People often talk about our current political and social situation as being dystopian and a time when we have never been more divided, ideologically-speaking.
But in C.C. Robinson’s The Divided Series, the world actually is dystopian, and the divisions are not just social and political, but physical as well.
In the following email interview, Robinson discusses the first installment of this dystopian Y.A. science fiction series, Divided (paperback, Kindle), as well as her plans for the other books.
To start, what is Divided about, and when and where is it set?
Divided is set in a future America, now called the Federated Republic Of America. When Supreme Commander Martin took power after a civil war fought over racial issues, nuclear bombs which destroyed both coasts and our military power, and an electric-grid crippling EMP, Martin divided the nation’s remaining cities into ethnic areas and erected impregnable walls.
Forty-five years later, Marcos, Rose, Harriet, and Jason (a.k.a., my four MCs) have grown up ignorant of each other’s cultures, but open to meeting. When Marcos escapes the wall and lands in a secret labor camp, he connects with the other three through a rebel organization, The Underground. The four become friends and must work together to bring freedom to the labor camp.
Where did you get the idea for Divided? What inspired it?
In 2012 I had an all-night dream. This was no ordinary dream. I saw the setup for Divided, met my four main characters, and knew I had to tell their story of freedom from oppression. Little did I realize it would take me over ten years and countless drafts to get their story out.
So, is there a significance to Marcos being 18 as opposed to 14 or 24 or 44?
As a mom of three Gen Z teenagers, I’ve watched my kids and their friends struggle with the age-old question of “what next?” Teens this age are wrestling with newfound independence, breaking away from their families of origin to head into their own story, and stepping into a society not of their making. I love this season of life and knew teenagers on the cusp of adulthood would be both brave and crazy enough to confront a dictator. We old people get comfortable and change can be hard. But their lives at this age are all about change: first jobs, starting college or careers, moving out of the house, and finding out who they are. Marcos desperately wants to escape his father’s control to pursue his own career, while also longing to see his nation changed. This is the perfect protagonist to shake things up in a society filled with injustice and oppression.
It sounds like Divided is a dystopian sci-fi story, but with Marcos being 18, I’m wondering if it might also be a young adult story…
I describe Divided as a young adult dystopian story, and compare this series to such other Y.A. dystopian blockbusters as Hunger Games, Legend, or Maze Runner.
Divided fits the dystopian label with the oppressive Martin regime, the rise of a rebel movement (The Underground), and the fight against injustice, all classic dystopian genre tropes.
But, Divided also fits the young adult genre with its core coming of age story and the classic Y.A. genre tropes of found family and the novel’s plot advancement coming from the teenager protagonist. Each book in the Divided series (there will be four) will continue straddling the line of young adult and dystopian genres and will allow each of my four MCs their time in the spotlight.
Now, some young adult novels are written for young adults, while others are Y.A. because there’s nothing inappropriate for someone of that age. What is Divided? Is it written for young adults or will old adults like it as well?
I wrote Divided primarily for a young adult audience, but I am positive adults of all ages will enjoy it as they’ll recognize themselves and possibly their kids in my characters. There’s very little inappropriate with the notable exception of violence consistent with the Y.A. dystopian genre. I even make up curse words, which was a blast.
Divided is your first published novel, though you previously released a prequel novella called Upheaval, which we’ll get to in a moment. Are there any writers, or specific stories, that had a big influence on Divided, but not on anything else you’ve written, and especially not Upheaval?
Maze Runner, Hunger Games, the Legend series, and Ember In The Ashes all had a profound impact on how I approached writing Divided. I wanted to continue the great Y.A. dystopian tradition, while avoiding copying these amazing authors. James Dashner gave me permission to make up curse words and let my characters have big flaws. Marie Lu inspired me to tackle racial hatred after reading how she tackled classism head-on. Suzanne Collins — she’s the G.O.A.T. — inspired me to just start writing and let the characters direct the plot. Sabaa Tahir encouraged me to think outside the box with her unique setting and how she wove magic into her narrative (though there’s no magic in my books, I definitely play with tech).
And since I wrote Upheaval after Divided was finished and the rest of the series at least half-written, it had very little bearing on the rest of the series. I developed Moses and Juli as the elder statespeople first, then had to imagine how they’d be in their twenties for Upheaval.
How about such non-literary influences as movies, TV shows, or games?
I’m not a huge TV fan, but I enjoyed The Last Of Us. As my kids can attest, I stink at video games. As for movies, I’m a big Marvel fan and am learning the DC world, which are both dystopian and great storytelling. Of course, the books are always better than any movie.
