I’m Rania Hanna, a Syrian-American author and researcher. I love:
- Strong black tea
- Rainy days
- Solitude
- All things books
My debut novel, THE JINN DAUGHTER, is based on the Syrian folktales my baba told me much of my life, and was written during a time of deep grief–and healing.
Here’s a bit about my novel:
The Jinn Daughter
FINALIST FOR THE NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARD
BEST SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY: AN AMAZON EDITORS’ PICK
FOREWORD REVIEWS STARRED REVIEW
Nadine is a Hakawati jinn tasked with one job: telling the stories of the dead. She rises every morning to gather pomegranate seeds – the souls of the dead – that have fallen during the night. With her daughter Layala at her side, she eats the seeds and tells the stories of the dead. Only then can the departed pass through the final gate and into eternal peace.
But when the seeds stop falling, Nadine knows something is terribly wrong. All her worst fears are confirmed when she is visited by Kamuna, Death herself, who reveals she wants the one thing Nadine treasures above all: her daughter Layala.
With Layala’s fate hanging in the balance, Nadine will do anything to keep her daughter safe. But Kamuna is angry and ruthless, and she will do anything to get what she wants. Nadine must sacrifice everything and travel to the underworld and do the unspeakable to save her only child.
Rooted in Middle Eastern mythology, Rania Hanna deftly weaves subtle, yet breathtaking, magic through this vivid and compelling story that has at its heart the universal human drive to love and to grieve.
Praise for The Jinn Daughter
"Lyrical and magical, The Jinn Daughter captivates with its fierce imagination and its visceral prose. Hanna spins a folkloric tale of family bonds and the power that the dead hold over the living. An extraordinary novel that will linger long after the final page!"―Helene Wecker, author of The Golem and the Jinni
"A beautiful, haunting homage to Middle Eastern folklore,The Jinn Daughter is a stirring tale of love, grief, and the depths we're willing to go to save our loved ones. Hanna's beautifully drawn, complex characters weave together a story that will find its way into your very bones and leave you wanting more."―Ehigbor Okosun, author of Forged by Blood
"Hanna seamlessly weaves compelling and complex characters into a lush tapestry of Middle Eastern folklore, creating a tragic, haunting world that is as dark as it is beautiful." ―Samantha Sotto Yambao, author of Before Ever After
Reading Between the Dunes 