It was 2012 – Obama was President and we all thought racism was an issue of the past. But reality came crashing down on us when Trayvon Martin was murdered. I was minding my own business when I had an all-night dream. I saw my nation (the United States) fighting a civil war over racial issues. I saw the riots, destruction, and militias fighting each other. The dream morphed and I saw the aftermath – the dictator had divided the remaining population into ethnic groups without even asking them what each identified as, locking them behind walls.
CC Robinson – 11 September 2025
The Back Flap
The walls are closing in on Rose. But when powerful enemies move her from house arrest to a literal prison, Rose finds herself alone.
Caged. And without help.
Isolated from her friends and allies, yet stumbling on the truth of her captors’ schemes, Rose must free herself. If she doesn’t make it out in time, evil oppressors will take over her city.
Can Rose escape her cage before her foes win and destroy what took the Underground generations to build?
Find out in the second book in the award-winning YA dystopian Divided series.
Author’s content warning: This book contains graphic depiction of violence, gun violence, explosions, death on the page, kidnapping, torture of a main character, and villainous threats. This does NOT contain curse words or sexual content.
For readers of Indie View – receive a free e-book copy of Upheaval, the prequel novella to the Divided series at https://ccrobinsonauthor.com/indieview by signing up for my newsletter, nicknamed “The Underground.”
About the book
What is the book about?
Caged continues the Divided young adult dystopian series story from where Book One, Divided, left off. Rose is in house arrest for asking too many questions and poking at the sonic technology enhancing the walls around her area. But as part of her elite physics training program curriculum, she’s supposed to learn sonic physics, and so she keeps pushing the boundaries of both her instructor’s patience and the sonic technology. Rose touches too close to the Martin regime’s secret, though, and is kidnapped and tortured for her source of information. While she’s in captivity, she learns of her enemy’s nefarious plans to take over her city and destroy the Underground rebel movement. She must escape, or she and the entire Underground will die in the firestorm of her enemy’s wrath.
Caged features four main characters, each from one of the city’s ethnic areas – Marcos from Havana, Rose from Little Asia, Harriet from Obsidian, and Jason from Ivory. As members of the Underground, they find a way, despite their cultural differences, to collaborate in the journey toward freedom. Caged features themes of freedom from oppression, rebellion, racial reconciliation, and healing.
When did you start writing the book?
I first started writing the first two books in the series – Divided and Caged – in 2012. Those first drafts were truly horrible! Once I connected with my current developmental editor, I rewrote books one and two in the series beginning in 2023. I released Divided in September, 2024 and Caged in June, 2025. The last two books in the Divided series, Betrayed and United, will release in 2026. I’m currently finishing up my redraft of Betrayed.
How long did it take you to write it?
If you count those horrible early drafts, it took me twelve years to write Divided and Caged! For the rewrites, however, they each took me about ten weeks of concentrated writing to finish.
Where did you get the idea from?
It was 2012 – Obama was President and we all thought racism was an issue of the past. But reality came crashing down on us when Trayvon Martin was murdered. I was minding my own business when I had an all-night dream. I saw my nation (the United States) fighting a civil war over racial issues. I saw the riots, destruction, and militias fighting each other. The dream morphed and I saw the aftermath – the dictator had divided the remaining population into ethnic groups without even asking them what each identified as, locking them behind walls. Grief filled my heart as I saw this, realizing kids would grow up without knowing anyone from another ethnicity. But then four teenagers arose from the midst of their areas, yearning for freedom and to know each other. I met Marcos, Rose, Harriet, and Jason and they begged me to tell their story. I woke up and started writing that next week.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Writing Caged was a challenge, simply because the main character who advanced the plot, Rose, wanted to take the plot in a slightly different direction than I’d planned. But it all turned out to be way better than I’d planned beforehand. The lesson for other writers is to let your character’s temperament, personality, and giftings direct the show. This can often be a symptom of writer’s block – that we’re trying to force a character to do something that’s outside their characterization – among many other causes. I’m thankful I listened to Rose as her way brought greater tension, depth, and opportunity to showcase her unique wiring.
What came easily?
Since the rewrite draft was my fifth revision of the book, the ending flowed the most easily. Another result of so many drafts with the same characters inside the same world, their interactions and the worldbuilding flowed out without too much thought or effort
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Every character is completely fictitious, though if people know me and my family well enough they might see a trait or behavior pattern reflected from those closest to me.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
The list of authors who have influenced me as a writer is as long as my arm! Lois Lowry, Kurt Vonnegut Jr, Alduous Huxley, and George Orwell are a few classic dystopian authors. Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth, KA Riley, Marie Lu, and Emma Ellis all stand out among modern-day authors writing in the young adult dystopian genre, in particular. I admire Collins and Roth for plotting and not getting lost across a long series, KA Riley for the depth and emotionality of her characters, Marie Lu for how she integrated elements of fantasy into the dystopian genre (though I choose to integrate mystery as a genre blend into my writing, not fantasy), and Emma Ellis for her forward-thinking topics which could almost be news stories within a decade.
