About the author
Rochelle Wheatley was born in Kogarah, Sydney in 1991, second daughter of Adele Wheatley and only child to Colin Hillery. She spent the first 4 years of her life growing up in Sans Souci, and after the separation of her parents, Adele, Chantal and Rochelle moved to Uki NSW in 1996, living there until 2002.
Uki was perhaps the family's most loved home: life was fun, whimsical and chaotic. Rochelle, a menace child with an inclination for getting into trouble and running away, was probably cause for most of her mothers greys in that short 6 years. The house itself would also later become inspiration for a house in the ISLE OF FAWE series.
Rochelles mother, Adele, dreamed of living near Mt Warning, which was featured in the childrens animated fantasy movie, "Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest", and only out of a need to be closer to family, such as Adeles mother, aunt, and sisters, did they move away from Uki.
In 2002, they would make the journey back south, ending up in Lithgow NSW, where they all reside to this day, and in 2006 Rochelle became a middle child when Adele had Benjamin.
Rochelle left Lithgow in 2010 for QLD, residing there for 8 years. She and her sister Chantal both ending up living in QLD for a time, however both returned to Lithgow in 2019.
Rochelle attended Lithgow High School from 2003-2008 where she finished her HSC, however she did not pursue higher education afterwards. Instead, Rochelle developed a long working career, first in hospitality roles between 2010 and 2021, moving into service station retail between 2021 and 2025 until finally securing her first full time job as a receptionist in October 2025.
Over the years, Rochelle constantly struggled with indecisiveness and uncertainty about her creative goals, what she truly wanted to pursue professionally and if she had the skillset - let alone the confidence - to set her sights and stick with something long enough. From drawing anime, to pet photography, to film making and writing, her soul always craved a creative outlet to express herself:
However, Rochelle always had one creative field she kept coming back to: writing.
Though still developing her craft, it is the stories and characters with which Rochelle has been compelled to become a writer. Because Rochelle has suffered mental health disorders including clinical depression, anxiety, CPTSD and BPD, she has utilised her struggles by turning to writing as a healthy outlet.
Storytelling has always stuck with Rochelle, and while her sights are now set on turning it into a career, she still has a passion for photography and film making, as her ultimate goal is to travel Australia and capture as many beautiful places as possible in the time she has left on this amazing planet we all call home.
