One of the first articles I wrote for Motif, years ago, was a review of Heather Rigney’s debut novel, Waking the Merrow. I was immediately locked into the humorous story of Evie McFadden and Nomia, her mermaid nemesis. The Pawtuxet Village setting gave a sense of familiarity that enhanced my enjoyment. Rigney followed that up with two excellent sequels that compose The Merrow Trilogy. The popularity of this trilogy has given her the opportunity to build a fan following, conduct speaking presentations throughout the country, and even open her own art school – steps away from where she wrote the majority of her first novel. To this day, she is one of my favorite authors, and someone I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with on many occasions. “I think finding work, life, and creative balance is integral to the mental health of an artist,” Rigney suggests. “Take the time to schedule joy. You won’t regret it.”
While still writing and partaking in other creative endeavors, Rigney has focused her attention on Orange Anchor Art School, which provides a variety of art-based classes for children and adults. She opened the school in Pawtuxet Village in 2022, and it’s still growing. They offer weekly classes and monthly workshops on a variety of topics. She loves the freedom of being her own boss, but notes that there are challenges to being a one-person show.
“I taught in both public and private for almost twenty years,” Rigney says of her previous career. “That’s a lot of recess/bus/lunch duty, endless faculty meetings and blood-borne pathogen seminars. I don’t have any of those things in my new world. I make my own hours, decide the curriculum and control my own budget. I love the control I have, but I wear all the hats. I’m the custodian, the HR dept, the accountant, the PR person, the web designer, the head of enrollment, and then I get to teach. Juggling all these roles is a real challenge.” Orange Anchor has gained popularity, with multiple classes and sessions reaching capacity, including two summer camp weeks that are already sold out. This has enabled her to welcome her first employee, Alexa Del Piano, to the team. Del Piano has been teaching her own curriculum for the past six years, and has experience teaching art in different states and countries.
Rigney started speaking engagements as a unique way to promote her books. She went down the checklist of in-the-box grassroot marketing ideas, including flyers, press releases, talking to librarians, book release parties and joining the Association of Rhode Island Authors (ARIA). Rigney has a somewhat new novel closely ready for release. She speaks about a novel that she first wrote in 2010, with the help of her (at the time) Aldrich Junior High School students: “In the Fall of 2024 I pulled out the first novel I ever wrote and took a good hard look at it. When I started my journey as a novelist, I was told to write my first novel, then shove it in a drawer – don’t let daylight ever see it ever again. Since many of those students were thirteen at the time, they’re now in their late twenties. The world in which that novel was written is now blanketed in nostalgia and without realizing it, I recorded many of the subtle flavors of that era and have created an odd little time capsule.
The novel takes place in a fictionalized version of the now-defunct Aldrich JHS in Warwick. In this alternate universe, the school is not in Warwick, but on an island off the coast. This island is similar to Plum Island – a research facility for infectious diseases, and the school is for the children of those employed at the facility. Mayhem, zombies, chaos ensues.” Rigney states that her new novel has been completed but still requires some cleaning, formatting, and a cover design. Her hope is to release the book in the summer of 2025, but life gets in the way. Though she loves her successful endeavors, she tries to keep a balance between monetizing her joy and nurturing her soul. •
Find more information about Heather Rigney here heatherrigney. com and Orange Anchor Art School here orangeanchorartschool.com
