Look and Listen

Biography

Rae was born in Southern California. She has been writing since her early youth and practicing art since as long as she can remember. Her articles and short fiction has appeared in various school publications, online organizations for film & literary studies as well as a local Bay Area art magazine and online spec fiction zines. She studied at the Art Institute of Phoenix where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Arts & Animation. There she also participated in the creation & art direction of her first short animated film which won The 2006 Copper Wing Audience award at the Phoenix Film Festival. She also won an honorable mention in the 73rd Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition for her script ‘Hotel Sunset'. Her first novel Cimmerian City, a science fiction story of the future, will be released Summer 2007.

Inspiration

I grew up surrounded by various sci-fi shows and movies. My father and brother were really into it, so naturally my imagination started latching on to the wonderful instances and stories that strived to answer the question: 'what if'? I read books like I breathed air and I got my hands on anything from young adult books to suspense, to sci-fi and just general fiction. I always read what the older kids were reading and I think a lot of my growing up had to do with some the advanced books I read! :-D Around my teens I got really into the mystery of 40s noir and gangster films. I once did a full report on Al Capone and read The Untouchables book. I loved the cars, the look, the music & the general style of the 40s era and even thought about taking up swing dancing. These two genres couple with my love for visual storytelling in film have made their way into my writing in one way or another. I love exploring the standard of noir in film and fiction and it's always a pleasure to write characters that aren't so cut and dry good or evil. It makes them human and it makes them real. Art: Greg Horn, Stephan Martiniere, Frida Kahlo Writing: Octavia Butler, Philip K. Dick, Seressia Glass Film: David Lynch, Alfred Hitchcock, M. Night Shyamalan