Author, avid reader, enthusiastic traveller, would-be adventurer and fan of the native fauna that visits her little patch of paradise in Australia!
Rachel Bailey is a lover of books, chocolate, dogs, and ice cream. Luckily, she has four dogs, an ice cream maker, a steady supply of chocolate, and bookshelves overflowing with books, so she’s covered on all fronts. Her books have hit the USA Today bestseller list, are published in over twenty-six countries and have been translated into sixteen languages.
I've spent a lot of time wondering what I should post about in my inaugural blog for the LoveCats. What would be the best way to introduce myself? Should I list my top 10 fave things... or unfave things? That's always a good way to get to know somebody. Should I post pictures of my workspace and detail the items there that are necessary to me for an ideal working day (revealing in a totally different way)? What about discussing my five favourite romances of all time? That could lead to a lively debate.
But then it hit me - know me by my literary influences. That sounds rather grand, doesn't it? But what it boils down to is this...
I am a writer because of Anne of Green Gables.
Notice I said Anne of Green Gables and not Lucy Maud Montgomery whose creation she is (and who is also responsible for Blue Castles which is one of my all-time favourite romances). Lucy Maud may have created 'Anne with an e', but it was her character that gripped my imagination and turned me into a writer.
Now before we go any further I best mention that Anne and I have several points of connection - all superficial mind, but seriously important when I was seven. First, she had carrot red hair and so did I. Her name ended in an e and so did mine. She had freckles and she loved to read - tick and tick. As you can see, we were bosom buddies from the first.
That's not why I became a writer.
Anne Shirley had a vivid imagination. She could turn the mundane into a thing of beauty and awe. With that imagination of hers she transformed her commonplace life into a series of adventures. She wasn't afraid to dream. Whenever I grew bored or restless with my far-from-beautiful country town I'd play the Anne game. I did what she did. I'd search out places of beauty or interest or quirkiness in my town and, like her, give them new names to reflect their aura - The Lake of Shining Waters, Willomere, Dryad's Bubble, the White Way of Delight, Idlewild and Lover's Lane. And then I created histories and on-going sagas for these places - talking trees, birds that became human at night, wars between flowers and bees. My inner life grew so rich that it more than compensated for the humdrum of my outer world.
And that's why I'm a writer. Because imagining better worlds became second nature to me. Lots of writers have influenced me as a writer, but it's Anne who made me a writer. She gave me different eyes with which to view my world.
So my question to you...has a fictional character ever changed the way you see the world?
Michelle is a doughnut fiend who's also rather partial to champagne and walks along the beach. She writes romances for Harlequin Mills & Boon…and is also enrolled in a PhD.
Name : Birth certificate says ‘Betty Boo’, but I am usually known as ‘Boo’ or ‘Terry the Terrorist’. I am a Munchkin – which essentially equates to a tiny cat with 
a massive attitude.
Human Slave: Kari-Anne
Likes : Eating. Sleeping. Asserting my authority over all the other beings in my house. Destroying everything I can lay my paws on. You should have seen my human slave sweating while I was sitting in her pot plant!
Dislikes : Dogs. Why does my stupid human slave insist on having dogs?! One day, I’ll kill them both.
Ambition : To take over the world.
Sociable or Aloof : This depends on my mood. I am easily offended, so unless you treat in the manner to which I am accustom, I am extremely aloof. Show me the respect I deserve, and I’ll be very sociable. Do not touch me, unless I ask you to.
More of me, next week!
Miaow from Boo
I’ve discovered a trend emerging with the books I’ve written to date for Harlequin Romance. My first book hinted at child abuse, my second book revolves around stem-cell technologies and male sterility, my third story features a stalked heroine, my fourth a tattooed, emotionally abused heroine and a hero with PTSD, my fifth relates to substance abuse, my sixth emotional and physical scarring resulting from trauma and my seventh—just recently finished—which was supposed to be my attempt at lightness pits a crusading greenie against the man who thinks she cause his father’s suicide.
Cord-blood really is the most amazing gift to humanity. There is a brief window of opportunity right after birth in which the stem-cells in the umbilical cord (and it’s rich with them) can be harvested and frozen for use in other children (and adults) or the child from which the umbilical cord came. A stem-cell can become virtually any other cell in the body depending on where it’s injected – think of it like a shape-shifting cell. It becomes what’s around it. Muscle, tissue, blood, bone – whatever is required. It’s why they are so valuable and sought after.
Cord blood banks are now being set up around the world to capture this microscopic gold and save lives everywhere. Commercial programs to save a baby’s cord blood stem cells in the event that he/she might need it later are also popping up everywhere and—like everything—this is open to abuse. Because, really, what wouldn’t a parent do to save the life of their child.
Reading: Anna Campbell's My Reckless Surrender - fantastic!
ed and revised book number three while we were away - BACHELOR DAD, GIRL NEXT DOOR.
Author, avid reader, enthusiastic traveller, would-be adventurer and fan of the native fauna that visits her little patch of paradise in Australia!
