I’ve always loved to write. I placed in a 3^rd grade county wide writing completion. I had a poem published in a local newspaper in 7^th grade. After that I stuck to reading and really didn’t get back into writing until 2000. I started slowly, but it wasn’t until 2005 I think, that I truly had a desire to become a writer. So for me, it was like a teeter-totter through life. Knowing I loved to read and write, but never taking the writing part as a serious option until recently.

My inspiration for Summer’s Shadow came from several sources. One was a short adult fantasy I wrote many years ago that used the Void as a prison and reading about astral projection. I combined the ideas and felt the best place to set the story was in the present and in a place I used to live. Everything just clicked.

After I write a rough draft and revise it once, I like to use Beta Readers to give me pointers on structure, plot, characterization and any grammar issues they come across. After that I’ll revise again and then an editor and I will go back and forth with the story until we are satisfied. I have learned, editing my own material over and over is a huge mistake and only creates further problems.

The most challenging part about writing Summer’s Shadow was writing from Valeck’s POV. With him stuck in the Void, and being Sierra’s main love interest, I couldn’t have him only be present in the story when Sierra crossed over and saw him. I decided that writing a chapter here and there from his perspective within the Void would be best for the story and for his character. So interweaving Valeck into the story without causing repetitive information and making it seem fresh from his view was the most difficult part.

My writing goals for 2014 are to finish book two of Sierra Winters and the Void series, Fall’s Fury. I plan to query my YA contemporary mystery soon and hopefully get an agent for it.  I also want to finish my YA thriller. I also plan to complete a screenplay for the Nichols Fellowship competition.

Right now I’m working on Fall’s Fury and they YA contemporary mystery novel.

Summer’s Shadow

Title: Summer’s Shadow

Author: Craig MacLachlan

Genre: YA Fiction

When seventeen-year-old Sierra Winters watches her physical body sink to its death, she realizes a shining silver cord connects her two halves together, but it breaks off from her bellybutton, sinks with her body, and then everything changes when a mysterious boy named Valeck saves her life.

Sierra soon discovers she has stumbled upon a mysterious realm known as The Void, which is filled with mystery, intrigue, danger and love. But upon returning to The Void, she is met by a sinister man known as Maven Kodiak who can manipulate his surroundings into a sickening Rot. Maven wants the power of her silver cord all for himself so he can enter the physical world and conquer it.

On the run from Maven, Sierra struggles to understand her abilities and powers which yield some surprising results. As she and Valeck fall in love, Sierra discovers he is keeping a vital secret from her.

Can Sierra be happy sharing her life between both realms, or will she be forced to choose one over the other forever?

Author Bio

Craig MacLachlan lives in Post Falls, Idaho, USA and is married to Christina. Craig’s passion in life is to tell stories. He started writing at a young age and reads books every chance he gets. His first completed Young Adult novel, SUMMER’S SHADOW, Book One of ‘Sierra Winters and The Void‘, a planned trilogy, is out now and available from online booksellers and high street bookstores by order worldwide. Craig is also working on a Young Adult horror novel and has two short films, “Roger” and “Marbles: A Love Story” he co-wrote with the director. Craig won third place in a one act screenwriting competition sponsored by the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) Creative Writing Competition for 2011-12. Craig is also a story contributor for Young Adult Magazine as well as an article contributor for Zen Life. Craig enjoys, among others, reading, treasure hunting and exploring – and can also name all fifty states in alphabetical order!

SUMMER’S SHADOW is Craig MacLachlan’s first published work.

 

Links

MediaAria CDM’s website: www.mediaaria-cdm.com

MediaAria CDM’s profile on Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8792972-mediaaria

Craig MacLachlan profile on MediaAria CDM: http://www.mediaaria-cdm.com/craig-maclachlan/

Craig MacLachlan’s profile on Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5805745.Craig_MacLachlan