Rachael Craw

Rachael Craw is an award-winning author of speculative fiction for young adults, including the Spark trilogy and The Rift. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies and Drama at the University of Canterbury and a Diploma of Teaching at Christchurch College of Education. She teaches part-time and has also served as a mentor to young and emerging writers in schools and via manuscript assessment programs. She has spoken at writers festivals and conferences throughout New Zealand and Australia. In her spare time she walks her dogs, hoards books, and reviews fiction on social media platforms. She lives in Christchurch with her husband and three daughters. 


Genre:

  • Young Adult

Skills:

  • Manuscript Assessment
  • Mentoring
  • Novelist
  • Public Speaking
  • Readings
  • Readings (adults)
  • Reviews
  • Workshops (adults)
  • Workshops (children/schools)

Branch:

Canterbury

Location:

Christchurch

Publications:


Spark

Evie doesn’t have a choice. One day she’s an ordinary seventeen year old, grieving for her mother. The next, she’s a Shield, the result of a decades-old experiment gone wrong, bound by DNA to defend her best friend from an unknown killer. The threat could come at home, at school, anywhere. All Evie knows is that it will be a fight to the death. And then there’s Jamie. irresistible. off-limits. Inky Awards Shortlist for Silver Inky (2015) Storylines Notable Book for Young Adult Fiction (2015) LIANZA Children's Book Awards Longlist (2015) New Zealand Book Awards Children's Choice Finalist for Young Adult Fiction (2015) Optioned for film by Miss Conception Films (2016-2018)

Stray

Evie is a Shield: designed to kill in order to protect, and the Affinity Project have finally come for her. But Evie isn’t ready for the sinister organisation to take control of her life, her body, her mind. She isn’t ready to follow their rules about who may live and who must die – not when it condemns the innocent. She has one option: risk losing everything and everyone – including Jamie – and run. Winner of New Zealand Book Awards, Children's Choice for Young Adults, 2016

Shield

Evie is out of options. She must comply with the Affinity Project – obey their rules, play their deadly games, give up Jamie. And her losses keep growing... When she decides to help a small group of Shields trying to affect change, Evie finds herself in the firing line. Counsellor Knox is intent on revealing her secrets and shackling her to the Affinity Project for life. To protect her family, Evie must betray those closest to her. The odds of success – let alone survival – are slim.

The Rift

When the Rift opens, death follows. For generations, the Rangers of Black Water Island have guarded the Old Herd against horrors released by the Rift. Cal West, an apprentice Ranger with a rare scar and even rarer gifts, fights daily to prove he belongs within their ranks. After nine years away, Meg Archer returns to her childhood home only to find the Island is facing a new threat that not even the Rangers are prepared for. Meg and Cal can’t ignore their attraction, but can they face their darkest fears to save the Island from disaster?

The Lost Saint

Recently dumped, heart-broken Ana struggles to put the past behind her on a high school fieldtrip exploring landmarks where a 14th Century mystic is said to have performed wonders.

When the students sneak out to party in a sacred cave, a catastrophic earthquake hits. The survivors emerge in a world they don’t recognise, stumbling into a battle between medieval knights and Northmen. The students flee and Ana is chased off a cliff by dutiful lieutenant Leon, who is badly injured in the fall. Sparks fly between Ana and Leon: to survive, they need to rely on each other and as their trust grows, so does romance. They must endure a perilous journey through the forest, escape a superstitious mob, and evade the Northmen who hunt her with dark and mysterious purpose.

Together they must find the legendary mystic everyone calls ‘The Saint’ who is said to have the power to send Ana home… until an unexpected twist changes everything.