Internet goes wild over outrageous claims author faked her suicide

An independent romance novelist has been accused of faking her own suicide in an alleged bizarre scheme to fool her fans and fellow authors.

Author Susan Meachen has been believed dead since September 2020, when someone claiming to be her daughter posted on her Facebook account that she had committed suicide.

However, on Monday, the same account was posted to a private fan group, claiming that Meachen’s family had faked her death while she was in a mental health crisis and revealing that she had continued to post under the pseudonym TN Steele.

“I’ve debated how to do this a million times and I’m still not sure if it’s right or not,” the account wrote announcing Meachen’s return. ‘But my family did what they thought was best for me and I can’t blame them for that… I’m in a good place now and I look forward to writing again. Let the party begin.’

Co-author Samantha A. Cole, who was an online friend of Meachen and had mourned his supposed death two years ago, expressed outrage at the apparent hoax.

In 2020, author Susan Meachen’s Facebook account claimed that she had committed suicide and said that her latest book (right) would be published posthumously.

On Monday, author Susan Meachen’s Facebook account posted to a private fan group that she claimed her family had faked her death while she was in a mental health crisis.

Co-author Samantha A. Cole (above), who was an online friend of Meachen and had mourned his supposed death two years ago, expressed outrage at the apparent hoax.

“That is beyond psychotic, whether Susan or her daughter made these comments, to knowingly mislead someone who is grieving,” Cole said in an emotional Facebook video on Wednesday.

“Now I’m wary of anyone I’ve never met in person who I’m friends with on Facebook, and that’s really sad,” Cole added.

Public records show Susan Meachen, 47, with previous addresses in Tennessee and Georgia, one of which matches the hometown of Eton, Georgia, listed on the TN Steele pseudonym’s Facebook page.

There is no death record associated with that Meachen, and DailyMail.com was unable to find records of an obituary under that name. Attempts to reach Meachen by phone, email and Facebook were unsuccessful.

The author Meachen has independently published 10 romance novels, including Smokey Mtn. Love, Stolen Moments and His Wicked Way.

His ‘final’ novel, Love To Last A Lifetime, was reportedly published posthumously in October 2020 with final rewrites by the author’s daughter.

Since 2020, Meachen has apparently continued to publish under the name ‘TN Steele’.

Meachen has independently published 10 romance novels, including titles like Losing Him & Finding You and Chance Encounters.

According to Cole, Meachen’s apparent resurrection has caused a storm of controversy in the tight-knit world of indie romance authors and fans.

“I’ve talked to other people who were much closer to Susan than I was, and they were all shocked by this,” she said.

“They were just as shocked as everyone else when Susan’s group post appeared saying she was basically alive and tired of being under her alias,” Cole added.

After Cole saw the Facebook post announcing Mechen’s return, he engaged in a private Facebook chat with Meachen’s account, whose screenshots he shared publicly.

In the exchange, Meachen claimed that she was hospitalized when her family announced her death through her Facebook account in 2020.

“I had no control over what my family did. I was in the hospital fighting for my life. But I understand what they did,” wrote the person controlling Meachen’s account.

Cole posted screenshots of the private Facebook chat with Meachen’s account, in which the author claimed she was hospitalized when her family announced her death in 2020.

Meachen insisted that he remained silent for two years while working with a therapist.

The account claimed in the exchange that Meachen had remained silent about the false reports of his death while working with a psychiatrist and therapist to “be in a better place.”

“I’m happy she’s alive because I don’t want to wish anyone dead,” Cole said in his video statement. “But I can’t tolerate what she did, and I can’t forgive what she did.”

“I was floored, the emotions going through me felt like I was kicked in the chest,” Cole said of finding out that Meachen is apparently alive. “I felt like I was kicked in the stomach, I was sick to my stomach for 36 hours.”

Cole said his main wish is for Meachen to “get the help he needs” and implored his followers not to attack Meachen online over the alleged fake suicide.

Likewise, Cole insisted that his posts on the subject were not a ploy to sell books.

“This is not a publicity stunt on my behalf in exposing this horror story,” Cole said. ‘Please don’t run to buy my books because this hurt me.’

“I hope the book world can heal from this, it will take time,” added the author. ‘I don’t know who I can trust anymore, except the people I’ve met, the ones I’m closest to.’

If you or a loved one is in crisis, call or text 988 for confidential mental health support.