Crafting Tales with a Twirl

Rayshell E. Clapper lives and loves in Martinez, CA, where she spends her time with words as a writer and a Professor of English at Diablo Valley College. She began her teaching career in 2002 and has found her dream job at DVC. She’s deeply involved with the literary community of her campus bringing authors to read, hosting the biannual Literature Week, and planning mini-workshops for creative writers. She loves teaching about the power of words, helping students tap into that power, and spreading her enthusiasm for writing and reading.

At the tender age of four she wrote her first story about a duck and an elephant, which her mother still has. She was hooked and has written since then. She earned her Master of Arts from the University of Oklahoma concentrating in Creative Writing (theory and craft) and American Literature. She then earned a Master of Education from East Central University in English Education. In 2019, she completed her Master of Fine Arts from the Red Earth MFA program at Oklahoma City University. Her manuscript of short stories includes fables, fairy tales, fantasy, and mainstream literature. But truly, all her work has a little bit of mythology and the faerie, even that which is based in reality. She’s been published in several virtual journals including Dragon Poet Review, CyberSole, Sugar Mule, redOrbit, and Steam Register. She’s most honored to have Finishing Line Press publish her chapbook collection of fables.

Mythology and fairy tales are her passion. When not reading for her job, she spends most of her time in these worlds, reading classical myths and fairy tales as well as modern re-envisionings. These are her favorites. She is a folklorist.

Beyond words, she draws inspiration from spending her time outdoors: hiking, camping, gardening, and exploring. She grounds herself in Nature and the earth. She credits this to her Virgo sun. Nothing will calm her more than walking in nature or digging in the dirt. And her plants bring her such peace and joy.

She’s blessed with two dogs—Leeli and Corsi—and one humongous cat—Big Ben. Together they provide each other much love and therapy. She’s also blessed with a partner who loves her (and puts up with her fussiness) and provides support and space for her to grow.

The most important thing in the world to Rayshell is love. She loves deep and eternal. Her partner, her friends, her family, and her plants and pets inspire her to grow and be her best self to love and support them.

When not loving words, Nature, pets, or her people, Rayshell can be found learning something new. Everything is an opportunity, and she grabs onto those as often as she can.