A native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, she is author of “Mark Antony and Popular Culture: Masculinity and the Construction of an Icon” - a fascinating account of this classic historical figure and his reception in popular culture including Hollywood movies and television. Her first novel, The Edge of Heaven (winner of the Irish Writers' Centre Novel Fair Competition 2014), was published by Liberties Press in June 2016.

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Rachael's novel, 'The Edge of Heaven,' won the Irish Writers' Centre Novel Fair Competition 2014, while her short story, 'Blumelena,' was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize 2012. 'Long Anna River' won the Orange Northern Woman Short Story Award and was later featured in an anthology of short stories called The Barefoot Nuns of Barcelona,' while 'The Night Sky In November' was runner-up in the White Tower Publishing Short Story Competition. Her poem, 'A Five Yard Odyssey,' won The Battle of the Bards.