Bio

My Favorite Sweater

My name is Zachary McClellan, "Zach" for short. I was born in Owatonna, a small(ish) town in southern Minnesota. At the age of seven, my family moved from Owatonna to a town called Littlefork, which is a much, much, much smaller town in northern Minnesota. "Small", as in 600 people; and "northern", as in 10 miles from the Canadian border. Eh.

It was in Littlefork that I fostered an eclectic array of interests that ranged from hunting and fishing to theatre and literature. I played football and basketball all through high school but really found my nitch on the Littlefork Highschool stage, where I performed in many classic plays such as Mousetrap and Charlie's Aunt. In the classroom, I was given exposure to classic lit, like The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men, and The Grapes of Wrath.

I graduated Highschool in 2008 and went on to study History at the University of Northwestern, St. Paul. I continued to perform in many plays throughout college and began to dabble with poetry in my senior year, which eventually lead to his passion for creative writing. Most importantly, however, I met his beautiful wife, Emma, in school. We were married in 2014 and our family currently resides in the greater Madison, Wisconsin area.

I am a published poet (The Left-Handed Planner - Z Publishing), and a self-published author (Ecclesia). I still love to write poetry, but I have dedicated my main writing focus to novelization. My genre(s) of choice are Dystopian/Speculative/Post-Apocalyptic. I also dabble in YA/Coming-Of-Age.

Outside of writing and spending time with my family, I am a passionate fan of The Minnesota Vikings - much to the dismay of my Green Bay Packer supporting wife. During the day (and sometimes at night), I work as an IT Recruiter and am very much a fan of a good whiskey (doesn't have to be that good...), a bold cigar, and a thick flannel shirt.

To me, writing fiction is the wonderful window in which I can go back and visit childhood. It is a beautiful game of "pretend" that adults get to play. Then... it is a lot of work. But, the act of writing is a blank canvas, palet full of bright colors, and an opportunity to say "let's pretend that..." There is nothing like it.

If I were trapped on a desert island with a limited amount of books, here are the ones that I would bring: The Great Gatsby, the entirety of the Harry Potter and Hunger Games Series, To Kill a Mocking Bird, 1984, and Anthem.

Thanks for checking out my site, and I hope you read something that I wrote/write and it means something to you.