Rachel grew up in Yellow Springs, a small college town in southwestern Ohio, but she has lived in the Boston area for more than half her life. She loves being close to the ocean but she still finds comfort in the vast flat landscapes of the Midwest.

Rachel began writing at the age of six. She is eternally grateful for the encouragement of her second grade teacher, Mary Porter-Chase, who believed in her writing even when it was only the work of a second grader.

Rachel has played the 'cello since the age of ten and she began taking tap dance lessons after she was well into adulthood. Her favorite piece of chamber music to play is Beethoven's Archduke Trio and she loves tap dancing to the music of Oscar Peterson and Prince (and pretty much anyone else).

Rachel is married to Kevin McCarthy, an artist who works with found objects [circleofrust.com]. She is the mother of Nancy McCarthy, a clothing and costume designer [queenofbirds.com] and Margaret McCarthy, a musician and composer [soundcloud.com/midatlanticrift].

Rachel lives in Arlington, Massachusetts.