I’m slightly obsessive about picture books. Actually most people know that. I tried veganism but apparently I can’t do without skinny cappuccinos and bacon.
2. What is your nickname?
2. What is your nickname?
Rachy, Rach…all the versions of Rachel you can think of! Most of the time it’s ‘MUM!’
3. What is your greatest fear?
3. What is your greatest fear?
Losing another child. I know this is an intense answer but it’s an honest one. I lost my son Hamish in 2012 in an accident and I don’t think I could survive grieving for two children. It destroyed me and made me at the same time.
4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Emotional, honest and heart-centred. I’m a self-confessed over-sharer.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
I write how I feel.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
6. What book character would you be, and why?
Oh, that’s a tricky one! Probably, Jo from The Magic Faraway Tree. He was hard-working, responsible, pretty brave and believed in magic.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I’m fascinated by the Ancient Egyptians, so I would definitely travel back to that time and destination.
8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
She was quite a precocious child. She would probably tell me I stuffed up a bit along the way and I should’ve been far more successful than I am. I would ignore her. 10-year-old Rachel has a lot of life lessons in front of her.
9. Who is your greatest influence?
9. Who is your greatest influence?
All of my five children have influenced my work. They are all very different personalities and my experiences with them are worthy of hundreds of stories.
10. What/who made you start writing?
10. What/who made you start writing?
I was an ABC producer/presenter/reporter for many years. But I started properly writing just before Hamish passed away as a way of flexing wasted creative muscles. But after his death, writing kept me alive during some dark hours. The feelings were too much to keep inside. Australian agent Selwa Anthony asked me to write a memoir and a novel and that kept me going for a long time. Unfortunately they both sit in my bottom drawer. My current picture book agent, Essie White from Storm Literary (US), keeps my picture book fire burning. She’s encouraging and so patient.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Ethereal. That word feels like it could float away at any moment.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. It makes you want to live harder.
Rachel Noble is the author of Finn's Feather (Enchanted Lion, US), inspired by her late son, Hamish. It’s about a boy who finds a feather and believes his brother (in Heaven) has sent it. The feather becomes a symbol of his love and grief as his friend encourages him to play with it. Rachel attracted attention after she wrote of her grief on a blog called ‘Mummy Muddles’. She also won a national writing competition, the Parenting Express/My Child Short Story Competition in 2012 for a piece called ‘Honouring Hamish’. She was also long-listed for the Hunter Writers Centre Grief writing competition and her piece is published in the 2013 Anthology. Rachel was short-listed for the 2016 CYA Picture Book Competition and placed third with her manuscript, ‘My Granny Loves to Dance’. Soon after, Rachel signed with US agent Essie White at Storm Literary Agency in the US.
Rachel is an ex-ABC/BBC Radio producer/presenter. She lives on the Sunshine Coast with her husband and four children. See www.rachelnobleauthor.com for more information.
