Hannah Rae's Blog, page 4

Update: My Jeep survived his recent surgery

Several weeks ago, on my way to have dinner and drinks with Ryan Young of Trampled By Turtles fame (don't know that story? I wrote a blog about it), my beloved Jeep's windshield fogged up a LOT. And there was this vaporous white stuff blowing from the vents. And it was honestly kind of hard to see the road sometimes. So I called Denny, who has cared for the Jeep since his arrival in my family, and who is a good friend of my dad because they were in the National Guard together.

Anyway... here's the conversation I had with Denny:

Hannah: So the Jeep's doing this weird thing, Denny. It's blowing out white vapor and fogging up my windshield and it's hard to see the road when it does this. Will you fix it?

Denny: Bahahahahahahahaha! No, Hannah! No! That job's too big for me . You need a new heater core. The whole dash'll need to come off!

Hannah: Oh. So... should I call [insert name of another mechanic here]?

Denny: No, no. Call Sanders in Bonneauville. It'll be cheaper. Ask for Harley.

I did exactly what Denny said to do and guess what. Harley is AMAZING!

I will now tell you why you should also consider using Harley as your mechanic:

Harley legitimately takes his time diagnosing a problem. He kept the Jeep for a couple of days to make sure it was indeed the heater core that needed to be replaced and he made sure there was nothing else malfunctioning with the vents since it would save money in the long run to replace other things while the dashboard was off. I appreciated that.

Even though I picked up the Jeep after the garage had closed, Harley spent a lot of time breaking everything down to make sure I actually understood it. I, Hannah, actually understood mechanical things . That's very unusual, but Harley is a phenomenal teacher. I recommended he teach at Cumberland-Perry Vo Tech because he'd be really good at it. (But I also recommended that it should only be a side hustle because, I mean, I might need him to fix the Jeep again in the future, you know?)

Harley breaks everything down and tells you what things will cost -- and why they will cost what they cost -- before doing work on your vehicle. It's like he provides an itemized receipt before anything is done. I love that!

Harley is very tidy. He usually wears white shirts and they stay clean even though he's working with cars . That impressed me a lot. I like cleanliness.

Harley fixed the Jeep. Ultimately, that's what a mechanic is meant to do, right? Fix broken mechanical things. Harley did that, and he showed me the faulty heater core and pointed out all the corrosion, and he schooled me on the best antifreeze to use in the Jeep so the new heater core lasts a long time, and he broke everything down to once again make perfect sense... even though he was talking about the inner-workings of a car!

The bottom line is this: If you live in the Gettysburg area and your car isn't running as it should, you should call Harley and have him take a look because he's kind of awesome. Plus, you can talk to him about other things too... like music and teaching and who knows what else? I'm hoping to adopt him as a new guy friend because one can never have too many guy friends and I like hanging out with people who are creative in ways that are different from my creativity. That's how we learn, right?

Cursive & The Pledge? Get your priorities straight, America.

If you’re on social media at all , the odds are high that you’ve seen posts declaring cursive should still be taught in schools and students should be required to say The Pledge of Allegiance every morning. 

The thing is… the times, they are a-changin’. Kids don’t really have a need for cursive; that’s not a top priority anymore. These days, teachers are tasked with getting their students to pass standardized tests (implemented by our government so no student is ever left behind) and teaching them how to barricade a classroom in the event of a shooter. Teachers spend an inordinate amount of time each day asking students to put their cell phones in their backpacks and to remove their earbuds from their ears. Teachers have a lot on their plates without the added expectation of incorporating an untested subject – handwriting – into their curriculums. But do you know what teachers do  continue to incorporate into their lessons each and every day? The Pledge of Allegiance. 

I am actually not a fan of The Pledge. The line “one nation under God” has always bothered me because there is meant to be a separation of church and state when it comes to public schools… but even more than that, I’m bothered by the fact that the line “with liberty and justice for all” is such a blatant lie. 

Yesterday, America elected a felon to serve as President.

Yesterday, America voted to disregard women’s rights. 

Yesterday, America ignored comments like “Grab them by the pussy” and “ I moved on her and I failed. I'll admit it. I did try and fuck her” to elect a man who has promised lower prices at the grocery store. 

Yesterday, America once again chose hatred instead of kindness. 

