Rachel Dacus's Blog

My first published novel, The Renaissance Club, was released in December 2018. It was the culmination of a complicated journey to publication as my first novel. At the time, I had no idea it would become the first book in a series. It was the end of a long, tortured odyssey from first draft to printed novel selling to the public.Hurrah for me! I’ve never told the full story of how this book was published,…

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In the recent years of uncertainty and upheaval, I’ve spent a lot of time in the artist’s house, reading and writing, and tending to my wellbeing by savoring art of all kinds. I’m very happy to let you know my new poetry collection, THE ARTIST’S HOUSE, is now available on Amazon! Paperback and ebook. Thanks to all the poets and artists who continue to inspire me and create our arts community,

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My new poetry is coming! The Artist’s House will release on October 16, 2025.I’ve never been more proud of a book, and really excited to share it with you. A fresh concept in an illustrated package, it will be available in ebook and print. It’s been a long time — seven years — since I published a poetry collection. I was interrupted by the pandemic, a busy work schedule, and other projects. Receiving a poem…

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Two hundred fifty years ago, one of my favorite authors was born. Jane Austen fans are celebrating her birthday with style and fanfare. The iconic romance author is being given parties and new films. Miss Austen, a new Masterpiece Theatre series premiered on May 5.  The delightful French-English rom-com Jane Austen Wrecked My Life revives the great tradition of storytelling with Austen-like wit, satire, and happy ending. Mix-ups and mishaps, costumes and contemporary. Here’s a…

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Calling all creatives: Writers, artists, musicians, people who create and have lively imaginations–do you want to take charge of your books and your work? I do. I want to own my creative life from beginning to end. I came to it through experiences I’ll describe below.I became an indie because publishers have their own ideas of what will sell, and collaborating with them can be rocky, but emerging models of self-publishing offer a wealth of…

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I’m a veteran of publishing poetry books with small presses, but now as a successful self-published novelist, I’m considering how to succeed with self-publishing a poetry book. While it’s true that far fewer readers engage with poetry than with fiction, I know the poetry readers are out there. And I know how to publish a book using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, a good cover designer, and promoting books with ads. What I don’t know is…

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As a veteran of publishing with small presses, and a self-published novelist, I’ve come to consider the idea of self-publishing a poetry book. While it’s true that far fewer readers engage with poetry than with fiction, I know the poetry readers are out there. And I know how to publish a book using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, a good cover designer, and promoting books with ads. What I don’t know is whether poetry readers will…

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Art and artists are a theme in my fiction and poetry. In poetry, it’s called ekphrastic. I’m working on an ekphrastic poetry collection titled The Artist’s House, inspired by my llongtime association with visual artists, musicians, dancers, and writers. My poetry and my novels often feature artists or a response to their work. It’s because I grew up with an artist father who painted constantly and invited many artists to our home and shared studios…

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Abundance in Springtime — and National Poetry Month. April is a delicious combination, offering bounties of beauty, nature, lyricism, and fun. Find a walking trail near you and dream a poem to celebrate! Poetry Month The Academy of American Poets launched this annual celebration of the art in 1996. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events…

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Publishing My Poetry as a Practice Long ago, in a less digital world, I wrote things and sent them through the mailbox to a few print magazines to see if they wanted to publish them. I enclosed a self-address, stamped envelope (the old SASE — anyone remember that acronym?) and waited, often for months. Most of the time, my poems came back to me like homing pigeons in the old SASE, sometimes with an editor’s…

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