A Short Biography of Author Louis A Meyer
Louis A Meyer was best known for The Jacky Faber Adventures or the Bloody Jack series. He came up with idea for the lead character of this young-adult historical series in an unusual situation. He was listening to Celtic and British folk music during a workshop. The music was playing on the radio station of a local community when he invented this character.
Meyer was a Maine-based author and painter. He wrote under the name L.A. Meyer. Besides the Bloody Jack series, he had also written two picture books for kids. He and his wife Annetje owned an art gallery in Bar Harbor known as Clair de Loon.
Early years
Meyer was born in Johnstown, in the American state of Pennsylvania. His father was an officer who served in the US Army. He, therefore, had to move frequently with his family during his childhood. Growing up on the US Army bases in the American east coast and Germany, he attended 12 different schools.
He received his high school education in Pennsylvania and Florida. Meyer graduated from high school in Fort Myers. At the University of Florida, he earned a Bachelors degree in English literature. After college, he spent some time hitchhiking through the American Southwest and Mexico before joining the army. During the Vietnam War, he joined the United States navy.
In his interviews, Meyer had stated his reason for joining the navy. He said that he had done that to avoid being killed in a foxhole. After four months, he became an officer and was sent to the Mediterranean. His tour of duty had him traveling to ports of call located in France, Italy, Malta, and Spain. He didn’t face any combat during this time.
The Bloody Jack series
In his fan interviews, Louis A Meyer had announced the title of the final book in the Bloody Jack series. He had said that the title would be She Will Play the Wild Rover No More. Meyer had hinted at the time that the book was already complete. He had adapted the title of this book from a line in The Wild Rover, a folk ballad.
He had also said during the interviews that he didn’t know how many more books the series would have. In August 2013, he announced that the final book will be out with the title Wild Rover No More. It was posthumously published the next year in the month of November.
Marriage and later years
While he was serving in the US Navy, Meyer married Annetje Lawrence in 1966. She was his college sweetheart. Later, their children Matthew and Nathaniel were born. Both of them are now painters and teachers. Their mother Annetje was also a teacher before she dedicated herself to the family’s business. She also did some historical research for the novels of her husband.
Meyer and Annetje sold his artwork in the form of matted and framed prints. Unfortunately, they had to close their art gallery, Clair de Loon, owing to his illness. Meyer died on the 29th of July 2014 in Ellsworth, Maine. The cause of his death were the complications arising out of Hodgkin’s lymphoma.