​Rachel grew up in a rural community. She learned the lie of the land from the back of a horse. Her mother's mother was of gypsy lineage and her father's family on his mother's side were blacksmiths. ​Rachel worked in community theatre in her 20s and then with horses on Dartmoor. Rachel has also worked on farms, including hill farming, relief milking and doing field work with a Shire horse called Meg for a farm-based charity. She spent some time living off grid on a mountain in Ireland before returning to Dartmoor, where she married a hill farmer. Rachel has 3 sons.

​In 2010, Rachel trained as a copywriter. She did some subbing for Greenpeace, wrote the Green Page for Broad Sheep Magazine for several years, helped to promote a railway line and walking trail across Wales and wrote copy for the launch of a hydrogen fuel cell car.

Rachel is currently carer for her mum, who has Alzheimer’s. It’s the toughest job yet, and writing fiction is her virtual escape back to the hills.​