Interview With Author Rachael Wright
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Rachael Wright is a Colorado native with degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University. For nearly a decade Rachael has been a contributing columnist to Colorado Politics, the Colorado Springs Gazette, and the Denver Gazette. Rachael is a keen Scottish historian and is a member of the country’s 1745 Association, which is dedicated to Jacobite history. The Twins of Strathnaver, her debut novel, is a blend of magical realism, folklore, and history. It has been hailed by New York Times Bestselling Author Breanne Randall as “Sweeping and powerful … a lush world with characters that will burrow into your heart and a story that will linger long after the last page.”
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Twins of Strathnaver comes out 23 September 2025 with Green Avenue Books. I was inspired by my love of not only the country’s history but also the folklore and mythology. Central to the story is a skirmish of the Jacobite Uprising in 1746 which saw more than £13,000 sail into the Kyle of Tongue meant for Prince Charles’ army in Inverness. It’s a fascinating story.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My husband once was home when I had a big writing day and the kids were at school and he couldn’t concentrate on his own work because I kept getting up from my desk and then sitting back down. I take so many little brain breaks. I don’t just sit at my computer and write. Although one weekend I was so in the zone I wrote over 10,000 words. I’ve never managed to accomplish that again.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
JRR Tolkien first and foremost but also Jane Austen, the Brönte’s, Thomas Hardy, Alastair Moffat’s Scotland history books, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I’m also reading A LOT of Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, right now because he’s such a palate cleanser and I have a spot for the interbellum years in England.
What are you working on now?
I just finished my next novel which I’m pitching as Far From the Madding Crowd meets Claire Fraser. It’s set in Scotland after the Highland Clearances.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Right now Threads is amazing for connecting with readers
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Nothing happens right away in the book world. I self-published seven books before this and honestly it’s taken about a decade of solid work for my writing to get to the level it is at now—I’m not saying I’m Jane Austen or Thomas Hardy, but it does take years of hard work to learn all the things you need to learn about writing books. I also write professionally for my day job, I’m a journalist. Keep going. I’m a historian so I have a bit of a problem calling them the “query trenches” but querying is hard for all the rejection you face but you wrote a book!!! It’s amazing. Most people don’t do that. I’m so proud of you for just writing the thing.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
An overnight sensation has 10,000 hours worth of hard graft behind them.
What are you reading now?
To End all Wars by Adam Hochschild also an old book on the Province of Strathnaver
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am neck deep in getting prepared for the publication of The Twins of Strathnaver and then I will be querying literary agents again this summer with my next book. It’s going to be a crazy year!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Lord of the Rings (as a set), The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, The ’45 by Christopher Duffy.
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