I am not a fan of The Pledge, but as a public educator, I have always stood for it and placed my right hand over my heart and recited the words that I, as an American, am expected to recite. 

I will no longer say The Pledge.

November 6, 2024, marks the day that I am giving up on The Pledge of Allegiance altogether because there is not  justice for all… and I no longer have it in me to pretend that there is. 

In Need of Some Advice

When An Illusion of Control started selling and getting good reviews, I realized that maybe I should be trying harder to get my novels into the hands of potential readers... but that is sooooo much easier said than done. Honestly, the main reason I think so many copies of Illusion sold had everything to do with the number of times Kelly P. and Kathy T. shouted it out on their social media pages! When Netflix eventually calls and I can finally afford to take my friends on an all-expenses-paid trip to Red Rocks (hopefully to see Trampled By Turtles), those two are definitely going with me!

Anyway... I digress. Back to selling more books, eh? I've been trying to line up book signings in new venues. Next Saturday, 11/9, I'll be at Hollabaugh Bros., Inc. from 10:00 - 1:00, and the weekend after that, on 11/16, I'll be at Wee Scot Book Shoppe in Waynesboro from 11:00 - 1:00. In addition to those events, I've got some other things in the works, and one of the places I'd like to reach out to is Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg... but first, I need to start selling my novels on Ingram in addition to Amazon.

Because I publish through Amazon, I use an ISBN given to me by Amazon, but if I want to publish through Ingram as well, I need to purchase an ISBN and a barcode that can appear on my books. This isn't an absurdly expensive endeavor, exactly... but it can quickly become absurdly expensive if I purchase ISBNs and barcodes for all twelve of my novels at the same time. Therefore, I'm not going to do that.

That being said, here's where YOU come in: I am definitely going to purchase an ISBN and barcode for An Illusion of Control because it is more popular than anything else I've written. I would also like to purchase an ISBN and barcode for one of my other titles... and I'm not sure which title to choose. I would like to hear/read your thoughts on this matter. If you have strong feelings about one of my novels becoming the other splurge, please leave them in the comments or shoot me an email because I'm really torn regarding which one to choose!

Merch Alert!

As freshly fallen foliage scuttle-steps its way across pavement...

As jolly-faced jack-o-lanterns adorn doorsteps and every-day lampposts are disguised as wide-eyed ghouls...

As temperatures drop and the air no longer smells of freshly-cut grass, but rather of bonfires...

(I couldn't decide which opening line to use, so I've opted to use all of them)

...do you find yourself craving a new wardrobe to accompany you on this autumnal transition? If so, fear not: I've got you covered! Because guys? I did a(nother) thing.

Recently, it occurred to me that readers of Hannah Rae should absolutely be able to purchase Flannel Lobster paraphernalia. But you already know this, right? I mean, I am now selling Flannel Lobster stickers. And don't get me wrong -- stickers are great .

Know what I like more than stickers, though? Hoodies. And tank tops. And so, I thought, why not design some of those as well? Because I am someone who thinks a thought and then (typically) puts that thought into action.

The thing is... I might've gotten carried away with my band merch.

I won't bore you with the details, but to make a long story very short: I now have a little shop on RedBubble and you can buy things inspired by fictional people and places. Specifically, my fictional people and places.

Are you a big fan of Bottomless Joe's and have been wishing you owned a baseball cap with the establishment's logo on it? Now you can buy one! (And I thank you a latte in advance for your business.)

Have you yearned for an opportunity to purchase one of those sweatshirts Petey gifts to Bas in Come and Go So Quickly? You're in luck because now they actually exist.

Or perhaps you would like to rock one of those old-school Jamboree tees that Bas and Juli and a huge percentage of Lake Caywood's population once sported. Guess what. You can legitimately now rock that t-shirt!

I'm going to continue to add designs and update the site, so if you're digging the new swag and want to wear what the fictional folk are wearing, then favorite my shop and check back often. And if there's something you'd absolutely love to see turned tangible, leave me a comment and let me know. No promises or anything, but I'll certainly take it under advisement!

Just look at how happy these people are with their purchases! This could totally be YOU!

Stickers, anyone?

