A life-threatening lung condition in pregnancy motivated a Devonport mum Rachael Atkins to fulfil her dream of writing and illustrating children’s books.
Rachael Atkins was only two weeks away from her due date in October 2019 when she started experiencing agonising chest pains.
Rachael Said:
“It was Halloween night, of all things, I started getting pain in my chest like heartburn and it just got worse and worse. I was very lucky to have had an uneventful pregnancy until then and suddenly I was in the Emergency Department. It turned out I had blood clots on both my lungs, a bilateral pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal.”
A week later, Rachael’s baby girl was delivered safely by C-section.
“My husband and I felt so blessed to have our daughter. But it was also a very dark and scary time, mentally and physically. A few months later the whole country was going through a very dark and scary time with Covid. I think all of that affected the way I thought about things. I didn’t want to put anything off. I had dreamed, like a lot of people, of writing books for a long time and I decided to just do it.”
Rachael began working on her debut work Feathers McGee (previously known as Ow-Em-Gee) on her phone while her baby daughter napped in her arms.
“My daughter loved to sleep on me and I loved it too. It did leave me with a lot of time sat quite still on the sofa with my brain ticking over! I had taken voluntary redundancy from my job in journalism and I was classed as vulnerable under the lockdown rules because of the clots, so I wasn’t going anywhere. Thinking about the book gave me something to focus on.”
Rachael has been writing stories her whole life – from making her own comic books as a little girl, to completing an English degree, contributing to a local wedding magazine, and in her career as a journalist. Producing her own books felt like the next logical step.
“When the book was published, I was so proud of it, I’ve got three out now and I’m planning to do many more. The reaction I get when I visit schools and read to children is just the best – their faces light up. Some even send me their own drawings of the characters. It blows me away.”
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Rachael’s rhyming picture books are titled Brian the Dandelion, Feathers McGee, and The Snail Mail and are all available on Amazon.
“Producing books is a slightly addictive process, I’ll see a snail in the garden or a bird in the park and feel inspired. Or, sometimes my daughter, who’s now four, will come out with something bonkers and instantly it feels like a book.”
Book production is a family affair now with journalist husband Paul taking on editing duties and her daughter on quality control.
“I love that we’re all involved. I rely on Paul’s eagle eyes to hunt for stray commas and give me feedback about what works and what doesn’t. I try not to let my ego get in the way. What matters is whether the story works. Our little girl is the perfect critic at her age. She’s very quick to tell me what she thinks. They’re both my secret weapons!”
Feathers McGee, The Snail Mail, and Brian the Dandelion are available on Amazon via www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Rachael-Atkins/author/B08FZKMCVH
Follow Rachael on Facebook at facebook.com/ratkins.writes and Instagram @ratkins.writes
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