Character Coffee Chat with Ryan Hanson
Welcome to the next installment of the Character Coffee Chat series!
Readers immerse themselves in books they enjoy, especially when they can relate to the characters as if they are real people. Friends you can turn to, family you spend special moments with and even those characters you love to hate. Character Coffee Chats offer a little extra time with some of the characters readers have enjoyed meeting or getting to know in the Jorja Matthew mystery series. For those who haven’t yet read the series:
Be warned some coffee chats might offer spoilers.
For those who have kept up with the series since the beginning, here’s your chance to spend extra time with each character, gain insight about recent events in the novels and learn more details about their backstory. Now, grab a cup of coffee or another hot drink of your choice and let’s get started!
Today’s coffee chat will be with Ryan Hanson from the Jorja Matthews mystery series.
We’ll begin with Ryan telling us a little about himself and how he knows Jorja…
Hi, my name’s Ryan Hanson and I work as an editor. I have a young son, Nicholas, who is six years old and we currently live with Jorja. Jorja happens to be my sister, my twin, actually.
How long have you and Nicholas lived with Jorja?
Not quite a year because we only just met over a year ago. We didn’t know about each other until the man who raised me told me about her before he passed away.
Since you and Jorja weren’t raised together, does that mean you were you adopted?
We weren’t raised together but I wasn’t adopted either. However, for the sake of saying too much, let’s just say I was adopted in a round-about way. I don’t believe Jorja offered too much detail about our family history or how she and I are related, so I guess I’ve let the cat out of the bag about her being my sister. It’s a long story and will give too many details to anyone who isn’t fully caught up with our family dynamics, but after my father passed away I decided to come to Washington to locate Jorja. I tracked her down and eventually, after knowing each other only a short time she surprised me by asking if Nicholas and I would move in with her. I agreed when she offered because I decided it was the best way she and I could really get to know each other after so much time had passed. And I liked the idea of Nicholas being around family and having that extra stability.
What’s it like living with a sister you never knew?
We definitely had a learning curve to get over. But overall we’ve formed a pretty good relationship considering we didn’t know the other existed until recently. I mean, we’re twins, so maybe that helped, I don’t know. From the beginning we got along really well and I like that my son has family he gets to see every day. Nicholas adores his Aunt Jorja.
What was it like to discover you had a sister you never knew about?
Oh, that was something that took some time to process. It wasn’t just that my father lied to me about having a sister. He lied about so much more than that—but I really can’t get into details. It’s my understanding there will some day be a volume in the series dedicated to the people involved before and after our birth. At that time, my father’s story will be one of the layers that’ll be unraveled.
Did you ever get to meet your birth mother?
No, she died before I arrived in Washington. But Jorja’s parents, the ones who raised her, are great and they’ve taken me in and treat me like a member of the family. I mean, I am a member of the family, since I was born to it, but they didn’t know me from Adam so it was an adjustment for them too for awhile, especially her dad.
What about your birth father?
He lives here in town and we get together when we can, but we’re still getting to know each other. I think it’s been harder for Jorja because the parents who raised her are still alive and they have an awesome relationship. Jorja might not like me saying this, but I think she worries about how her parents will feel, especially her dad, if she forms a tighter bond with our birth father. Still, he’s been open to forming a relationship and he’s made it clear to me that he wants to be a part of our lives however it works best for us.
Was it easy to just pick up and move to a new town with your son? What about his mother?
My wife died a few years ago so it’s just me and Nicholas. It really wasn’t a challenge to move once I settled my father’s estate. There was no reason for us to stay there so I sold everything and moved to Tenino. Nicholas is young enough that the transition was easy, especially after he met Jorja and Taylor because he barely remembers his mother and he’s flourished having family around. One thing I’ll say is that he took it hard when Taylor got married and moved out. He calls her Aunt Taylor and really enjoyed having her around. He didn’t like the idea of her leaving, but again, he’s young and he’s learning to adjust.
Do you have any prospects for a new relationship?
There’s someone in the picture right now, but we’re just getting to know each other and she still has stuff to work out, so…I don’t know how things are going to go. We’re currently dealing with a situation but I really can’t go into detail because it’s something that’ll be shared in the next release in the series. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone.
You make your living as an editor but have you thought about becoming a P.I. like Jorja?
Heck no. I have a young son and I’d rather not put myself in harm’s way like Jorja does. You wouldn’t think her work would be dangerous, but over the past year she’s had run in’s with people who would rather she didn’t share whatever information she’s learned about a case. Personally, if she decided just to run the bookstore, I’d be thrilled and relieved she’s working a safe job. But she loves it and she enjoys working the puzzle some cases become after she starts investigating them. She also can’t help but help people if she thinks they’re getting a raw deal.
You’ve had your run-in with trouble too, because of Jorja’s investigations, haven’t you?
Yes, but that involved someone from our past who had an ulterior motive based on issues we weren’t even aware of and information Jorja stumbled on about a cold case. It was one of the scariest moments of my life, getting shot, and then later when I thought everything was taken care of, we had another terrifying incident. Jorja can stick with the investigations, but I’m happy enough to stick with a safe job like editing.
Other than those terrifying incidents, are you happy you moved to Tenino?
I am. I mean, if my father hadn’t shared his deepest secret with me before he passed away, I’d still be living in Wyoming with Nicholas and we’d have a good life, but we wouldn’t have any family to speak of. That we knew of anyway. My dad is gone, my wife is gone and my mom died ten years ago. I’m glad I was able to locate Jorja and that we’ve been able to get to know each other. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her, as well as her parents and our birth father, I’ve made new friends and so has Nicholas. He really enjoys school here and I’m happy that we were able to get settled before he began first grade. I’m lucky that I can work from anywhere and I’m happy Jorja asked us to move in with her. Hillcrest, that’s the name of the family home where we live, is a nice Victorian home with enough room, plus some, for all of us, even when Taylor lived there, and I appreciate and enjoy living there.
And on that happy note, with as few spoilers as possible, we’ll end the chat here. Ryan may come back another time, but it may be a while so if you have questions specifically for him, please note them down in the comments and he’ll reply to the best of his ability.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of the Character Coffee Chat and that you’ll check back next month for the next chat with another character from the Jorja Matthew mystery series!