I was driving home from work several weeks ago and got to thinking about stickers. It occurred to me that I should have stickers that relate to my books. And then it occurred to me that since I really like octopuses, I should have an octopus holding my books. And then it occurred to me that an octopus has eight arms and I've published more than eight books... so while in my car, driving home from work, I decided to count how many books I've published and I came up with the number nine. I thought to myself, "The octopus could have an extra arm and he could be holding all of my books! How fun is that?"

When I got home, I checked my math and realized that I've published TWELVE books, not nine. So I tossed that idea and went with books set in Lake Caywood instead... because there are, in fact, eight of those.

I wasn't really sure how to go about designing an octopus with his arms wrapped around my novels, so I recruited some help from Percy. This is Percy of Torn Asunder fame, you'll recall; the book is dedicated to him and Carlie (my favorite NaNo nerds).

What you maybe don't know about Percy is that he's a PHENOMENAL artist and a PHENOMENAL writer and a PHENOMENAL musician and just a genuinely PHENOMENAL human overall. I absolutely adore this kid, and I love his art, so it seemed fitting to have him design the sticker.

This was at my book signing on October's First Friday. I didn't have the stickers yet, so they weren't for sale... but now they are!

I now have the stickers Percy designed and some stickers that I designed for one of my all-time favorite bands, Flannel Lobster! I'll be selling these at future book signings, so bring your wallets!

$3 each or 2 for $5

In addition to stickers, I've got some other fun stuff in the works at the moment! Stay tuned for details, alright?

The Center of The Hannah Rae Literary Universe is Now Available for Listening!

Long-time fans of mine will by now be familiar with Sebastian Porter... but what long-time fans of mine won't be familiar with is the actual SOUND of Bas Porter!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen: Bas Porter's voice has become a reality... and I love it. *swoon*

I am really excited to announce that Kick It One More Time , which is the novel I always seem to come back to labeling as my favorite, is now available as an audiobook. If you'd like to listen to a short sample of Rob Connolly reading the opening chapter, you can do so RIGHT HERE .

(You can purchase it at the above link too, and if you buy it and listen to it, PLEASE RATE IT because that helps sales soooooooooooo much!)

Next up, for those who are accompanying me on this audiobook adventure of mine... An Illusion of Control . This is being read by my buddy Chris Kerrigan and should hopefully be available around the start of November.

Rob, meanwhile, is currently reading Dog-Eared Life and will be starting narration on that in the near future.

Oh, and as if all that isn't enough? I started writing a new book. It's full of new characters, takes place in a new town, and still manages to intersect with my very-established Literary Universe.

Losing the Rhyme. That's what it's called. But who knows when it'll be finished? I'm literally only on Chapter Three.

It's really good though! And who knows? Maybe I'll post a sample chapter in the near future. I'm a constant surprise, after all.

Brown-Paper Packages Tied Up with String

This will be a short blog because I'm very tired. However, I've been wanting to write about a cool thing that my friends helped me do.

For reasons I'm not going to get into right now, my mom has been really stressed lately.

On top of this stress, last week was the anniversary of my brother's death.

Therefore, I asked my friends if they'd like to contribute one of their favorite things, wrap it in brown paper, and tie it up with string.

I should add that my mom is the mom so many of my friends gravitated toward as kids... and continue to gravitate toward to this day! Growing up, our house was where people tended to gather, and even now, my friends and I still hang out at her house.

Having read the above paragraph, it should come as no real surprise that nearly every single person I invited to participate in this little endeavor came through on the mission, and on October 10, I presented my mom with a fuck ton (I recently learned this is an even larger measurement than shit ton) of gifts. Because nothing is immediately perishable, she is opening a gift every time she feels in need of a boost.

A huge shoutout to my friends who helped me turn this idea into a possibility! Just look at this haul...

Sometimes it pays to simply ask.

I may not play an instrument, but I sure do have some serious respect for those who do, and in addition to that respect, I have, for as long as I can remember, been absolutely fascinated by the lifestyles of touring musicians. I am, however, far more interested in the lifestyles of my favorite touring musicians. 

