Toni Rakestraw

I've performed in several radio plays, including Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing for iTheatricals. It was played online in the late 1990s. When I taught childbirth classes, I provided relaxation tapes that I had recorded to my clients to help them practice. Recent online interviews I've done about the importance of editing or about my writing: http://www.slushheap.com/1/post/2013/05/may-28-2013.html http://lusciousliteraries.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/a-little-something-different-today-luscious-talks-to-an-editor-toni-rakestraw/ http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indiereviews-behind-the-scenes/2013/03/23/indiereview-behind-the-scenes-and-herstory http://www.blogtalkradio.com/edinroad/2012/01/17/author-and-radio-host-john-rakestraw Drama classes at Green River Community College, 1982-88 I read a lot in my other job as a freelance book editor, and I've read long stories aloud to my family for years, keeping everyone interested in a wide range of ages. Acting used to be a favorite pastime, so I draw on that when I read. I've studied midwifery and worked as a labor doula, so I'm familiar with medical terminology and women's concerns, as well as various birth topics like childbirth classes, homebirth, cesarean birth, etc. As a parent to eight children, I'm very familiar with topics like attachment parenting, breastfeeding, and so on. I'm a published author of fiction and non-fiction, both book-length and articles. I co-authored a historical thriller based on the Titanic with my husband called Titanic Deception, as well as published several short stories on Amazon and in anthologies. I'm a contributing editor for Self-Publishing Monthly, a monthly ezine available on Amazon, where I write about editorial topics self-publishing authors need to know.