Who is Renae?
My family stretches back to at least three generations of farmers on both my mum and my dad’s side. I spent my formative years, growing up on a property in Oura, a small town north of Wagga Wagga, NSW that bred cattle and hosted the odd ostrich sale. My childhood was littered with animals – working and house dogs, the odd run in with a brown snake or two, an injured cockatoo, a long neck turtle and later a cockatiel named Harry who called everyone “Gorgeous”. That’s only a handful!
I strongly believe that farm life, and small town living gets under your skin and never actually leaves you.
Currently..
I’m currently living in Queensland, in the Moreton Bay region and I share my home with my
husband, two little bookworms, a couple of never-say-die goldfish (whose names keep changing on the whims of my 7yr old), four egg-cellent chickens named Kentucky-Chuck, Madam Cluckington, Henny Penny and Mrs Bean, and two gorgeous dogs. Our black Labrador cross, Bliss (whose personality matches her name) and Australian shepherd cross Zebby – it’s impossible to get a good photo of the two of them together, but they’re great mates! We also have a giant grey kangaroo who likes to visit our yard for breakfast occasionally, only until the dogs wake up.
By day, I’m a qualified social worker and I’ve spent the last fifteen years working in the child protection field. By night, I escape to those romantic rural fictional realms of my childhood. My stories are a combination of the exploration of social issues and their impact on communities and individuals in a small town setting all on the journey to finding (or keeping) love.
My writing has taken me on a journey I never thought I’d be on. I’m a member of the Romance
Writers of Australia (RWA), Australian Society of Authors and the Queensland Writers Centre. In
2023, I won the RWA’s Sapphire Award for Best Unpublish Manuscript by a Published Author, and in 2026, my books Second Chance Station and A Rush Creek Christmas were Romantic Book of the Year (RuBY) finalists. I’ve met some absolutely fantastic people along the way!
“My writing has taken me on a journey I never thought I’d be on.”
— Renae Black
Five fun facts about me
- I hate coffee
- If there’s a spider I’ll be running in the other direction
- My favourite week of the year is Shark Week (on the discovery channel)
- I’m geographically and directionally challenged – honestly, don’t follow me anywhere! I get lost in shopping centres all the time.
- I’ve been knee boarding since the age of 3 and water skiing a few years after that
renaeblack.com 