AUTHOR & ARTIST

COLLEEN RAE

When I write I go to a place in my mind and heart where time does not exist. I believe that I write about journeys in life to which all human beings can relate. I hope that my stories strike a chord of recognition.

BACKGROUND

Colleen Rae began writing in her twenties when she started traveling around the world, keeping journals and travel diaries of all the exotic places she experienced.

She studied Creative Writing, Novel Writing and the Art of the Short Story with Guy Biederman, of Sebastopol, California, an extraordinary teacher and human being. The Fourth Street Writers, a group of eight women who read their writings around the San Francisco Bay Area, were her support group for many years.

Colleen and the Fourth Street Writers published an anthology of short stories, in 2004, entitled, Nearly Naked, by Wordrunner Press of Petaluma, California, Jo Anne Rosen, editor.

Colleen has written six novels; Mohave Mambo is her debut novel, also published by Wordrunner Press.

She has published several articles for dance magazines under her stage name, Kalifa. Recently she published an article in Bellydance Magazine, a tribute to her long-time dance instructor, Bert Balladine who recently passed away.

For the past four years she has worked as a Staff Correspondent for the Local Observer newspaper of Saugatuck, Michigan. 
   
She lives in Western Michigan with her husband, Larry, and her cat, Bubba Bear.
When I write I go to a place in my mind and heart where time does not exist. I believe that I write about journeys in life to which all human beings can relate. I hope that my stories strike a chord of recognition.

For eight years I was part of a writers’ group, the Fourth Street Writers, which brought me great support and connection with my peers. I am also a member of the Marin Branch of the California Writers Club.

An excerpt from my novel Mohave Mambo appears in Nearly Naked, a collection of stories about women who expose themselves both emotionally and spiritually. This book was published in December 2004 by Wordrunner Press of Petaluma and for sale on Amazon here.

I’ve also written several articles for an online magazine, The Gilded Serpent, under my stage name, Kalifa. They are vignettes of my years as a professional belly dancer.

I have been a painter for thirty years. My paintings hang in collections from Paris to Tahiti. Several of my paintings are shown here. Although painting is still important to me, these days I release most of my passion through writing. .