If you remember my blog about Reel Big Fish  from way back when, you will know that my interest in an artist’s on-the-road lifestyle began at a young age. If you recall my blog about Bella’s Barto k from even way backer, you will also  know that my interest in musical, on-the-road lifestyles continues to persist. And if you think back just a handful of months to the blog that I wrote this past summer recounting my weekend of beautiful noise , you will perhaps summon a memory of me meeting Ryan Young, fiddler extraordinaire, who ultimately saved the day and eliminated my worries that one of my favorite pieces of art would end up in a DC dumpster. 

That brief Ryan Young encounter plays into this blog because he and I are now friends. That's right: friends. I confirmed it. I flat out asked him if we are now friends and he said, “Yes.” 

In a nutshell, this is how it happened: 

I shared my weekend-of-beautiful-noise blog with Ryan and he thanked me for a nice write-up. Then TBT announced new tour dates and I saw they were going to be in Harrisburg, so I bought tickets and sent him a message asking if he’d like to meet for a drink beforehand. He said he’d like to, and in the weeks leading up to the show, we even swapped books and albums. Ryan used to be in a ska band!

On Friday at 5:30, I met up with Ryan Young of Trampled By Turtles fame and split a pizza. These are the highlights of the evening:

When I got to the restaurant, I didn’t see Ryan right away, so I ran to the bathroom and when I came out, he was exiting the venue’s art gallery. He said, “Hi.” 

I said, “Hi.” 

He said, “I’m Ryan” and I said, kind of giggling, “I know! I recognize you!” 

This ended up being an even more  excellent part of the story when, at the end of the show, a woman named Sarah came up to me and said, “This is going to sound so weird, but were you at Millworks with the fiddle player before the show? I was waiting in line for a table and overheard your interaction and thought, ‘That’s such a funny way to greet one another!’”

Another thing I loved is that I got to ask so many questions that will undoubtedly come in handy when writing about Flannel Lobster. I learned about what it’s like backstage and how the band gets all their gear from one place to another and what it’s like to live on a tour bus and how long/what time sound checks take place and which bands are especially great to tour with—like a big family!—and there was a great story about a fox named Kevin Jorgenson as well. 

After two hours of pizza and beers and an abundance of musical- and literature-talk, I gave Ryan a ride to the venue and we had to park at the way back of the lot because it was a sold-out show. He made his way backstage and I found my dear friend Marc, who had some sort of event in Gettysburg and therefore couldn’t join us for pizza beforehand. Marc was wearing a great shirt that I of course didn’t think to capture in a photograph and he was excited for the show. But…

Maybe you remember when Marc, Phil, Victoria, and I went to see OAR this past summer? I wrote a blog about it , of course, and it was a great  show… but Marc was skeptical that Trampled By Turtles would be able to top that concert. He said no fewer than twenty-five times (and probably closer to fifty times), “You really like Trampled better than OAR? You really think they put on a better show? We’ll see… You’d really  choose a Trampled show over OAR? Like, every time you’d choose Trampled over OAR? Not me, but we’ll see if what you claim is right. We’ll see. I’m excited for this show.”

Flash forward to about 75% of the way through Friday night’s show and I feel a hand grab my wrist and pull me hard to my left. Then Marc says, “Hannah? I think this is the best show I’ve ever seen.”

In addition to pizza and beers beforehand, I also got to experience the tour bus with Marc and Ryan after the show, and then watch as the crew loaded everything into a trailer and prepared to depart for Massachusetts at midnight. And maybe that doesn’t sound neat to some of you, but it was very neat. 

The takeaways are as follows:

Friday’s show really and truly was one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen.

The lifestyles of musicians continue to fascinate me.

Ryan Young is, in my opinion, the kindest, most humble musician I’ve ever met and I’m honored to be able to call him a friend.

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I made a lot of new friends at the show, as I often do, and so many of them continued to say, "Ryan Young IS the show." He's amazing, yes?

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Marc loved the harmonization of Trampled By Turtles and I think this video does a pretty decent job of illustrating their magic.

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Definitely more energy than OAR (in my opinion).

No more'n a breath.

For me, October 10th is a day that sneaks up on a person. Not in the way that October 2nd might. On the first of the month, I don’t turn the page of the calendar and suddenly startle because the 2nd, now visible, is so much closer than it had seemed the day before.

No, October 10th isn’t like that; I’m always aware that it’s approaching.

