WELL, HOWDY!
HELLO FROM LITTLE OL' NEW ZEALAND
I'm a mental health nurse by trade, a proud dog mum to a border
collie and golden retriever (yes they are both as cute as they
sound) and overall just living the dream in this beautiful
country at the bottom of the world.
I'm a newbie author, taking the indie/ self-publishing route
(rather than with a well-known publisher). It is a bit harder
for us little guys, so please, if you like what I'm writing, let
me and your friends know! That way I'll be able to bring even
more reads to your hands in the coming years!
#fulltimeauthorgoals
My first release is a young adult psychological suspense titled
Follow Me, but don't you worry your little hearts, I have so
many ideas for more books (many of which are based on real life
events) you'll be seeing more of me soon! Check out my "Books"
page for some early blurbs of upcoming titles.
FAQ
OR WHAT I IMAGINE PEOPLE MIGHT ASK
Where do you get your ideas from?
Working in an inpatient mental health unit gives a pretty
incredible range of human experiences, so a lot of my ideas come
from people's real-life stories, or beliefs, or experiences,
with a twist of my own "what if." Everyone's "reality" is
different, based on our beliefs and interpretation of
situations, so what's to say our personal reality is the one
true reality? Then other ideas come from my misinterpretations
or mistaken guesses from movies or television shows, which I can
then adopt into my own story (and not-so-secretly think that my
version is better).
Are you going to write more books?
Um, YES. I have too many ideas now. It'll probably depend how
many people like the first books, for whether I'll get around to
writing later ones, so if you do like them, let me knowwww!
How long does it take you to write a book?
Depends on the book. I actually wrote Follow Me in about five
months, but then I have another book I've been working on for
over ten years. Then there's also the feedback sessions, where I
give people a month or two to read and give feedback before my
next round of edits.
Do you do your own covers?
Sure do. It's one of my favourite parts, actually! I'm lucky to
have Photoshop etc through my university, so it's also free for
me to play around. I actually made this website, too, since I'm
cheap. My sister is a genius computer geek and fixes the last 5%
of my problems #winning
What's your favourite book?
Complete pivot in genre here, but it's Across the Nightingale
Floor by Lian Hearn aka Gillian Rubinstein.
Why do you have so many spelling mistakes in your books?
Yeah, I know, sorry about that. I had a few early readers kindly
correct all the extra "u"s like in "favourite" and missing "z"s
like in "emphasised" but there were just too many to fix.
What's it like living in Australia?
...
Do you really do your own audiobooks?
Turns out it's expensive to get a professionally narrated book.
There are other options (for example, royalty share) but the
range of New Zealand narrators is pretty limited. I asked around
and people weren't too bothered by the accent, so I bought a
decent second-hard microphone and, like everything else related
to writing, gave it a shot.
Do you read your reviews?
I do! Reviews are meant for readers, but I just can't help
myself. If you ever want to give more detailed or personal
feedback, you're welcome to contact me on social media or by
email! hello AT rachgrahamreads.com