Or should I say: More Than You Probably Need to Know About Me?
I swear this is water. At least I think it’s water. Oh well … here’s cheers!
This is me and my giant rabbit when I was still trying to figure what I wanted to be when I grew up. Probably around 18 years old in this pic. I am definitely a late bloomer as it took another 24 years of secretarial work, getting married, having children and moving from the city to a beautiful rural area before I realised what I wanted to be … a children’s book author! Perhaps it was reading Andy Griffiths, Tim Winton, Mem Fox and many other wonderful authors to my two young daughters which gave me inspiration. I will never forget the day we lay on my eldest child’s bed, reading out loud, Griffith’s book, Just Annoying. All of us laughed ourselves to tears … and the loo (or was that just me?). It was the best and most memorable day with my girls! Perhaps their imaginative and adorable antics in toddlerhood and early teens inspired me. Either way, the world of a child’s mind was and still is, preferable to adulthood. So, sunrise found me in my pajamas, steam rising from my coffee mug as I pounded away on the keyboard, lost in a parallel of other worlds. Hmm… does parallel only mean two? I should look that up … perhaps I’ll say a ‘myriad’ of other worlds. Then the kids woke up and it was time to get back to reality.
I consider this room to be a perfect description of me! Complete with the doggy’s toys on the floor (which I manage to trip over constantly, cursing … pick them up, put them away and find them back on the floor within ten minutes) and complete with my love of religious art and all things eclectic, welcome to my creative space. I love it. I’d much rather show these pics than go into a boring tirade about exactly ‘who’ Rainey Leigh Seraphine is, which I assume you wanted to know by clicking on this link anyway and besides I think I already did that. These pics say it all, and let’s face it, the ‘me and my bunny’ pic is pretty cool.
Inspiration or distraction? It all depends, I guess. Perhaps if my book collection was displayed nicely on beautiful wooden bookshelves that are attached to the wall, it could well be inspirational! Then I’d at least be able to pull one out to read without disturbing the whole wall… please buy my books, I need the money to build my bookshelves! But it’s an ordered kind of clutter. And of course, I’m doing one of the number one rules of writing here … Show Don’t Tell!
And then we have the doggie, Calico. There’s an age old saying, ‘beauty is only skin deep’ (or is that a cliche? Oops! Did I just break a most important rule of good writing? No cliches! Bugger!) Oh well, it’s just that it describes her perfectly. She’s a cranky old bitch, but you’ve gotta admit, she’s beautiful! (I’ve broken another rule, damn it! Not so many exclamation marks!)
And lastly … my beloved back yard. Nature in all her inspirational beauty.
Trying to get traditionally published as a children’s picture book author, anxiously awaiting the inevitable rejection letters, and the driving need to earn a living saw my menagerie of characters and stories get stacked with the cobwebs on the shelf. These days you don’t even receive rejection letters, so if you haven’t heard anything after six months … it’s a no go! Blessed early retirement, technology and the chance to become a self-published indie author saw a whole new possibility. I reverted to child imaginings at the age of 62 and am now blissfully creating more characters to coddle me in my senility.
My eulogy will likely say: “Not yet, I have one more story”
So now you know me!
Rainey Leigh Seraphine 