On October 10th, and in the hours leading up to it, my emotions get wonky. The reason for this, of course, is because October 10th is the anniversary of my brother’s death. 

Tomorrow will mark five years without him. 

If Pip were alive today, he would be 38, which is the age I was when I lost him. 

“Lost” is perhaps the wrong word though. 

The following may seem off topic, but allow me to insert a brief side note:

I am someone who likes to categorize things into favorites. For whatever reason, my brain finds it necessary to choose favorites and then rank them, placing special emphasis on the top three  favorites of each category. My favorite bands? Reel Big Fish, Dispatch, and Trampled By Turtles. My favorite songs? “Red Wing Blue Wing,” “Country Kid,” and “All the Debts I Owe.” My favorite books? To Kill A Mockingbird, Ordinary Grace, and  Daisy Jones and the Six  (the audio version). 

In my sophomore classes, we are currently finishing Ordinary Grace , which, as you now know from the previous paragraph, is my second-favorite book of all time. And the ending of Ordinary Grace ? Well… the ending of Ordinary Grace  is beautiful. 

Without giving away any major plot points, I am going to quote Warren Redstone, who says in the epilogue, “They’re never far from us, you know. … The dead. No more’n a breath. You let that last one go and you’re with them again.”

Someday, I know, I will be with Pip again. I’m not sure how… but our souls will once again collide and we will laugh and embrace and be the kindred spirits we were in life. So I haven’t lost  Pip. Not entirely. I still have memories and photographs; I still have a couple of videos and a few voice recordings. And I have the knowledge that he may be gone from my current future… but I don’t believe that he’s gone forever.

Still.

That doesn’t mean I don’t miss him with my whole being when October 10th rolls around. He was, to use his own words, “a good egg.”

Last night, I was kind of a celebrity...

Wanna know what I did last night?

Okay. I'll tell you.

Last night, my friend Mary and I attended a book club for my novel, Just Whistle .

Do you remember Sarah? Sarah is my number-one fan and I mention her periodically in blogs. She's also mentioned in the Acknowledgments of Come and Go So Quickly . Legitimately, Sarah has read all of my novels multiple times -- she knows the plots and the characters nearly as well as I do -- so when she said that her book club was reading her favorite of my novels, Just Whistle , and asked if I'd be willing to attend as a guest book-club member, I was all about it!

Let me begin by saying that every single woman in attendance was laugh-out-loud funny. Marida (I hope I am spelling her name correctly) suggested that everyone go around in a circle and introduce themselves. This was meant to be a simple "Hello, my name is..." but it turned into more of a "I bought the book and read the first thirty pages, but got caught up in finishing another novel for this other event and so I am going to read Just Whistle but I haven't read it yet " or "So what happened is I read next month's book this month, and that's a real testament because I didn't enjoy next month's book all that much because I do not like The Wizard of Oz , but I read it nevertheless and now I'm not prepared to discuss Just Whistle which is ironic because Just Whistle sounds like a book I'd really like AND I won't even be here next month to talk about the book I read and didn't like." I think it was Marida, but it might have been someone else, who, at the end of all these roundabout introductions, said, "This really wasn't meant to be a confessional."

I'm not going to go into a lot of detail regarding the conversation about Just Whistle simply because it has an ending that you're going to want to experience without any sort of giveaways. (Even though I once had a reviewer criticize the book for not providing trigger warnings... which I disagree with... but whatever. Everyone at last night's meeting was fine with the ending. Life isn't always centered around rainbows and unicorns and flower-scented moments of wonder, you know? And to have created something that results in people really feeling intense emotions for my characters? I'm all about that. I mean, talk about a compliment!)

Anyway. Last night's book club was a blast and a half. I met some former lifeguards and a web of Adams County connections was made among everyone in attendance and we had deep talks about my fifteen-year-old-self crush and my current crush. (For inquiring minds, my current crush is Sebastian Porter. Are you interested in falling in love with him as well? Read Kick It One More Time ... or wait a few more days for the release of the audio and give it a listen.)

This blog is all over the place and I need to eat some pasta while tuning in to tonight's school board meeting, so I will sign off now. But the big takeaway is this: I had a blast at last night's book club and if YOUR book club ever wants to read something written by Hannah Rae, she may be willing to attend. Just sayin'.

Over and out.