Rachel Spangler never set out to be a New York Times-reviewed author. They were just so poor during seven years of college that they had to come up with creative forms of cheap entertainment. Their debut novel, Learning Curve, was born out of one such attempt. Since writing is more fun than a real job and so much cheaper than therapy, they continued to type away, leading to the publication of Trails Merge, The Long Way Home, LoveLife, Spanish Heart, Does She Love You, Timeless, Heart of The Game, Perfect Pairing, Close to Home, Edge of Glory, In Development, Love All, Full English, Spanish Surrender, Fire and Ice, Straight Up, Modern English, Thrust, Plain English, Heartstrings, Christmas Mouse, Seeking Approval, Quiver, Informed Consent, and Relationship Material. Now a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, an IPPY, Goldie, and Rainbow Award winner, and the 2018 Alice B. Reader recipient, Rachel plans to continue writing as long as anyone, anywhere, will keep reading.

In 2018 Spangler joined the Bywater Books substantive editing team and worked their way up to the rank of senior romance editor. They now proudly offer substantive editing services for private clients and love having the opportunity to mentor young authors. In 2025 they founded their own publishing LLC called Bigger Table Books to further embody their commitment to creating safe and inclusive spaces to tell queer stories.

Known to friends as Rey, Spangler lives in Western New York with wife, Susan and son, Jackson. Their family spends the long winters curling and skiing. In the summer, they love to travel and watching their beloved St. Louis Cardinals. Regardless of the season, Rachel always makes time for a good romance, whether reading it, writing it, or living it.

The Family

In 2004, I married the woman of my dreams. Dr. Susan Spangler is an English professor, which comes in handy for proofreading all my work before I turn it in to my editors, and it’s a big job because I can’t use a comma properly to save my life. She is also my sounding board, my motivational coach, my biggest fan, and my best friend. You know the old maxium, “write what you know”? Maybe that’s why I write romance, because even after two decades together, I keep falling more in love with her every day.

In 2007 we welcomed our son, Jackson, to our lives, and everything has been a little more awesome ever since. Jackie is a Renaissance kid. He loves sports, and he has yet to find one he doesn’t excel at, though tennis is the primary passion right now. He also plays the violin and dabbles in the guitar and is an avid reader. 

While we currently live near the shores of Lake Erie in Western New York, our family loves to travel, and in addition to regular trips around the US and Canada, we also spent eight months in England, and we try to get back there as frequently as we can. We usually like to eat our away through any new place we visit, and we’re almost always up for a good road trip to a sporting event, or an outdoor adventure. In the long, snowy winters we all love to ski and curl. If you follow me on social media, you’re likely to see a lot of pictures of us out and about doing everything from hiking to paddle boarding to exploring new, wild, and wonderful new locales. 

I hope you connect online and follow us along the way.