Rae of Light

Rosemary Hayes was brought up and educated in the UK but has also lived in France, America and Australia. She has a background in publishing (with Cambridge University Press and later running her own company, Anglia Young Books). Her first novel, Race Against Time , set in Australia, was runner-up for the Kathleen Fidler Award. Since then she has written over forty books for children which have been published in the UK and Australia by several leading imprints. A feature length film of one of her books, The Blue-Eyed Aborigine which retells one of the most extraordinary, and violent, events in Australia’s history, is currently in development. Her most recent books, The Mark , a fast moving novel about two teenagers on the run and The Travellers , four stories about gypsy children, were published in August 2015. As well as writing for children, Rosemary is also a reader for a well known Author’s Advisory Service and runs creative writing workshops for both adult...

Being an ex South African, rooting out discrimination of any sort is very important to me.  My maternal grandfather was highly political and did hard labour for his activities in the ANC.  My mother stayed out of politics; perhaps because she and her siblings had suffered the hardships her dad’s imprisonment dealt the family.  But she was not afraid to voice her opinions in as strident a way as possible.  And while at times I was embarrassed by my mother’s loudness, over time I came to value her openness and questioning attitude. She instilled in me a deep love of reading.  But more importantly she fostered the idea that I should not take everything read as concepts set in stone.  In a recent Twitter post on how to get children to read, Joanne Harris said it so much better than I do.  My childhood reading, along with people skills learnt from my dad has definitely helped me become the adult I am today.  And while I’ve n...