When Hilenie was a little girl, she would sit on her Pappy's lap while he read to her. Pappy would start out with what sounded like "once-a pon-a time". Pappy instilled a love for storytelling deep within her. Her plots sprang from what her ears heard as a child. This love carried into her adulthood and motivated her to write stories, songs, limericks, children's stories, and poems. She wrote her autobiography in 1949 as well.

Hilenie has a talent for telling colorful stories to anyone who will listen. Thus, the Hilenie and Friends series is written and told from the perspective of a child. Hilenie always begins and ends her stories in a pickle. She has two sisters: unsympathetic Hinenely and supportive Hilena.

Little Hilenie loves the land of make-believe where animals can talk. Her woodland characters are many times in need of help, which requires a rescue of some kind. The bears, bunnies, cats, cows, llamas, sheep, goats, Bigfoot, and many others live in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Vancouver, Washington, USA.

As life goes on, Arlene M. Mekel's (a.k.a. Hilenie's) children become her inspiration. All of her stories are based on or written for Rich, Laura, Bit, Linda, and her two adopted kids, Mandy and Lisa. Each story has a story of its own, but that, of course, is another story. Her books are especially meant for every caring parent who places a value on wholesome listening and fun entertainment.

The Hilenie Series books also resonate with those who respect the admonitions to train children from infancy to love books. Yet these stories not only appeal to the young, they also appeal to the young at heart, and those with special needs. There are currently seven books planned for the Hilenie and Friends audiobook series.