Cheryl Rainfield is a Canadian author who was born on August 19, 1972 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. She is an incest

Incest

Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...

 and ritual abuse survivor. She battled with abuse by reading numerous books, and by writing and creating art during her early life which opened doors for her as an escape. She is an active feminist and queer

Queer

Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...

. Her favourite pastime is reading. She is a passionate reader, and enjoys writing and creating art. She likes to blog about children and teen books as well. She lives with her dog, Petal, and her cat, Amazon. She currently resides in Toronto, ON.

Volunteer work and education

She has been involved with the Regular Children’s/YA Critique Group for more than 11 years. She volunteers at CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators, and Performers). She completed an editing course at George Brown College in 1999 that covered proofreading, copy editing, substantive editing, and more.

Notable works

Cheryl Rainfield is most famous for her book called Scars. She wrote the first draft in a few short months, and then for over ten years she edited and revised the book more than forty times before it was accepted for publication by WestSide Books. She based the book Scars on some of her personal life experiences. Cheryl Rainfield has many similarities with the protagonist of the story Kendra. Rainfield wrote the book in order to speak out about self-harm, sexual abuse, and being a queer teen, and to help others who've been through those experiences to know that they are not alone, and to encourage greater compassion and understanding in people who don't have those experiences. For the launching of the book, she partnered with the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre because she used this centre as a help line when she was a teen. Cheryl donates a portion of all her earnings from Scars to RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) and the TRCC (Toronto Rape Crisis Centre). The actual cover of the book is a picture of Rainfield’s forearms which shows that she has been through many of Kendra’s pain.

The Healer

It is a compilation of 14 different horror stories. Like most anthologies it contains a variety of stories. The Horrors: Terrifying Tales: Book Two is no different. The stories ranges from the proverbial babysitter gone mad to the necrophilia fairy tale with a twist. The one thread that weaves itself through this collection of stories is teenage angst. Each story deals with an aspect of teen life, and the worst nightmares contained in that demographic come true. The Horrors is a teenager's worst nightmares given breath.

Comfort Food

It is a collection of twenty three writers and seven artists. The vibrant vivid cover represents the contents inside the pages. The common denominator is anything fast food related, and the ensemble runs the gamut from zombie delicacies to child hungry playgrounds. No food was safe, burgers, seafood, even the healthy conscious vegetarian cuisine has a darker ickier side.

The Last Dragon (Dragon Speaker, 1)

Manning, the evil Lord rules through fear and magic over the fallen kingdom in the year 1144. The only hope seems to lie in the prophecy that a dragon speaker will appear to save the people. Jacob, a small young man is an unlikely hero. He walks with a limp and is the only one that can speak to the dragons. When the last dragon returns he is the only one that can communicate with her. Jacob and his friends Orson and Lia must rescue the egg of the world’s last dragon. This is a hi-lo (high interest, low vocabulary) book for reluctant teen readers.

Scars

Scars is a fiction book about Kendra, a queer teen who was sexually abused but doesn't remember who abused her. As her abuser starts leaving her threatening messages, Kendra uses self-harm, as well as art and therapy, to cope. Kendra is aware that she copes with her emotional pain through self-harm and tries to seek help through a therapist. Scars is a compelling story of the teen survivor, Kendra and her journey to becoming a person she wants to be.

SkinWalkers (Walking Both Sides)

Claire and her cousin Kelsey are hunting and Kelsey ends up shooting a deer Skinwalker. They soon find themselves captured by Skinwalker’s seeking revenge. When angry villagers attack the Skinwalker camp, Claire finds herself in a difficult situation. Who will she choose and whose side is she really on? This is a hi-lo (high interest, low vocabulary) book for reluctant teen readers.

Hunted

Hunted is a paranormal fantasy/dystopian book about Caitlyn, a teen telepath in a world where Paranormal powers are illegal. Caitlyn is on the run from government troopers. Whet Caitlyn falls for Alex, a Normal, and discovers dangerous renegade Paranormals, Caitlyn must decide between staying in hiding to protect herself, or taking a stand to save the world. It is a journey in which Caitlin must make decisions in order to do what is right. Cheryl drew on her abuse experiences (and specifically ritual abuse and torture) to write Hunted, just as she did with Scars.

Influences

Cheryl Rainfield is one of the many authors of this day and age that has influenced darker subject matter in novels for the life of teens. With correlation to her writing; she has inspired many to speak out against abuse and feelings of teen angst. Rainfield has also been reviewed in many blogs, newspapers, and magazines such as the Torontoist. In many articles she is portrayed as a notable writer in the subjects of inner strength and about self acceptance. The nature of her books are about love and being a strong individual in the most extreme emotional conditions. Throughout her career, she has also made many public appearances like Daytime Toronto (TV) and as well as numerous radio interviews. On her website Cheryl Rainfield states, “I write about some of the harsh things teens go through…things that shouldn’t be hidden…”. The ideas from her books come from experiences she has faced as a teenager and ones that many young adults may have confronted in their lives.

Many fans are praising her ideas and therefore creating a buzz about her work. One reviewer of her book, Scars, felt that Rainfield opened up understanding of why people harm themselves. She has been a powerful role model for people who have shared similar experiences with self harm and sexual abuse and encouraged them to speak out about it. Another reviewer described her work as edgy and uncomfortable but necessary. Scars is definitely a “story that should be told” and not be hidden for its horrific content. Admirers of her work would say that she has made them feel like they are not alone and because of that; Cheryl Rainfield has become quite an inspiration.

Awards

She was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Awards for Scars, which was also a nominee for the American Library Association

American Library Association

The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....

 (ALA) Stonewall Book Award, and was #1 on YALSA's list of Books for Reluctant Readers, and was on ALA's Rainbow List.

Novels

• The Last Dragon: Dragon Speaker, 1 (2009)
• Scars (March 2010)
• SkinWalkers: Walking Both Sides (2011)
• Hunted (Dec 2011)