Hi, Rachael! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

I’m a writer and teacher based in the South Island of New Zealand. I’m married with 3 girls and I have 2 little dogs. My teaching subjects are English and Drama and in a weird twist, this year, I ended up getting a job teaching English at my old high school! I have weird moments of cognitive dissonance when I remember myself as a teenager sitting in a certain place or walking down a corridor where I once hung out with my friends. There’s even a couple of staff members who were here when I was a student.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories? 

From a very young age. I remember getting my first lockable diary and being overwhelmed by its potential. I desperately wanted to write something deep and poetic in those pages but I can remember feeling uniquely frustrated and aware that I lacked the skill to achieve either. HA. Another favourite memory: when I was 8 years old my parents bought me a little blue typewriter for Christmas, and I was beside myself with the thrill of it! I remember my cousin got one that Christmas too and we used to play “Doctor’s Receptionist” and write up patient notes detailing gruesome ailments. We  developed a whole filing system. I went on to use that typewriter to write many plays and scripts. I had to replace the ink ribbon multiple times. When I was in high school I wrote my own adaptation of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe and got permission from the CS Lewis Trust to stage a performance with that script. Naturally, I played the witch.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: My first chapter book was The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe
• The one that made you want to become an author: Actually, I wrote a fan fiction of The Labyrinth movie and that made me want to become an author.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: My favourite YA novel is The Bear and The Nightingale by Katherine Arden. (The first in the Winter Witch Trilogy).

Your latest novel, The Lost Saint, is out April 29^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Time-slip, medieval, snogging & survival

What can readers expect? 

Heartbreak, humiliation, earthquake, battle, escape, pursuit, plunging down a precipice, Northmen, prophecy, a demon-priestess, a huge black horse, a brooding lord, a sexy knight, tending wounds in a cabin in the woods by firelight, death, superstition, witchcraft, an angry-mob, possession, abduction, curses, miracles, visions and kissing.

Where did the inspiration for The Lost Saint come from? 

I dreamt I was looking at the blueprints of a huge rectangular castle where the open interior was filled with trees. I kept thinking – why is there a forest inside the castle grounds and knew I had a setting for my next series.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

My favourite thing as an author is when unexpected characters appear that you were not planning or anticipating, and they just sort of take over and make things happen. I had that with the character of Maudwyn, a young girl our protagonist meets later in the book. Her voice was so clear to me and she made me laugh. She was a joy to write.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them? 

There are always challenges. When I was writing The Lost Saint I was teaching drama part-time but my senior class was doing a production of The Crucible (my favourite!). So I was writing and running rehearsals and sewing long Puritan skirts and bonnets all at the same time. I was exhausted but I clawed my way through it.

What’s next for you?

I am currently writing book 2 of The Lost Saint while teaching English full-time. Heaven help me.

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year? 

The Moss by Lisa Leuddeke and Song of the Saltings by Rachael King

Will you be picking up The Lost Saint? Tell us in the comments below!

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