Bookworm Month ~ Author Interview With C.J. Darlington

  Hi C.J, please tell us more about yourself and your books.  Well, I'm an animal lover, book lover, and Christ follower who just wants to share hope through her stories. I've written three contemporary novels (the Thicker than Blood series) and a space adventure/dystopian book called Jupiter Winds.

What inspired you to begin writing?  I think my love of reading is what initially inspired me. I have always loved books, ever since I was a kid, and I remember being eight-years-old and typing away at my dad's old word processor. Usually my stories at that time were about animals! When I was fifteen I began writing what would eventually become my first novel Thicker than Blood, but it wasn't published until I was thirty. During that time I kept writing and trying to learn how to craft better stories through magazines and how-to books. 

What are some of your newest books you have published?   Jupiter Winds is my newest, and I had a lot of fun with this one. It was a completely different genre for me, and I loved the ability to take readers on an adventure to the future (2160) and show what society might look like. Plus I got to make Jupiter habitable.

What is your favorite book you have wrote? What is it about?  Bound by Guilt, the second novel I wrote, will always hold a special place in my heart. I loved the story of a teenage girl named Roxi who finds herself on the run, alone, and desperate for the love of a family. She's also in possession of two very rare books, something that gets her in a lot of trouble. I'd had her story in mind for many years before I actually got to write it, and for once it felt like the story I had in my head actually translated well onto the page. That doesn't always happen, but when it does it's simply magical.

Who is your favorite character in the book you listed in the question above and why?   Jan Mercer is the ranch woman who takes Roxi in, and I just love how she shows her Christianity even more than telling it. In how she treats Roxi, she embodies the way Christ wants us to love people, I think. Jan is a character I wish I was more like!

Do you have any new books you are working on?  I do! Right now I'm working on a new contemporary novel that has ties to the Thicker than Blood series. I'm at Chapter 12 right now and still discovering all that's going to be in this story. That's the way I usually write--by the seat of my pants! I am sometimes just as surprised by what happens as my readers are. That makes me sound crazy, but it's really like that sometimes. LOL

Thank you for doing a interview with us C.J, do you have any final thoughts or updates you might like to tell everyone about?  I'd love for more people to read Jupiter Winds as I believe it's a great alternative to some of the YA novels out there that have no hope and lots of junk. Not that they all do, of course, but people have told me they love that Jupiter Winds is a novel the whole family can read and enjoy. I've heard from twelve-year-old readers who read the book after their moms, and that is an amazing thing, something I never expected but am so thankful is happening. Another thing people have told me is that even though they'd never read science fiction, or in the case of some didn't normally like science fiction, but Jupiter Winds was a novel they could read anyway. It doesn't get too technical, so perhaps that's why.  Thank you!  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I had the chance to review Jupiter Winds by C.J. Darlington earlier this summer and I really enjoyed it! To read my review of Jupiter Winds just click here or click on the book cover photo above in this interview.