I always used to hate it when someone asked me, “What’s the underlying theme of your books?”
I usually stood there for several seconds, feeling like I was back in high school, in front of the class of all my smarter and moretogether peers, and some teacher had just asked me a question that I should have known the answer to, but I had nothing. Zilch. (Being dyslexic, I felt like that a lot in high school.)
My problem with the whole theme question was that I don’t write to theme. When writing a story, the thought of delivering a message never crosses my mind. I guess you could say I write to . . . character. But after I wrote more than a dozen books, I started noticing that all my characters shared similar emotional dilemmas. Surprisingly, I realized that those dilemmas were reminiscent of my own teen years.
Yes, I’m admitting it. As a teen, I was basically an insecure twit with no path to follow. I know most young people feel this way to some degree, but to me, my peers all seemed to have a “thing” and that thing helped define and guide them. Some of my friends played in the band. Some were into sports. Some already had careers lined up relating to their “thing.” I was . . . thingless. I spent most my time in my head creating stories about everyone else’s moretogether, more exciting lives. Seriously, I was not only clueless to what made me happy. I even struggled to figure out who I was. Complicating things further were the problems in my home life: my parents got a divorce, deaths in the family, etc.
So, in hindsight, my personal dilemma was a whoamI syndrome exasperated by family calamities. But to the writer in me, that didn’t sound like a theme. So I brainstormed it a little harder. I finally, finally, got it. My reoccurring underlying premise wasn’t so much the issues I faced, but getting past them. My theme: overcoming identity crisis in a chaotic world.
Like myself, all my characters deal with some form of this. Well, their issues are a bit more dramatized than my own. I never have been turned into a vampire, gone down in a plane crash that killed my entire family, was kidnapped by rogue vampires, or had to have a one-on-one chat with a bloody and disfigured ghost.
But unlike myself, my characters come into their own a lot quicker than I did. I was twentythree before I found some selfconfidence, accepted that my parents weren’t perfect—but still loved me—and realized that unbeknownst to me, I had a “thing” all along. To some degree, it even made me happy. All that time I spent in my head spinning tales, I was forging my path as a storyteller. Since I was dyslexic, I still had to learn to write, but I’d spent years honing my skills of creating characters and plot.
I want to thank YA Books Central for asking me to guest blog, and I hope all you readers will enjoy my books. And for any of you who are struggling with insecurities and the whole whoamI syndrome, take heart and never give up. Like me and my characters, chances are, you too will come into your own. You’ll move past the identity crisis and forge your own path. Happy reading!
Check out C.C. Hunter’s new novella collection: Almost Midnight
A vampire and a werewolf who never fit in. A witch whose spells don’t always work as planned. And a mysterious new guy who’s hiding something. Together they will discover who they’re meant to be…
Hidden from the human world, Shadow Falls is a secret camp for teens with supernatural powers. But for four very different teens, it’s much more than just a camp-it’s where their destinies will unfold.
Independent and strong-willed Della Tsang didn’t believe in vampires…until she became one. Chase Tallman is the newest member of Shadow Falls, but what made him into the sexy, mysterious vampire he is today? And what led him to Della Tsang? For Miranda Kane, magic has always been something she’s struggled with-until she finally has a chance to prove herself a witch to be reckoned with. And for Fredericka Lakota, the one guy who challenges her the most will lead her to the life she’s always wanted.
C. C. Hunter’s New York Times bestselling Shadow Falls series captured hearts all over the world. Now available in print for the first time, these enchanting novellas will reveal a side of the camp that you’ve never seen before…and live in your heart forever. Fans won’t want to miss these four remarkable stories of love, magic and friendship in Almost Midnight.
Get to know C.C. Hunter!
C.C. Hunter grew up in Alabama, where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and regularly rescued potential princes, in the form of Alabama bullfrogs, from her brothers. Today, she’s still fascinated with lightning bugs, mostly wears shoes, but has turned her focus to rescuing mammals. She now lives in Texas with her four rescued cats, one dog, and a prince of a husband, who for the record, is so not a frog. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, spending time with her family, or is shooting things-with a camera, not a gun.
C.C. Hunter is a pseudonym. Her real name is Christie Craig and she also writes humorous romantic suspense romance novels for Grand Central. www.christie-craig.com.
C.C. would love to hear from you. Because of deadlines, it may take her a day or so to get back with you, but she will reply. [email protected].
