Staff Writer
CARIBOU —On June 29, “Headwaters,” by Caribou native Craig Richardson, was published through Outskirts Press. The book, written under the pen name of John Creek, can be found through a number of book retailers, particularly Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com.
Contributed photo
Caribou native Craig Richardson has recently had his book, “Headwaters,” published by Outskirts Press. “Headwaters” is a tale about a fictional river in Aroostook County, near to the Fish River chain of lakes, that is haunted. “Ever since I was a kid I’ve always loved the lakes from Madawaska to Square Lake where I spent a lot of time with my grandparents and later scuba diving the lakes,” Richardson said.
“Headwaters” is about a fictional river in Aroostook County, near to the Fish River chain of lakes, that is haunted; it is a place where a super wolf strain lives and the dead never rest, and the setting of the tale of Jack Service. Richardson can relate to Jack Service, the main character in his book,
“I was born and raised in Caribou,” Richardson said. “It took me a while to realize I had a bounty of material to write about where I was raised. I was always taught to write about things I know … what people don’t realize [is that] this is a great culture to explore and my memories run deep.”
“I got to do things here I don’t think I would have been able to do somewhere else,” he added.
His first novel, “Deep Woods,” was published in 1984 by Holloway House.
“It also takes place in Aroostook County on the lakes,” Richardson described. “It wasn’t my best effort because I wasn’t doing a lot of reading at the time. If you write, you’ve got to read — lots!”
Richardson first found that he enjoyed writing when he was about 9 years old, when a number of adaptations of Jules Verne’s novels were coming out on screen. A young Richardson thought that maybe he could do that too.
It was around that time when he remembers writing his first fictional piece.
“It had to do with an island where strange things took place,” he remembered. “I felt great about it at the time and bugged — really bugged my friends to read it. That was something I shouldn’t have done,” he added, “I imagine I also drove a few of my teachers crazy as well. If I had to do it all over again I would have kept my writing to myself instead of shoving it into my friend’s faces.”
Having come a long way from being a proud 9-year-old writer, Richardson’s frame of mind while he writes has changed over the years.
“There was a time I could write 20 pages a day, but I’m now I’m more careful and selective,” he said. “I read popular authors to see what works for them and why they are popular — even the ones I don’t like.”
While he knew it was going to be a long process to write “Headwaters,” at over 700 pages, Richardson occasionally became discouraged .
“I wrote a shorter version of “Headwaters” some years ago, but wasn’t pleased with it; I wanted to say as much about The County lifestyle and yet tell a horror story at the same time while still keeping the character of the people in The County,” he explained. “It’s a long novel and I threw it away several times only to have my wife, Shauna, dig it out of the garbage and urge me to finish it. About the fourth time she dug it out of the garbage I got the evil eye and decided to finish it come hell or high water.”
“I know this book is a great improvement from ‘Deep Woods’ because it’s about people I know, people I grew up with, a place that I know, and a place I think is special,” Richardson added.
Richardson holds a degree is secondary education and has student taught at the New Sweden School and the Caribou High School.
