Jenna Hanger writes under the pen name J.L. Cole. The L stands for Lynn, her middle name and Cole is her maiden name. It was the name she picked out for herself at a young age when she dreamed of being an author.
She grew up on a ranch in Brownfield, AB and loved every minute of living on the prairies. So strong was her loyalty to country living, she was convinced she wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. However, after attending Lethbridge College to receive her diploma in Print Journalism, living for six months in Harpenden, England with a stint in Turkey, and coming back to live four years in Red Deer, AB she has realized that every place has something special to it, and it matters less where you live than how you live. As luck would have it, she and her husband and two daughters have now ended up ranching in Brownfield, and she couldn’t be happier.
Jenna grew up the middle child in a family of five girls. In the chaos that is a large amount of people living under one roof, she managed to keep her sanity by retreating into books as often as she could. Her love of creating stories was obvious throughout her school years and becoming a novelist was always a goal she aspired to.
It was after her first daughter was born that Jenna decided to finally pursue her novel idea that eventually turned into Silver Heights. She had written a few short stories before that, sometimes secretly working on them at her Ad Sales job at the newspaper, but this would be her first full- length novel. It was harder than she ever imagined it would be, and she never would have completed it without the encouragement of her friends in the Red Deer Writer’s Ink group.
Her debut novel, Silver Heights, found its home with Black Rose Writing in 2020. That same year, she had a short story titled Old Dog, New Tricks published with Dreamer’s Creative Writing (print and online). In Jan.2023, her second novel was published by The Wild Rose Press.
Having completed the Curtis Brown Creative 6-month writing course, Jenna is busy focusing on her next novel, while also working as the Senior Editor and Writer for a non-profit organization. When she isn’t writing, she can be found helping on the family ranch, raising Labrador puppies and chasing after her two young daughters.
Check out these articles about Jenna and her books for more info!