[Source: BBC]

No one saw this plot twist coming.

In September 2020, a Facebook post from someone claiming to be the daughter of indie romance author Susan Meachen announced the writer had died by suicide.

Ms Meachen wrote what she described as “perfectly flawed” romance novels and had fostered a tightknit online community of readers and fellow authors who supported each other’s work.

As word of her death spread, author Susan A Cole recalled being shocked.

“When it came out that one of our own had taken her life, that was destructive enough, we were grieving for that alone,” Ms Cole told the BBC.

Then rumors began to spread online that Ms Meachen had been bullied.

“All the finger pointing started and it drove a huge wedge in the community that lasted for months,” Ms Cole said.

The group marked the anniversary of Susan Meachen’s death for two years. Fundraisers and book auctions were held in her honour and authors like Candace Adams contributed to an anthology of short stories that was dedicated to keeping “bullying where it belongs – in fiction”.

But that all ended this week, when suddenly Ms Meachen was resurrected.

She announced her return on social media – much to the shock and confusion of fans and friends – and admitted her suicide had been staged.

“There’s going to be tons of questions,” the post said, according to screengrabs shared online. “Let the fun begin.”