In the following email interview about her new novella Deception (paperback, Kindle) — a side story to her Divided series of young adult dystopia science fiction action / adventure novels — author C.C. Robinson admits that, “I love novellas featuring secondary character side quests, as readers see more of the world and gain greater insight into the main characters.”
For those who didn’t read Divided, the first book of The Divided series, or the interview we did about it, what is this series about, and when and where does it take place?
Divided, the first novel in a my young adult dystopian series, also called Divided, takes place in a future America, about forty-five years after we fight a civil war over racial issues and prejudices. The Supreme Commander Martin of the Federated Republic of America separated the remaining population into ethic groups, put up dividing walls between them, and then never allowed them to interact.
Enter four teenagers, one from each major ethnic group, who each long to know their peers from the other ethnic areas and get connected in a resistance movement called the Underground. Divided stars Marcos, a Havana teen desperate for escape from the walls of his area. Yet, after he finally escapes, he is caught, and sent to a secret labor camp. It’s inside the labor camp where Marcos works together with his other friends — Rose, Harriet, and Jason — to free the camp’s prisoners. But the stakes are high. If they don’t succeed, the regime will execute them all as traitors.
And then, for those who have read those books, or that Q&A, and thus can ignore me writing SPOILER ALERT, what is Deception about, and when does it take place in relation to Divided and the upcoming second novel, Caged?
Deception, book 1.5 in the Divided series, falls between Divided and Caged.
In Divided we meet Rose, a brilliant, young, Little Asia physicist. Rose and her mother, Sophie, have a complicated relationship, so when Sophie disappears, Rose assumes her mother’s neglect and abandonment. However, Sophie learned of a scheme that could not only ruin the Underground and any chance at freedom for the citizens of the Federated Republic of America, but also could lead to her friend’s deaths. Sophie travels through the desolate nuclear-ruined landscape to the Underground’s national headquarters buried deep inside the Appalachian mountains. Yet, when she arrives, she discovers schemes and lies of the worst kind. Sophie must not only confront those who’ve deceived the Underground, but then escape the mountains with her life or else the truth could die with her.
When in the process of writing Divided and Caged did you come up with the idea for Deception, and what inspired its story?
Deception was born near the beginning of my series-planning process after my husband’s extended family visited The Great Salpetre Cave in southeastern Kentucky. As we toured the massive cave system formed from mining saltpeter during the War of 1812, I realized this would be the perfect location for a rebel movement’s headquarters. All I needed was a willing volunteer to travel from Queenstown with news of a scheme against the Underground, and Sophie stepped up! I love novellas featuring secondary character side quests, as readers see more of the world and gain greater insight into the main characters.
Divided and Caged are young adult dystopian science fiction stories. Is Deception one as well?
Deception is set in a dystopian world, and it adheres to the young adult reading level and most of the genre content requirements. However, Sophie, the main protagonist, is a middle-aged adult, the mother of a main character. As a result, I don’t list Deception in the young adult dystopian category on any retailer. Deception is an action / adventure novel with a strong female lead and thriller elements, thereby opening up the women’s action / adventure genre as well.
Now, I’m sure there are some common influences among Divided, Caged, and Deception. And the prequel novella Upheaval as well. But are there any writers, or stories, that had an influence on Deception but not on the other books?
Right before I wrote Deception, I flew through Kyla Stone’s The Light We Lost. This post-apocalyptic series features a young mother who was kidnapped, held against her will for years, and then escaped her prison when an electro-magnetic pulse knocked out the electrical grid. As a reader, I thoroughly enjoyed following the young mother who had to learn to not only embrace her strength, but accept others’ help in order to outrun her kidnapper and stay alive. I wanted to bring a similar transformation out in Sophie, who tended to work alone and hold her secrets close, not exactly the greatest model for developing a closer relationship with her headstrong daughter, Rose. Sophie’s transformation in Deception makes Rose’s character transformation within Caged possible.
What about non-literary influences? Was Deception influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games?
I don’t tend to watch much TV and I’m not a gamer. But the only non-literary influence on Deception is how the directors of The Hunger Games portrayed District 12. Katniss Everdeen’s home is very similar in both landscape and culture to the setting for Deception. I wanted to show the beauty, but also the isolation and, in our current days, generational poverty endemic to this area of our nation.
As we’ve been discussing, Deception is set between Divided and Caged. Do you think people should read it between as well, or does it not matter?
Deception answers questions many readers will naturally have after reading Divided or Caged. There are no spoilers for the main books in the series in Deception, so readers can enjoy it without fear of Deception spoiling the larger novels.
However, I had readers emailing me or asking me on social media about Sophie and what she was up to. Sophie’s absence angers Rose and leads her into reckless actions within both Divided and Caged. Readers could enjoy Deception at any point after reading Divided.
Given that, what will people get out of Deception, and also Caged, if they read Deception after Divided and before Caged?
Reading Divided first, then Deception second, then Caged third will provide the best reading experience. Those who read in this order will know details the main characters do not, which is always a fun tool for authors to create tension in the narrative.
Now, in the interview we did about Divided, you said there would be four books in The Divided series. Deception is the fourth book, though it and Upheaval are side stories and novellas, not novels. I assume that means Deception is not the fourth and final book in the series, right?
Ah, I see the confusion. There will be four main novels in the Divided series: Divided, Caged, Betrayed, and United. Upheaval and Deception are part of the novella companion series, which will also contain four novellas. The last two novellas will release after Betrayed (villain origin story for Junior) and after United (Carrie’s story which will contain spoilers).
Do you know when Betrayed and United might be out?
Betrayed, Harriet’s journey through trauma healing, will release in early 2026. United, Jason’s story of owning his strength as part of a team, will release late 2026.
I, of course, reserve the right to be faster than this timeframe.
And where do the two remaining novellas fit in?
There won’t be a novella between the second book, Caged, and the third book, Betrayed, as the story’s timeline doesn’t permit it. Only a few days separate the timeline of these two books.
The last two novellas don’t yet have a title.
Finally, if someone enjoys Deception — and they’ve already read Upheaval, Divided, and Caged — what young adult dystopian sci-fi novella would you suggest they check out while waiting for Betrayed to come out?
I personally enjoy anthologies of short stories, including the Best American Science Fiction And Fantasy series (one compilation is released each year, edited by a different popular author). Many novellas are tied into longer novel series (such as Pierce Brown’s Sons Of Ares novella series which is a companion to his Red Rising series).
For readers who want a new full-length novel series to dive into, I highly recommend both the Eyes Forward series by Emma Ellis and The Cure Chronicles by K.A. Riley.
