Meet Alicia McShane & Anna Hagens. Alicia is our own JASNA-MN Secretary. Anna and Alicia are best friends who enjoy Jane Austen together.
JASNA-MN: Hi Alicia, how did you hear about JASNAMN?
Alicia: JASNA was mentioned in the acknowledgements in the back of a book I was reading, so I looked it to see if it was a real thing and joined that afternoon!
JASNA-MN: How long have you been a JASNA-MN board and how did you get there?
Alicia: I think I’ve been on the board for a little over a year and I offered to be the secretary bc they asked for volunteers and I thought, “I can write things down.”
JASNA-MN: What is your favorite thing/moment about being a JASNA-MN board.
Alicia: Learning about what goes into making our JASNA schedule has been interesting and enjoyable.
JASNA-MN: What is your favorite Jane Austen’s book or movies?
Alicia: My favorite book is Northanger Abbey. My favorite movie is Amanda Root’s Persuasion. Clueless is also worth a mention.
JASNA-MN: Tell me a little bit about yourself: hobbies, hidden talent, etc.
Alicia: I have two children, a three and a half year old daughter and three month old son! I like to garden but I am very bad at it. I like to try new crafts, and I like cooking and trying recipes from the Great British Bake-off! The Victorian Sandwich Cake has been my favorite so far because I like making homemade jam filling! I love mysteries and I’ve recently started watching Midsomer Murders on Netflix!
JASNA-MN: How did you hear about JASNAMN?
Anna: My best friend Alicia told me about it and told me that one of our favorite authors was in this chapter! I went to my first meeting in hopes of seeing her from afar. And I met her and got a picture in which I am blushing ferociously. (Julie Klassen by the way!)
JASNA-MN: What is your favorite Jane Austen’s book or movies?
Anna: It used to be Emma. I loved the Romola Garai miniseries. But I have since read Sense and Sensibility at just the moment I related most to Elinor and then afterward I read Persuasion for the first time and think it might be my favorite to date.
JASNA-MN: What was your favorite meeting/event so far? Any idea what fun stuff we should do?
Anna: Dancing! I tripped a lot on my skirt and had to tie it in a knot to avoid causing catastrophe and it turned into a flattering accessory that elicited compliments!
JASNA-MN: How long have you been a member?
Anna: 2 years!
JASNA-MN: Tell me a little bit about yourself: hobbies?, hidden talent?
Anna: I really got into cross stitch over the winter! It got excessive and I ended up with a sports injury. So I’ve had to learn to pace myself! I recently tried to solder. I melted part of the ring I was trying to fix, which was unpleasant, but I fixed my Bluetooth headphones! I should look up instructions next time.
JASNA-MN: Thank you Alicia & Anna for your times! See you at next meeting...
*If you are interested to be our next featured member or would like to nominate someone Please email us at
Wonderful to learn a bit about both of you and so pleased you are both Janeites! Hope to meet both of you at a future meeting! PJ Olander