Mahalia Rae

About Me

Need someone who's obsessive about attention to detail and reader experience to write or edit for you? I can help.

I have 7 years of experience in SEO copywriting and editing, and 8 years of experience total in professional editing and writing. Please note that I've worked as a digital marketing ghostwriter under an NDA for many years; therefore, my portfolio has a lot of spec work to demonstrate the types of projects I've previously done.

Outside of copywriting, I write, edit, and review fiction—specifically sci-fi, horror, and fantasy. I currently serve as Assistant Editor for the literary magazine The Fantastic Other and as a reviewer for the literary magazine Decolonial Passage. I have previously interned at a university literary journal, Glint Journal, as a fiction and creative nonfiction editor and book reviewer.

Copywriting Spec Work

Below are spec work projects I have completed that demonstrate my copywriting and/or design abilities.

Content Writing & Other Writing

Examples of my other writing below.

Up & Coming Weekly •

Walk on wild side at Parkton Animal Oasis Summer Fest - Up and Coming Weekly

Petting zoos with barnyard favorites such as sheep and rabbits are fun, but what if you could get up close and personal with emus, ostriches and wallabies? Parkton Animal Oasis offers a chance to meet these critters and more at their Summer Fest.On Saturday, Aug. 1, families can enjoy a day full of outdoor action featuring yard games and exotic animal experiences. The Summer Fest will run from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 1585 Armory Road in Parkton. No need to fill up on food beforehand; food trucks wil...
Up & Coming Weekly •

UWCC meal packing event provides food for underserved community members - Up and Coming Weekly

Making a difference in your community can be as simple as dedicating one of your lunch hours to helping provide meals for those in need. That’s just what United Way of Cumberland County is asking residents to do with their upcoming Meal Packing Event.
On Friday, Aug. 14, UWCC will host its 2026 Meal Packing Event at the Crown Expo Center at 1960 Coliseum Drive. Hours will extend from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This annual event provides underserved residents throughout the community with meals distribut...
Up & Coming Weekly •

Teens tap into their creativity with sewing camps from The Sewing Fix - Up and Coming Weekly

Keeping the youth engaged and actively learning new skills is crucial to avoiding the common loss of knowledge and skills known as “summer slide.” Raeford business The Sewing Fix is doing its part to instill new skills and nurture confidence and creativity with its Teen Summer Sewing Series for learners aged 12 to 17.
“I believe sewing uses so many skills that cross over with their school classes,” said Cristy Hunter Myers, the owner, lead technician and teacher at The Sewing Fix. 
Examples of...
Up & Coming Weekly •

New workshop series empowers Fayetteville youth - Up and Coming Weekly

This summer, middle and high schoolers throughout Fayetteville can gain life skills and boost their self-confidence through free workshops hosted by the Julia Mae Community Foundation. Parents and guardians looking to keep their children engaged and safe while school is out can register them for workshops covering diverse interests, including skin care and hygiene, trade skills and budgeting and money management.
Established in 2024, the Julia Mae Community Foundation operates with the mission...
Up & Coming Weekly •

Cooling centers keep residents safe as summer heat rolls in - Up and Coming Weekly

The start of summer in North Carolina means soaring temperatures, and keeping cool is more important than ever as our summers grow hotter. State agencies such as the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality have shared that over 5,700 heat-related emergency room visits occurred across the state in 2025. However, securing reliable cooling can be difficult for unhoused individuals and those without air conditioning systems.
Cooling Centers across Cumberland County provide a reprieve for...
Up & Coming Weekly •

Ready plates, appetites for Great Hope Mills BBQ Throwdown - Up and Coming Weekly

The best pitmasters will go head to head in the Great Hope Mills BBQ Throwdown on Thursday, July 2, hosted by the Hope Mills Parks & Recreation Department. Get ready to chow down at your new favorite annual event. This brand-new competition is part of the Independence Day celebrations that will be happening through the latter part of June and into July, marking the milestone of America’s 250th anniversary.
The barbecue competition will be held indoors in the Town of Hope Mills Recreation Center...
Up & Coming Weekly •

Join Hope Mills for 4th of July, America 250 celebrations - Up and Coming Weekly

Festivities for the United States Semiquincentennial are underway as cities across North Carolina prepare to host celebrations for this once-in-a-lifetime event. This year’s Independence Day marks a special occasion — the 250th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence, the founding document that announced the separation of the 13 colonies from Great Britain.
One such event celebrating the occasion is happening close to home. The Hope Mills Parks & Recreation returns wi...
Mina Loy - Navigating the Avant-Garde •

Black Artists and the Avant-Garde

The early 20th century avant-garde came to be largely through the charismatic leadership of white, European male artists who wanted to revolutionize art and do away with traditional art and ideas. Antonis Glytzouris notes that many avant-gardists were anti-capitalist and called for fellow artists and citizens alike to abandon the ideals of society and live freely as a “challenge to the bourgeois status quo” (133). Avant-gardists advocated not just for creative freedom, but for economic and socia...
Glint Literary Journal •

Mahalia Cooks’ Review of Janis Thomas’ All That’s Left of Me

All That’s Left of Me, Janis Thomas’ most recently published novel, depicts Emma Davies, who is exhausted by her suburban life and its challenges and tends to take her family for granted. Through Thomas’ use of first-person perspective, the reader is placed in Emma’s shoes, taking on her hardships. Emma’s relationship with her husband has long since gone cold, her seventeen-year-old daughter, Kate, is becoming more independent—and, therefore, more rebellious—and her fifteen-year-old son, Josh, h...

Fiction/Nonfiction Editing & Reviewing

Projects I have edited or served as a volunteer reader for.

Social Media Work

Social media accounts that I have created posts for.