Lives forged by Tragedy: From Cult to Best Selling Author

Born in Malden, Massachusetts in 1973, author Rachel Melody (Humphrey) D’aigle lived in the suburbs of Boston with her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles; it was clearly an American dream in the making; that is, until October of 1973, when The Great Chelsea Fire destroyed the family home and business, scattering a once close knit family to various corners of the country.

From this single tragedy a new life was cast for Rachel; over the years, her family was often homeless, living with friends or family, or in homes without electricity or running water, and, on one occasion, even an open field. As they scrounged for work and places to live, hoping for miracles, her parents fell into the open arms of a cult, which took them to the great State of Maine.

Her childhood, though unstructured in the way of a stable home or regular education, was structured in great detail by the cult her family had joined.

She began writing as a teenager, at the same time reading every book she could get her hands on; her favorites, George Orwell, Richard Adam’s, J.R.R. Tolkien, Madeleine L’Engle and “anything Ray Bradbury”; she would read nightly under her bed covers with a flashlight, until she could no longer keep her eyes open. She credits books, writing, and music, for getting her through childhood.

As the family grew they did finally settle down in the town of Freedom, Maine, where Rachel graduated from Mount View High School.

Writing again became an outlet for Rachel to express herself, and her first published works are now available to the public. It is being hailed as entertaining, heart-wrenching, and daringly dark. In her young adult fantasy series, The Journals of The Jacoby Odyssey, she delves into the darkness of her past, telling a somewhat embellished version of her life story; a life of betrayal, lies, and an endless search for truth.

Book One, entitled Magicante, begins the Odyssey, as thirteen year old twins, Meghan and Colin Jacoby, who's lives become entwined with a caravan of magical Gypsies.

In Book Two, Ghosts of Grimble, one of the twins’ lives hangs by a thread, as the other must overcome a great fear in order to fight a new and determined enemy, and thus, save their siblings life.

Book Three in the series, entitled, Eidolon’s Valley, is expected Fall of 2008.


To purchase her books, use the storefront below.

They hold the secret that could heal the Magical World!

The only problem is thirteen year old twins,

Meghan and Colin Jacoby, don’t know it yet.

But others do.

The Odyssey Begins …