Page 31 - Reader's House Magazine Issue 52

What inspired you to write the Divided series, and how did your background influence the story?
An all-night dream started me on the journey of conceiving and then writing the Divided series. I saw our nation fight a civil war over racial issues and a drug lord-turned dictator take power and separate the remaining population into ethnic groups and lock them behind impregnable walls. Forty-five years later, teenagers grew up never having met someone from another ethnicity. I then met all four of my main characters — Marcos, Rose, Harriet, and Jason — and knew I needed to tell their freedom story.
My background as a physician working in post-civil war nations definitely impacted not only my writing, but how I weave courage, hope, and working together into these novels. Often, dystopian can be a dark genre, not at all hopeful. But the young adult dystopian greats, like Divergent, Maze Runner, or The Hunger Games, all inspired young people to fight against impossible odds. I want Divided to do the same, except with racial reconciliation.
Your books explore themes of division and resistance — how do you hope readers will connect with these themes?
I hope readers will recognize the seeds of division and hatred in our society and in their own lives. We have no hope of seeing racial reconciliation in the larger social context if we live our lives in ethnic silos. I want to show for young readers that, though it can be diffi- cult, living a life of reconciliation with other ethnicities is worth the price.
CC Robinson masterfully blends thrilling narratives with profound themes, crafting unforgettable stories that challenge societal norms and inspire change through courage, resilience, and hope.
Can you share some details about your world- building process for the Federated Republic of America?
World-building is one of the most fun tasks
I have as an author. I’m very strategic in my wiring, and building the world component by component is a therapeutic for me. I started with the governmental structure, with the division and isolation of ethnic groups as the central theme. Then I built the world outward — what would education look like in a regime wanting to maintain control over the population? What lies will youth need to believe in order to not push against the regime’s control? What food will the regime allow each area to use, via a ra- tions system? What items are available in each area’s market? What does each area produce
and why is that important? Is everyone allowed to pursue college or is that available for a select few? What role would an “election” have inside a regime controlled by a dictator? These questions and more have to be answered in the planning stages.
I craft the world’s framework after I’ve firmed up the characters. I feel the characters and their transformations should drive both
the world-building and the plot. But each world-building element, for instance, embedded chips in every citizen’s forearm, has to make sense within the bigger plot picture (monitoring of movement) and characterizations (how the regime’s control grates against their independ- ence or not).
Sophie’s journey in Deception takes her through nuclear-ravaged lands — what kind of research did you do to make these environments feel realistic?
I’ve traveled extensively through the area where Deception is set — the foothills of the Appalachian mountains — and I’ve visited a saltpeter cave much like the one in Deception. As far as the impact of nuclear weapons on the land, I dug into the post-Chernobyl history and how Japan recovered from the nuclear bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to portray how long land takes to restore itself, if left alone. The short answer is the timeline for recovery depends on how far away the land in question is from the impact site, the patterning of fallout and prevailing winds / rainfall at the time of impact, and other geological features, such as mountain ranges or bodies of water.
What was the biggest challenge in writing Caged, and how does it expand on the themes introduced in Divided?
The biggest challenge in writing Caged
was handling Rose’s chaotic anger. As a main character, she’s my most challenging, because I recognize my own faults in her. But also be- cause Rose will take risks I would never dream of taking in real life. I had drafted the outline, and, while writing, Rose threw a complete curveball. I thought about her plot twist for a while and realized this was the best journey for her character growth. But this meant redrafting the entire back half of Caged.
How has your experience as a medical doctor and pastor shaped the way you write characters and their struggles?
My experience as a medical doctor working in post-civil war nations and as a pastor pushes me to weave hope and courage through everything I write. I’ve witnessed people in the lowest of low places — after a civil war and grieving their family’s murder, or seeing people walk through the worst personal crises we could imagine. And yet, I’ve also seen those same people face their challenges with courage. One of the biggest elements for surviving the unthinkable evils of life is the strength of community and the person’s unwa- vering faith. I bring these into my narratives, whether that’s a full-length novel, a novella, or
Rose, now imprisoned and isolated, must escape before her captors’ sinister plans come to fruition. As she uncovers their schemes, the stakes grow higher—not just for her, but for her entire city. With time running out, she must fight for freedom in this gripping YA dystopian sequel to Divided.
a short story.
What are some of the dystopian books or authors that have influenced your writing style and storytelling?
I adore the “classic” young adult dystopi-
an series from the early 2000s — Divergent, The Hunger Games, and Maze Runner. These absolutely influenced my writing and storytell- ing. But more recent works have also been an inspiration for me as an indie author, including KA Riley’s The Cure Chronicles, Claire Little- more’s Flow, and Emma Ellis’s Eyes Forward. These ladies proved that being an indie author in the young adult dystopian space was not only possible, but readers wanted more.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors who want to write thought- provoking dystopian fiction?
I would ask them, “what provokes you about our current society?” Then I’d tell them to craft a story and build a world where that societal ill is the controlling element. Add great characters and a heart-pounding narra- tive and readers will devour it.
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