Earlier you said, Divided is the first book of four. And, in fact, the cover of Divided says it’s “Book One Of The Divided Series.” What can you tell us about this series?
I write from four points of view in each book: Marcos, Rose, Harriet, and Jason. That being said, Marcos is my “plot advancing” character in Divided, Rose gets center-stage in book two, Caged, which will be out fall 2025; Harriet has her day in book three, Betrayed, out fall 2026; and Jason takes book four, United, which will be out fall 2027. Typically, Y.A. dystopian series have been trilogies. I’m breaking the mold so that each character / ethnic group has the opportunity to be the star. This concept is at the heart of my message of racial reconciliation and working together despite our differences.
I’m also working on a novella which will go between Divided and Caged. I’ll release this in winter 2025 and it will be available to newsletter subscribers to preview for free.
The Divided series will have four main novels with novellas in-between each. The novels will release every year in the fall, with novella releasing the following winter.
Upon hearing that Divided is the first book of a four book series — well, seven book, really — some people may decide to wait until all of the books are out before reading any of them, and still others will decide to binge them when the time comes. But is there any reason why you think people shouldn’t wait to read Divided?
Our nation is struggling with racial hatred and division. Everywhere I look, whether it’s social media or cable news, I see division. We desperately need a positive example as a nation. With Divided‘s central theme of working across cultural barriers and differences, I hope to inspire young people to act differently than their elders: to disagree without becoming disagreeable; to collaborate despite differences; and to venture outside their comfort zone, just like my characters.
And do you think people should read Upheaval first, or should they start with Divided and then to read Upheaval?
There’s no need to read Upheaval first unless you love to understand context. More than four decades separate Upheaval and Divided and the world is a very different place. Upheaval grounds the Divided series in the present-day and illustrates how our current culture gets to Divided.
Upheaval is the story of two ordinary people surviving an apocalypse. Moses, an Army Ranger, and Juli, a high school math teacher, are plunged into mayhem when the U.S. descends into a racial civil war, and our enemies take advantage of our weakness by obliterating our coasts and our military power with a nuclear attack, then crippling our recovery with an EMP (electromagnetic pulse bomb). Mega gangs arise, and one druglord becomes our new dictator, the Supreme Commander Martin. Moses and Juli struggle to unite opposing ethnic militias to defend Cincinnati from the powerful mega gangs. Despite the post-apocalyptic setting, Upheaval maintains a thread of hope and survival against impossible odds.
I asked earlier if Divided was influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But to flip things around, do you think The Divided Series could work as some movies, a show, or a game?
Divided would be perfect for the big screen, either as a movie or a TV series. Not being a gamer, it’s hard for me to visualize Divided as a video game, but smart kids will probably figure out how that could work. The central theme of collaborating across cultural barriers is so desperately needed in our days and movies and TV series are a great venue to get that message out.
And if someone wanted to make The Divided Series into some movies or a TV show, who would you want them to cast as Marcos, Rose, Harriet, Jason, and the other main characters?
I honestly have no opinion on who should be cast as Marcos. Jencarlos, the Cuban-American singer and actor, definitely inspired Marcos’s physical characteristics, though Jencarlos is too old to play the eighteen-year-old Marcos, no offense to him. I’d love to see some fresh faces cast as my four MCs. And if Rob Lowe is reading, I think he’d make a perfect Hudson Britwell, the main villain and Jason’s father.
So, is there anything else someone might need to know about Divided and The Divided Series?
Readers can get early access to book release information, insider info, and Upheaval for free by signing up for my email newsletter on my website https://ccrobinsonauthor.com. I don’t spam and typically send emails once or twice a month. Also, I try to add value by sharing books I’ve read and enjoyed and other free or reduced price resources.
Finally, if someone enjoys Divided, and Upheaval, what young adult dystopian sci-fi novel or novella of someone else’s would you suggest they read while waiting for Caged to come out?
If readers have never read Y.A. dystopian indie published books, they are missing out, as indie authors are publishing some of the most exciting content in this genre. K.A. Riley’s Resistance trilogy, Clare Littlemore’s Flow and Bellator Chronicles series, Emma Ellis’ Eyes Forward series, Caitlin Mazur’s Forgive Me Father series, J.B. Cantwell’s Lens series, and Kate L. Mary’s Outliers are all great series to start. Those should keep readers occupied for a few months.
