Writing isn’t an easy journey. It takes years, even decades, to learn and perfect the craft. No one knows this better than former Pinewood English teacher Hannah Jones, who is now the author of children’s book “Hero Green.”

On Apr. 24, Jones visited Pinewood to share her experience writing “Hero Green.” Additionally, several students were given the opportunity to be beta readers for the book.

“Hero Green” is about a young witch named Hero from a remote grove in Maine. When a developer from Manhattan threatens to destroy the grove, Hero moves to Manhattan to save it and experiences a new high school in the process.

Jones was inspired to become a writer because of the sensation she experiences when writing.

“One of my favorite feelings is to craft a sentence that combines the perfect cadence and melody and imagery to express a complicated, deep feeling or idea,” Jones said. 

Because Jones often moved houses when she was younger, she spent a lot of time alone and found books as her escape from loneliness. Additionally, she grew up in a household of readers, writers, and storytellers, who supported and nurtured her love for words.

Jones said her biggest inspiration is her mom, who was her first educator. When her mother passed away, she lost motivation, but she recently regained it through a community of equally passionate readers and writers when she started a Substack newsletter, Letters from the Questhouse.

When writing “Hero Green,” Jones took inspiration from her childhood.

The inspiration for “Hero Green” was drawn from her teenage years when rumors spread through her junior high school claiming that she was a witch. While Jones originally felt hurt by this, it led her to wonder what a witch is. Jones’ newfound interest in witchcraft inspired her to incorporate it into her book in order to create the character of Hero.

“My current life couldn’t be much different from Hero’s,” Jones said. “Her senses are stronger than ours because she has spent her life trained to listen deeply, to pay deep attention, to nature, and that makes her magical. I aspire to be like her in that respect.”