Today, we're shining the book spotlight on a young
adult fantasy novel, Adelita’s Secret thanks to Rebecca's Writing
Services. Christopher Cloud is an award-winning novelist
with his collection of young adult novels.
About
Adelita’s Secret
Lost in a superficial world of
materialism and social status—and ashamed of her Latino
heritage—seventeen-year-old Adelita NoĆ© is loved by two men, two men separated
by a hundred years and vastly different stations in life. One man owns little
more than the shirt on his back. The other, a poet at heart, is heir to a vast
fortune. Their love for Adelita serves as the backdrop for the Latino girl’s
quest to better understand herself and her Mexican roots.
Q:
Have you ever had a character take over a story and move it in a different
direction than you had originally intended? How did you handle it?
A: I’m glad you asked because my
teenage protagonist in Adelita’s Secret took me in a totally
different direction with her own ideas for the storyline. I don’t write fantasy
(or didn’t before this novel) and had no intention of writing fantasy. But
Adelita took control about 5,000 words into the story, and changed the genre
from young adult to young adult/fantasy. I’m pleased the story unfolded as it
did.
Q: Any tips for character creation?
There has been much written about
the so-called "composite" character, borrowing bits and pieces from
several characters to build one character. Personally, I find this premise
irritating because you end up creating a character that readers will find
unbelievable. That is not to say that your character’s personally/physical
makeup/speech can’t be tweaked. Create a character that readers can wrap their
minds around.
Q: Lessons readers can
learn from the books characters?
I write middle-grade and
young adult novels, and my characters dispense small doses of historical facts,
facts that become an integral part of the story. Indeed, each of my four
middle-grade/young adult novels plays out against a backdrop of history.
Q: Is there a theme or
message in your work that you would like readers to connect to?
There are no messages
per se in my novels, but I do try and tactfully educate the reader about the
role history plays in all of our lives. In A Boy Called Duct Tape I
educate the reader about the exploits of Jesse James and his gang of outlaws;
in Voices of the Locusts I show my readers the ugly psychological scars
left by World War II; in Adelita’s Secret, the importance of the Mexican
Revolution forms the backdrop for my story; in The Ghosts of Petroglyph
Canyon, the significance of preserving ancient rock drawings subtly weaves
its way through the novel.
Q: If you could be any famous
person/author for one day, who would you be and why?
I gave this question much thought.
I’ve decided I’d like to be John Steinbeck when he was halfway through his
first draft of The Grapes of Wrath. I’d love to learn his writing
routine and who he relies on to read his copy, not for typos, but for content.
For my money, The Grapes of Wrath is the most important book by
an American author of the 20th century.
Q: One of the most
terrifying or difficult things about being a writer?
One of the most
problematic issues for me are critiques. When I first began writing, a reviewer
panned one of my middle-grade novels. However, the novel received more than 200
five-star reader reviews on Amazon. These days I judge the quality of my
stories by reader reviews. Such reviews are far more telling.
Q: What do you believe
is your strongest trait?
I am not a quitter. I
believe this trait has helped me survive the bump road of writing fiction. I
continue to hold the belief that a good story will always find a home.
Award winning author Christopher Cloud began writing
fiction full time after a long career in journalism and public
relations. He writes middle-grade and young adult novels..Cloud
graduated from the University of Missouri in 1967 with a degree in journalism.
He has worked as a reporter, editor, and columnist at newspapers in Texas,
California, and Missouri. He was employed by a Fortune 100 company as a public
relations executive, and later operated his own public relations agency. Cloud
attended high school in Japan, and lives in Joplin, Missouri. His website
Is: www.christophercloud.com
Visit
Christopher Cloud’s website
A great article and historical significance. reminds me of my love story
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