Do you have a target reader?
My target audience is between twelve and eigtheen years, though my books are read and loved by people of all ages. The oldest reader I’ve heard from is seventy, while the youngest was eleven years old (and this is why I include content warnings so parents can help their kiddos make good decisions).
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
My process is somewhat complicated, but it starts with plotting the entire series, beginning to end, in broad-brush strokes. I don’t worry about anything but the biggest plot points. Then I write the series from start to finish in a first draft. This first draft will often be horrible and contain notes like, “go research this,” “I hate this entire scene, rewrite it,” and “does so-and-so have any feelings or are we just having a plot fest here?” I’m my own toughest critic, but this serves me well. I then go back and fine tune the plot for the book I’m working on and write the complete revised draft. I’ll run that draft through pro-writing aid to make sure I didn’t skip words in my haste to type fast (which I always do) and reduce my wordiness. From there, the draft heads first to my developmental editor, back to me for revisions / rewrites, and then to the copyeditor. I’ll do my last revisions and layer in “Easter Eggs” and other fun secrets, then it goes out to my beta readers, then advance reader team. The entire process takes at least a year.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I outline in broad-brush strokes, only the major steps in character transformation of my four main characters and the big plot points. Example: “Marcos lands himself into a secret and illegal labor camp and receives the same intake everyone who enters the labor camp gets.” Once I’ve written a fast and horrible first draft, I go back and fine-tune the plot outline and rewrite.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I don’t edit as I go, unless it’s to fill in a missing word. My writing brain is in a different compartment from my editing brain and if I bring out the editor, I won’t write.
Did you hire a professional editor?
I hire two editors — a developmental editor and a copyeditor. My family members and ARC team serve as the final proofreaders, along with me. I use an AI program to read my book to me before I send it out to those last proofreaders.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
Sometimes I listen to music, but mostly I don’t. A deadline and a time spent writing goal are what motivate me. I have an outside job, so my writing time has to be a priority for non-work times. The biggest distraction from writing for me is playing on Canva with designs.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
At one point I was pursuing traditional publishing. Once I learned traditionally-published authors were responsible for their own marketing and PR, however, I abandoned the trad pub path and went into Indie Publishing. Best decision of my life.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I was at a major conference and spoke with a group of traditionally-published authors. They were all miserable, trying to figure out how to market their books. It seemed to me that if they’re going to take the lower royalty rates, then the publisher should do the lion’s share of marketing. It was shortly afterward that I realized I had all the tools I needed to go indie. I’ve been part of an annual women in publishing conference where I’ve learned all the tricks of book marketing, publishing, and working toward being a full-time author.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
No one wants me to design a book cover. Social media posts and reels on Canva are one thing, but the book cover is the first thing a potential reader will see. It has to be outstanding, therefore I hire experienced cover designers to do that for me. I am part of the process, but I don’t touch the design!
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I have an extensive marketing and launch plan for every book I’ve launched. It starts more than six months before the launch date and extends beyond launch for about a year. But I’ll say, it’s never too late to start marketing a published book. The best time to start is six months pre-publication, but the next best time to start is now.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Find a community of other indie authors, since there are MANY pits and time sinks you could fall into. There’s also a lot of scams out there. If you’re female, join me in the Women in Publishing Summit community. I’ve learned so much from my community, plus we help keep each other on-track with our goals and support each other’s launches.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Louisville, KY. My parents are from northern Indiana, so I’d be southern at school and midwestern at home. My accent was a mess until I worked in Chicago for six years and gained an amorphously midwestern accent. But I can turn on the southern charm at will.
Where do you live now?
I live in Cincinnati, the setting for the Divided series, though in the future it’s called “Queenstown.” I love my adopted town and think Cincy is the best kept secret in the US.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I love talking with and interacting with readers! When I ask for replies in my emails or comments on my socials, I really mean it. I’m an extroverted introvert who needs my people fix.
What are you working on now?
I’m in the rewrite for Betrayed, Book Three in the Divided series. I’ll be writing both Books Three and Four (United) one right after the other. I plan to release both in 2026, along with the last two novellas in the Divided companion novella series.
End of Interview: