Playing that story out in a grieving teenager’s life provided a naturally dramatic platform for that exploration. I wanted to explore identity and free-will in the extreme context of genetic engineering. I knew she would be an intelligent, reserved person, with a strong sense of self, made vulnerable by grief. Evangeline’s voice came to me very quickly. How did you tailor this book to the age-group it reaches?Ĭhoosing a seventeen-year-old protagonist shaped the story by itself. The biggest challenge for me in writing is having perspective – I’m always looking for it and never feel as though I am finding it.ģ. Barbara and Chris Else, who eventually offered to represent me as literary agents, were tremendous guides and advocates for me in developing my craft. Having my work professionally assessed, and later a year of mentoring, made all the difference. I had lots of passion for the story and an obsession with words, but I needed to learn how to write. Writing Spark was a five-and-a-half year-long learning curve from inception to publication. What was the biggest challenge you faced in publishing this book? Tell us a bit about the journey from manuscript to published work. The special abilities didn’t feel like magic – they felt like radioactive spider bite material – something designed in a lab.Ģ. I woke from the dream and knew I had my idea and began to ask lots of questions: how was I so fast/strong etc? How did I know there was someone lost in the dark? Why was it my responsibility etc? Why was someone trying to hurt this person? And the ideas began to flow.
I knew I had to get to this person before a killer did.
Then I was gripped by a terrible sense of urgency and I knew there was someone out there lost in the dark in great danger. In the dream I ran through a forest at night with phenomenal speed, strength and reflexes. I went to sleep and had the dream that became the prologue of Spark. One night I sat on my bed and prayed for an idea. I knew I wanted to write a YA story with a strong female protagonist and I knew I wanted the story to have some kind of fantastical element that gave the character powers or abilities beyond the norm, but I didn’t have a premise. As an author, you must have a lot of ideas floating around. So how did this idea come to fruition? And where in the YA genre does it sit? Here are the answers:ġ. According to Booksellers NZ reviewer, Renee Boyer-Willisson, “Evie is a great protagonist – like the Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen she is a strong female character, but with flaws and insecurities that make her human and relatable.” This is the first in a trilogy, of which the second, Stray, will be published later this year by Walker Books. Rachael Craw has been voted for by teenagers all over New Zealand to become aįinalist in the Children’s Choice Young Adult Fiction category, for her first YA book, Spark.
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