change Lives Forever… Find out more in Hidden – The Hidden Saga – Book 1.A life in turmoil, a dare gone wrong; will Bronte and Riley make it out ofthe mill? What will unfo Read more of this blog post »
Sep 25, 2023 02:57AM · like
Serina Hartwell is now following Rick Yancey Author of The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1)
Aug 08, 2023 11:56AM · like
Serina Hartwell joined the groups Seventh Star Press and Making Connections
Jun 24, 2023 05:51AM
Serina Hartwell is now following Osman Yousefzada Author of The Go-Between: A Memoir of Growing Up Between ...
Jun 24, 2023 04:33AM · like
Serina Hartwell rated a book it was amazing The Go-Between: A Memoir of Growing Up Between Different Worlds by Osman Yousefzada	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Book Review by Serina Hartwell – The Go Between by Osman Yousefzada Brutally honest, refreshing, raw, gritty funny and sad, all wrapped up into one. A childhood set in a history I recall, left me reminiscent of my own, whilst being reminded of much ha ...more
Jun 22, 2023 02:26PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Go-Between by Osman Yousefzada. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Go-Between by Osman Yousefzada <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Serina's books…

Quotes by Serina Hartwell (?)

“We nurture our creativity when we release our inner child. Let it run and roam free. It will take you on a brighter journey.”
― Serina Hartwell

tags: creativity, free, freedom, inner-child, journey, nurture, roam

41 likes

“Life is made of connections. Who knows why fate throws things in our direction, but one thing's for sure, new things are there to offer value to our lives and teach us something new about ourselves. It's what makes life exciting.”
― Serina Hartwell

tags: connections, direction, excitement, experience, fate, karma, learn, life, new, value, why

13 likes

“If you’re struggling to fit me into a box……. Then build a bigger box!”
― Serina Hartwell

tags: change, changes, empowerment, judgement, judgmental, stereotypes

5 likes

See all Serina Hartwell's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Tell Me Where You Bought Hidden	3	7	May 11, 2014 03:30PM
Blogger Lift: POST YOUR BLOG UPDATES! (Thread 5)	5597	1276	Feb 16, 2018 12:00PM
THE JAMES MASON C...: PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO YOUR FELLOW JAMES MASON MEMBERS!	7118	5489	Jun 16, 2021 12:03PM