Rachel Betterley
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Rachel Betterley was born March 2, 1991, in the river town city of Hastings, Minnesota. Raised on a hobby farm, she found joy undergoing adventures in the countryside and role-playing. At a young age, Rachel was gifted in the arts and immersed herself in creating fantastical characters and epic worlds. “I was always holding a pencil.” She recalls. “I was the daydreaming, artsy kid constantly drawing new worlds and realities. As a teenager, I filled entire notebooks with stories and carried them around like they were my lifeline.” She began writing novels at age fourteen, which were read by several thousands of online readers. In 2009, she was fan-voted “Best Fantasy Author” on Booksie. Likewise, Rachel has always been a people person, which is why she decided to become an art teacher. At nineteen, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in art education at the University of Minnesota Duluth and later received a master’s of art education degree at Boston University.
During that time, she taught internationally at Danila Kumar International School in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Osseo High School, and North View Junior High in Brooklyn Park, MN. Currently, she serves as the high school art teacher at North Woods School in northern Minnesota. After having a difficult time finding scholarships to help pay for college, she discovered the Miss America Organization. Rachel’s life changed dramatically when she was crowned the 80th anniversary Miss Minnesota on June 13th, 2015. During this time, she served as the state ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and underwent a one-year anti-bullying awareness campaign that reached over 10,000 youth across the state of Minnesota. The experience brought her over $20,000 in scholarships and inspiration for her novel, Crown of the Chakras. Rachel has appeared on Fox 9, WDIO, Channel 12 News, Twin Cities News Talk, AM1280 The Patriot, AM 1460 KDWA, KBFT Bois Forte Tribal Community Radio, and Zandolee Media. Nationally, she has appeared on Good Morning America and the Miss America Pageant live on ABC. Her role as Miss Minnesota inspired many aspects of her writing surrounding the topic of identity and feminism.
“In a funny way, the entire persona of being a real-life ‘queen’ gave me the experience to authentically write about kings and queens in my stories.” She commends. Through her evolving adventures, Rachel always found herself yearning to write, drawing inspiration from people she met across the country. Rachel’s writing arcs have always focused on fantasy, humor, romance, and making a diverse range of characters that are entertaining for young readers. She believes the best way to fall in love with a character is through their speech, quirkiness, and actions. Her recent completed manuscripts, Crown of the Chakras and The Hearts of Phoenix are a testament to this style. She enjoys hosting for media shows, events, ?and organizations. Her goal as a public figure and writer is to inspire young minds to live their life as authentically as possible, no matter how weird, outrageous, or creative that may be. She affirms “the confidence to express yourself at any age is invaluable to your happiness and goal-setting. When you embrace the inner-self that is truly fueling your passions, you set your mind free from negative and monotonous thoughts that no longer serve you.”
