About Tirzah Rae

Fiction that fights for light amid darkness

I have the standard ‘author bio’ that’s all formal and distant, but chances are you’re looking for something that goes a little deeper. Well, look no further. 

The power of story has always compelled me. Before I could even read, I created make-believe worlds and adventures while playing with my siblings. And when I learned that books offered the same sort of adventures, I was rarely seen without one. I soon found that stories with the most harrowing face-offs against evil also had the most powerful and emotional endings when light finally won. The books I loved best had friendships, found family, intrigue, magic, a bit of romance, some sarcastic humor, and a touch of tragedy. From Frodo leaving the Shire even after saving Middle Earth, to Anne Shirley losing Matthew after only a few years with the family she always longed for, books with that touch of tragedy, even in a happy ending, stuck with me. 

So, when tragedy struck my own life, leaving death in its wake, I knew I had a choice to make. I could let myself be consumed by the darkness of grief (and some days that seemed like the only real option), or I could rise toward the Light that I knew still existed. It took a long time before I was ready to make the choice, and even then it was far from easy, but Jesus has never left me. And when, with His help, I finally climbed to my feet and began to move forward, I realized that the words and stories I’d worked on for years were gaining new depth. Panthera Rising, the project I’m working to publish, took on new themes and new meaning. The characters became more human as I better understood their painful pasts. And Romans 8:28, a Bible verse I’d been plagued by in my grief, took on new meaning. It says, “We know God works all things together for good for those who love Him.” The tragic death in my family was not good, it was awful. Grief doesn’t go away, it just changes, and I will always carry it with me. And yet, both I and my writing have grown in ways I never imagined. Perhaps that would have happened anyway, I’ll never know this side of heaven. I’m not happy about the things I’ve lived through. But if my stories help you or someone else feel seen, or offer even a glimpse of Jesus and His love for you, then that is very ‘good’. 

Thank you for reading this. If you’d like to sign up for my email list and tell me your story, I’d love to hear it. We need each other in this life, and your story has power too, just like mine does. 

Keep rising toward the Light, friend. 

SKYWARD, 

Tirzah Rae