Hannah Nicole Maehrer is the embodiment of bringing stories to life, as her viral TikTok skit series became a New York Times bestselling book. Hannah’s latest book Apprentice to the Villain is a sequel to her debut novel Assistant to the Villain and is out now! We got to chat with her about the inspiration behind the sequel, her favorite thing about writing villain stories, and her writing process.
Hannah first discovered her love for writing and storytelling when she was young, and she watched a lot of Disney movies which inspired her love for writing stories about villains and how they came to be. Hannah said she loves to analyze the concept of good vs. evil and turn scary ideas into something witty and satirical. These ideas manifested themselves in her TikTok video skit series, where she first created the beloved character Evie Sage and Assistant to the Villain.
PULL QUOTE: “I’ve always loved villains since I was very young, I watched a lot of Disney movies growing up and the villains were always my favorite characters.”
Hannah describes her books as Once Upon a Time meets The Office in the viral TikTok series turned novels. Assistant to the Villain follows Evie as she is happy in her role as assistant to The Villain. But when the kingdom of Rennedawn is in trouble, and The Villain’s manor is vulnerable to enemies, Evie will face her greatest challenge to protect the Villain’s lair and the kingdom by becoming his apprentice.
After releasing her first book, which became a #1 New York Times bestseller, Hannah said she grew in confidence after the incredible reaction from fans and readers when writing book two.
PULL QUOTE: “I always loved the idea of writing something witty and satirical and I love humanizing things that can be scary, it is comforting to me.”
For any aspiring writers, we asked Hannah about her writing process and she joked that hers is “organized chaos” but emphasized that everyone works differently. Hannah’s favorite scenes to write are the ones she never planned to, and everyday looks different when sitting down to write.
PULL QUOTE: “I usually [write] my best when I am going with the flow and seeing where the story takes me.”
Hannah found her first major community on TikTok and the BookTok side of it, where she boasts over 315K followers. She said the coolest part of her TikTok to published author journey is seeing those fans and readers who have followed Evie and the series since Day 1 and their excitement of reading the books.
PULL QUOTE: “There is an entire community of people [on BookTok] that have been following along with this [story] since I posted the first one.”
First putting pen to paper and getting your ideas out there is not always easy, but Hannah said the most important advice she’s been given is to follow your creativity and never compare your journey to anyone else’s. And for anyone looking for a book recommendation, Hannah said everyone should read “The Wrath and the Dawn” by Renée Ahdieh, another hit fantasy novel.
PULL QUOTE: “When you are excited about something and when you’re in love with something you’re doing, there is such a good chance that there’s others that will also love what you’re doing.”
Thank you, Hannah, for Facetiming with Young Entertainment! Make sure to follow her on her Instagram at @hannahnicolemae. Watch the rest of the interview where we ask her more about perfecting Evie’s makeup look on TikTok, the writing and editing process, and what’s in store next! Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for the latest news in young entertainment.
Consider this:
- When finding a literary agent, send out query letters to different agents and choose someone who you click with on both a personal and professional level and has faith in your ideas.
- Follow your creativity and find things that work for you as everyone is different.
- The only person you should be comparing yourself to is you. Everyone is on a different timeline and path in their career.
