Hi there! I’m Ragini Werner, a lesbian author from the Netherlands
As a lesbian author, I’m devoted to writing sapphic fiction and love crafting relatable, coming-of-age stories centered on positive depictions of queer characters.
I live in a rose-clad cottage in a cozy little village in the far north of the Netherlands with my cheeky little dog Chino, short for Cappuccino (guess my favorite brew). I grew up in Aotearoa / New Zealand which is why I love living here: that grand vista beyond my garden reminds me of the wide open spaces of NZ. Although I was born Dutch, as a late arrival to NL I’ll never be as Dutch as my passport says I am.
Anyway, I’ve been writing since the year dot, stories that I’ve been lucky to have published all over the place, and for years I worked as a journalist in Amsterdam, editing the magazine Elsevier Science World. After that, I set up as a freelance English language editor for Dutch academics, writing only in my spare time, and subsequently published Revealing Philippa. Besides writing for fun, I run a Writers Club and give Short Story Workshops. And go for long walks with little Chino in the lovely Dutch landscape.
If you’re wondering how to say my name, it’s with a hard ‘g’ as in reggae, which funnily enough derives from the same source. Ragini has nothing to do with regina, Latin for queen. It means melody in Sanskrit and is the feminine of raga, the name of the music made famous by Ravi Shankar, sitar guru to George Harrison of the Beatles, and father of Norah Jones.
My latest book
Becoming Janice
In my latest sapphic novel, Becoming Janice, I take readers along on a a young lesbian’s journey of self-discovery set against the vibrant backdrops of 1980s London and Amsterdam. This coming-of-age tale follows Janice as she navigates the intricate maze of queer love, friendship, and personal growth.
In writing this novel, I aimed for an easy-to-read style,wanting to draw readers into Janice’s emotional world with both humor and sensitivity.
As an experienced lesbian writer, I’m offering all readers—no matter where your place is on the spectrum—a fresh perspective on the lesbian fiction genre, reframing conventional sapphic romance in relatable journeys to womanhood in a pivotal era for LGBTQIA+ rights and visibility.
My Bashful Blagger blog
Me, in a nutshell
- My name: Ragini Werner
- Job title: Lesbian author, Sapphic writer
- Description: Ragini Werner was born in Indonesia and grew up in New Zealand before moving to the Netherlands. She writes sapphic coming-of-age novels.
- Place of birth: Jakarta
- Nationality: Dutch
- Lives in: The far north of the Netherlands
- Member of: International Welcome Center North (IWCN), located in Groningen, the Netherlands
- Founder of: The IWCN Writer's Club and Short Story Workshops
- Author of:
- "Becoming Janice" (Published: 2024, Publisher: Iguana Books, Description: A sapphic coming-of-age novel set in Amsterdam and London in the 1980s.)
- "Revealing Philippa" (Published: 2015, Description: A novel exploring lesbian love and friendship against the backdrop of New Zealand community theater.)