About Rachel

I live with my own personal hero and four dogs on the east coast of Australia. Our house is on my dream property – 10 acres of native trees on the side of a hill, within driving distance to the beach.

At school, I wasn’t particularly interested in writing or English. Science was my favourite subject and I took chemistry, physics and biology. My mother still teases me that I’d take my science textbooks away on holidays with us.

After school, I enrolled in a science degree (of course) but impulsively changed to an arts degree on the first day. I double majored in psychology and went on to do a second degree, this time in social work.

I loved practicing social work, but now have the perfect job – I spend my days in the peace and quiet of my trees, surrounded by my dogs, making up stories for a living.

Reading

As a teenager, I was a voracious reader of science fiction, until one day when I was 16, I saw Pride and Prejudice on television. The old version with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson. I adored it. I’d seen it in the TV guide and, since I had a crush on Laurence Olivier after seeing him in Henry IV, I’d taped it.

I watched that tape so often I can still recite most of the dialogue by heart. I sought out the book, devoured it, then found every other Jane Austen book and read and reread them frequently. I only discovered romance as a genre about four years ago. Imagine my delight when I first read modern versions of Jane Austen!

Now I read most subgenres of romance, from category to historical to romantic comedy. Such a banquet!

Oliver (aka Ollivander). Oliver is the Heathcliff of dogs. He’s not fond of humans. Or other dogs. And he has a particularly fearsome growl. Before he moved in with us he’d been badly treated and his heart still hasn’t healed completely. The quintessential tortured hero. He has my love of chocolate and is still optimistic about his chances every time I open some (we’ve never given him any – it’s poisonous to dogs). He does, however, get a box of dog chocolates every Christmas. Read an interview Oliver did at the LoveCats here.

Dougal (aka Sir Dooga-lot) Doogie is a sensible boy who knows his manners and has no time for the ruffians he’s forced to live with. He still can’t believe he wasn’t adopted into a one-dog family (preferably by a tradesman who’d take him to work). He loves his twice-daily game of tennis and being told he’s a fine lookin’ dog (which he is).

Jazmine (aka Jazzie May) The sweetest dog in the world. Jazzie loves her three brothers and kisses them constantly – much to their annoyance. Sometimes she has to put a paw on Dougal’s head to hold him still so she can lick inside his mouth more thoroughly. But if another dog comes onto our property, she’s the one we grab first. Her street fighting skills are second to none. Read an interview Jazzie did at the LoveCats here.

Fergus (aka Fergal) Fergus is the canine Bart Simpson. He’s not afraid of anything and lives his life looking for fun and mischief. We’ve had him since he was too small to be away from his mother (he was dumped) and he’s been spoiled rotten by the humans and larger dogs. Although he’s the smallest dog in the house, he takes up the most room, and often stretches so he uses a whole 2½ seater lounge.