Novelist appears to reveal she's alive, two years after family said she died by suicide

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By Nasima Khatun

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In what could be one of the most shocking plot twists of the book world, an indie novelist has appeared to reveal that she's still alive after her family claimed that she died back in 2020.

Susan Meachen, a self-published author known for her romance novels, has seemingly returned to social media to confirm to her followers that she is, in fact, alive after it was announced that she had died. The posts were made in Facebook posts shared in her group named 'The Ward'.

The post announcing her "death" was reportedly made by somebody claiming to be the author's daughter, and although the post has since been removed, members of the Facebook group confirmed to Buzzfeed News that it was shared back in 2020.

But on January 2, a new post - seemingly from Meachen - read: "I debated on how to do this a million times and still not sure if it’s right or not. My family did what they thought was best for me and I can’t fault them for it.

"I almost died again at my own hand and they had to go through all that hell again. Returning to The Ward doesn’t mean much but I am in a good place now and I am hoping to write again."

"Let the fun begin," she concluded as per Rolling Stone.

Members of the book community took to Twitter to express their shock and betrayal at the sudden news update.

In an evidence-based post exposing the details of the hoax, Samantha A. Cole, an author who chatted with Meachen online said that there were fingers pointing at her involvement in the fake incident.

"Author Susan Meachen died from suicide 2 years ago. Except it turns out she didn’t. What an absolute piece of s***," the post was captioned.

In a separate lengthy statement, Cole continued: "We grieved for the loss of the woman we considered a friend. I personally was harassed by another author who loves to create drama, claiming I was one of the authors who bullied Susan and drove her to suicide.

"I was heartbroken," she continued. "...[I] wished I'd reached out sooner."

One of the screenshots appeared to show a back-and-forth conversation between the two authors.

Cole asked: "What is going on????" to which Meachen replied back an hour later with seemingly less urgency as if she hadn't been faking her own death for the past two years.

"Nothing," she responded, "I simply want my life back. My family was in a bad place and did what they thought was best for me."

At the time of her 'death', a group of authors also dedicated an anthology to the so-called 'late' author, and proceeds from the sales were allegedly given to the family, though this has not been confirmed yet.

Just to make matters worse, it was also reported that Meachen had created a burner account under the name 'TN Steele' just a month after her alleged suicide to continue living a private life online, The Independent reported.

It wasn't long before 'TN Steele' gained control over The Ward Facebook group, taking over from group member Connie Ortiz – Meachen’s apparent 'virtual assistant' who had become group admin after she had 'died.'

The initial post announcing the author's death, which is now unavailable to find, shocked the reading group as well as the wider book community just over two years ago when Meachen's family told everyone that she had died by "suicide" due to being "bullied" by other authors in the community.

It was also alleged that in the wake of her death, two fundraisers also appeared to be circulating Meachen’s Facebook page in order to support suicide prevention, although neither seem to have raised any money.

Additionally, it has also come to light that she had been active on TikTok following her "death", posting to an audience of around 45 followers, per the Daily Star.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please reach out for help and contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

Featured Image Credit: Vitezslav Sispera / Alamy

Novelist appears to reveal she's alive, two years after family said she died by suicide

vt-author-image

By Nasima Khatun

Article saved!Article saved!

In what could be one of the most shocking plot twists of the book world, an indie novelist has appeared to reveal that she's still alive after her family claimed that she died back in 2020.

Susan Meachen, a self-published author known for her romance novels, has seemingly returned to social media to confirm to her followers that she is, in fact, alive after it was announced that she had died. The posts were made in Facebook posts shared in her group named 'The Ward'.

The post announcing her "death" was reportedly made by somebody claiming to be the author's daughter, and although the post has since been removed, members of the Facebook group confirmed to Buzzfeed News that it was shared back in 2020.

But on January 2, a new post - seemingly from Meachen - read: "I debated on how to do this a million times and still not sure if it’s right or not. My family did what they thought was best for me and I can’t fault them for it.

"I almost died again at my own hand and they had to go through all that hell again. Returning to The Ward doesn’t mean much but I am in a good place now and I am hoping to write again."

"Let the fun begin," she concluded as per Rolling Stone.

Members of the book community took to Twitter to express their shock and betrayal at the sudden news update.

In an evidence-based post exposing the details of the hoax, Samantha A. Cole, an author who chatted with Meachen online said that there were fingers pointing at her involvement in the fake incident.

"Author Susan Meachen died from suicide 2 years ago. Except it turns out she didn’t. What an absolute piece of s***," the post was captioned.

In a separate lengthy statement, Cole continued: "We grieved for the loss of the woman we considered a friend. I personally was harassed by another author who loves to create drama, claiming I was one of the authors who bullied Susan and drove her to suicide.

"I was heartbroken," she continued. "...[I] wished I'd reached out sooner."

One of the screenshots appeared to show a back-and-forth conversation between the two authors.

Cole asked: "What is going on????" to which Meachen replied back an hour later with seemingly less urgency as if she hadn't been faking her own death for the past two years.

"Nothing," she responded, "I simply want my life back. My family was in a bad place and did what they thought was best for me."

At the time of her 'death', a group of authors also dedicated an anthology to the so-called 'late' author, and proceeds from the sales were allegedly given to the family, though this has not been confirmed yet.

Just to make matters worse, it was also reported that Meachen had created a burner account under the name 'TN Steele' just a month after her alleged suicide to continue living a private life online, The Independent reported.

It wasn't long before 'TN Steele' gained control over The Ward Facebook group, taking over from group member Connie Ortiz – Meachen’s apparent 'virtual assistant' who had become group admin after she had 'died.'

The initial post announcing the author's death, which is now unavailable to find, shocked the reading group as well as the wider book community just over two years ago when Meachen's family told everyone that she had died by "suicide" due to being "bullied" by other authors in the community.

It was also alleged that in the wake of her death, two fundraisers also appeared to be circulating Meachen’s Facebook page in order to support suicide prevention, although neither seem to have raised any money.

Additionally, it has also come to light that she had been active on TikTok following her "death", posting to an audience of around 45 followers, per the Daily Star.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please reach out for help and contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

Featured Image Credit: Vitezslav Sispera / Alamy