Hannah Meeson wants everyone to meet the characters who have lived inside her head for more than 30 years.
“I think about them every night before I go to bed, even to this day,” the Gettysburg author recently said.
Meeson, who writes under the name Hannah Rae, first started spilling her world onto paper one sleepless night in fourth grade at the advice of her librarian mother. Sebastian, Lucy and Bert were born that evening and became her closest friends.
“I also worry that I will be single forever because nobody will ever compare to Sebastian Porter,” she said.
The world first met Meeson’s characters through her 2015 book “Just Whistle.” They were featured in 2016’s “Like a Flip Turn” and took a break from the literary world while Meeson focused on her cut-paper art. They returned in “The Way Back,” published this fall, which Meeson considers her “way back” to writing. The print copies of Meeson’s novellas bring her talents full circle with the covers featuring her art and the pages her writing.
“The Way Back” tells the tale of Jonny, a man who has the ring and the girl but cannot get Piper off his mind; Ansel, Piper’s father who worries about his daughter’s choice; and Jane, Piper’s cousin who heads west for her cousin’s wedding.
Meeson believes there is a bit of her in all of her characters, but her relationship with the story is much deeper. In her book, Ansel Ferguson and his wife, Sophie, painted the horizontal slats of their Oregon barn a different color. In real life, Meeson and her friends painted fence posts on her Colt Park property to spice up the wood.
Meeson’s biggest goal as a writer is to welcome as many people into her world as possible. “The Way Back,” she said, is designed for the non-reader.
“It knew it needed to be high-interest, short, and fast so I could hook people who otherwise might not read something I would write,” she said.
She also wanted people to read it as soon as possible so she skipped query letters to publishers and self-published.
Meeson’s ultimate goal is to become a famous author who can take all of her friends to a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado.
“The Way Back” includes characters from Meeson’s other books, but readers do not need to complete the other two to understand the story.
“I am not a fan of series; I view it as such a commitment,” she said.
Meeson’s return to writing has been prolific. Her next book, “Running Through the Words,” launches in January and she updates her blog, www.heyheyhannahrae.com, daily.
“I just cleaned the bathroom sink today and I feel so accomplished. It has been at least a week and a half (since I last did that), I never used to be like that,” Meeson said.
That’s OK, she said, sharing her characters’ adventures is more important.
“I have my document pulled up on my computer at all times,” she said. “There are times if I don’t write, I just play the same scene in my head over and over again.”
Writing also helps with her day job, a Biglerville High School English teacher.
“I feel like I am modeling that hard work pays off,” she said. “It also reinforces why it is important to write.”
“The Way Back,” “Just Whistle,” and “Like a Flip Turn,” are available at www.Amazon.com.
Featured image caption: Hannah Meeson, who writes under the name Hannah Rae, recently published “The Way Back.” (Photo by Alex J. Hayes)
Alex J. Hayes has spent almost two decades in the Adams County news business. He is passionate about sharing stories focused on the people in our communities and following local governments in an age when few journalists report on their meetings. Alex is also a freelance writer for several other publications in South Central Pennsylvania. Alex encourages readers to contact him at ahayes83@gmail.com.