We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rachel Newhouse. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rachel below.

Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

In March of 2018, I quit writing.

I don’t mean I went on hiatus and took a break from writing. I mean I QUIT. I unpublished all my titles, closed down my Patreon, and deleted my author website and socials. “Aubrey Hansen,” the penname I was writing under at the time, ceased to exist.

Why? I was going through a divorce.

Everything in my life ground to a halt. My dog and I moved into a friend’s basement. I stepped down from teaching Sunday school. I changed jobs. The only thing I had in my bank account was my last paycheck; I had to buy a trash can for my new apartment on a credit card.

And my writing suffered most of all.

It wasn’t just the financial pressures of divorce proceedings or the physical pressures of balancing multiple jobs to pay for the new apartment. It was also the constant emotional turmoil. Going through the shame of divorce destroyed my self-worth. I didn’t even know who I was anymore–how could I find the energy to be creative?

Of course, my story doesn’t end there. God and my church family put me back together. I’m now happily remarried, am completely free of depression and anxiety, and have been promoted at my “day job.” And, in March of 2022, when the time was right, I started writing again. My current series has 11 books and counting and has been an Amazon bestseller in its category on multiple occasions.

Why am I telling you all of this? To show you that there’s nothing you can’t come back from.

When I got divorced, I quit writing. I didn’t just stop writing books; I deleted my entire business. I killed my brand. Coming back from that was not easy. Not only did I have to start from scratch with building a brand-new audience, but I had the challenge of rebranding an existing series under a new name. There are days I still regret letting my brand die; how much further could I be if I’d kept going and nurtured those readers instead of abandoning them and having to start over?

But even though my writing and my audience looks different now, my passion is still the same. My creative ability came back, and now I’ve found a new purpose for writing. I am still becoming the author I was always meant to be. So no matter what setbacks you’ve experienced, it’s not too late. That creative ability is still inside of you, and the world still needs to see it. There is still time to create the art you’re destined to create.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi there! My name is Rachel Newhouse, and I’m an independent author from Kansas City, Missouri. I’ve been unofficially creating stories as long as I can remember. My mother insisted that the library be our second home, and my brother and I spent long hours inventing elaborate stories with LEGOs and other toys. Our outlandish sagas would go on for weeks.

And then, somewhere around the age of fourteen, the lightbulb went on. I had to write a short story for a school assignment. I don’t remember a single thing about the story itself, but I do remember the praise my mother gave the assignment. I remember the exact moment the switch in my brain flipped as I stared at my paper and realized, “I can write stories down.”

I got my feet wet writing fanfiction (a practice I still highly recommend for aspiring writers) and then quickly switched over to original works. What started as a hobby quickly turned into an obsession and then a lifestyle, and in September of 2011, at the age of twenty, I self-published my first book, RED RAIN. That title went on to spawn a series that is now 11 books and counting.

Although I love a variety of genres, my passion lies with clean Christian science fiction. I strongly believe that Christian fiction can and should involve more than romance and that “clean” does not equal “boring.” My goal is to broaden people’s definition of “Christian fiction” while providing wholesome but entertaining sci-fi for teen and middle-grade readers. Not only do I want to share my love of sci-fi with others, but I also want to equip parents and educators who are working with struggling or reluctant readers by providing them with engaging books in an accessible format. Space is truly the final frontier for Christian and clean fiction writers, and I aim to lead the way with my series.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I’m sure all authors will agree with me on this one, but nothing replicates the feeling of deep satisfaction I get when a reader enjoyed my book. It’s not just about the positive reviews (although those are extremely helpful!)–it’s about knowing that something I created brought joy to someone else. I invited someone else to share in my imagination, and they enjoyed the journey. Nothing compares to the feeling of realizing the world you created now exists outside of yourself.

That’s why I strongly encourage all writers to explore in-person marketing. For me, this involves selling my books at conventions, craft fairs, etc. There is an immense joy in engaging with people face-to-face–that magical moment when you hand your book to someone, they read the back cover, and they go “This sounds great!” I always come away encouraged and refreshed after selling my books at an in-person event, and it has truly helped bring the joy back into writing.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

“All writers are readers” may be true in theory, but being “a reader” does not involve reading a certain number of books a year (or a month, or a week!).

“Become a reader” is a piece of advice that is frequently repeated to aspiring writers, and it’s good advice. To create a good story, you have to know what a good story is, and the best way to learn good storytelling is to consume good storytelling. What’s NOT helpful about this advice is all the shame and judgmentalism many writers will cast on other people’s reading habits. More than once I have had people question my writing ability–or accuse me of not being a writer at all–based on how many books I have or have not read in the past month.

Not only is this an incredibly petty barrier to put in front of an aspiring writer, but it discredits the fact that there are multiple ways to consume story. TV and movies are story. Video games are story. Some writers, like me, consumed volumes of story at a young age and are producing out of that overflow. To shame a writer for their reading habits makes for a divisive community and puts the focus on the wrong metrics. The goal is to learn to tell a good story, not shelve a certain number of books on your library app.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rachelnewhouse.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelnewhouse91/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Rachel-Newhouse-Author/100086369395869/
• Other: https://www.patreon.com/rachelnewhouse

Image Credits
All images (c) Rachel Newhouse