I am . . .

  • author

  • dreamer

  • podcaster

  • writing coach

  • website designer

  • dandelion enthusiast

half view of rachel bateman with a baby duckling on her shoulder

I’m Rachel Bateman. You can call me Rae.

I’m the author of the young adult novels 99 Days of Laney MacGuire, Someone Else’s Summer, and Make the Fireflies Dance.

When I’m not writing about characters overcoming their challenges and falling in love, I write horror screenplays . . . where the characters often die terrible deaths. It’s a balance, y’all.

I love helping other writers break through barriers and create the best books they possibly can. That’s why I trained to become both a book coach and a mindset & confidence coach.

As a book coach, I’m an expert in story—but you are always the expert in your story. I never tell you what to write, but instead help you overcome your limiting beliefs so you can write your best story with confidence.

I'm mama to two wonderful boys, who manage to simultaneously be the greatest joy and the greatest challenges in my life.
I wrote my very first book when I was seven years old. It filled a wide-rule notebook, front and back. It was The Blob (1988) fanfic.
My all-time favorite book is Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I've read it countless times. I hated it the first time I read it.
My writing buddy is a Magpie Duck named Taffy. She's very clingy and likes to go everywhere with me. (Peep baby Taff in the picture above.)
I didn't study writing in college--because I tested out, I didn't take a single English class my entire college career. I was a biology major.
I love sewing and sew almost all of my own clothes. My Gramma Ida was a wonderful seamstress, and sewing makes me feel close to her.
As a kid, I dreamed of becoming a biological oceanographer. (I kinda still do, tbh.)
I'm a trained massage therapist. My massage career was cut unfortunately short right at graduation, when I had to have my right shoulder reconstructed.
I craved a creative outlet other than writing, so I learned Squarespace web design and now design websites for authors in my spare time.