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Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)
Rachel Keith has always had an active imagination, with a story going in her head constantly. She began writing The Squad: Rising by age 13 and finished writing the series by age 15. The work did not end there, however, with several more years of tedious editing, revising, and even heavy rewriting. But Rachel didn’t mind the work; it was making her stories–her mission–even better.
Rachel’s life has been filled with animals and stories, and from an early age, she speedily began writing stories about animals.
Rachel always believed her future career would involve animals more than writing fiction. While stocking her bookshelf with animal encyclopedias, animal training books, and the like, she explored and even participated in jobs such as animal rehab and dog training. She continued dabbling in writing her own stories, but though publishing sounded appealing, she never wrote a solid story that seemed publish-worthy. Eventually, the characters she created became anthropomorphic animals based off Sonic the Hedgehog. Her favorite characters included a black cat called Sy, an orange wolf called Tina, and not-at-all-similar twin hedgehogs called Porter and Sapphire.
During the pandemic in 2020, Rachel, a homeschooled only child, had only her characters for constant companions. Connection with real-life friends practically ceased, and all jobs except scarce dog walking came to a standstill. An overly loud conscience gave her anxiety during her tween years, and she clung to her characters, molding them into the fearless heroes she wished she could be. While she developed these characters, her author mom pointed out how they could become an amazing story if Rachel took them out of her Sonic fanfiction world.
Rachel disagreed. Creating a unique world for these characters, who likely wouldn’t be anything more than her imaginary playthings, sounded too hard. But eventually, she gave it a try, and then a whole world blossomed for these characters.
Later in 2020, Rachel wrote the very first draft of The Squad: Rising: Freedom Rings. And years later, after extensive writing lessons and plenty of editing and revising, she considers the book her masterpiece, along with the rest of the nine-book The Squad: Rising series.
Inspired to share her faith and glorify God through her passions, Rachel uses her extensive knowledge of animals, along with her talents in artistry and graphic design, to bring the Squad’s world to life. Taking much influence from Narnia as well as other homeschool-favored series, she adores writing fantasy with sci-fi elements, Christian values, and a classical feel. Finding her calling in creating companions for homeschool kids as well as other middle-grade readers seeking a new clean series, she hopes to make The Squad: Rising a popular series for all Christian families.
When Rachel is not writing or otherwise in the world of The Squad for eight hours straight (for real), she’s drawing, praying, or geeking out over the latest Sonic the Hedgehog whatnot. Oh, and reading. And reading. And READING.
After all, there’s no such thing as too much of a great story.
Rachel is proudly a native of Nashville, Tennessee, and lives there with her giant hermit crab, her Bible, and her faithful animal encyclopedia.
