Cantos Love: Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Cantos Chronicles (photo of book stack: Swimming Sideways, The Ugly Truth and The Bones of Who We Are)

Thank you all for the love you’ve shown this series and these characters over the last three years, I am truly grateful.

Praise for Swimming Sideways:

“I adore this book. I fell in love with the characters immediately- with Abby and her family, and the complicated history and relationships with Seth and Gabe.” M. Wish, Amazon Reviewer

“SWIMMING SIDEWAYS features a classic (and very well done) love triangle, complemented by the main character's internal conflict, which is fueled by a loss of connection with her Hawaiian heritage. It's a perfect example of how diversity can enhance and improve the young adult genre.” Stephani H, Indie Reader Reviewer

Praise for The Ugly Truth:

“Before reading the Cantos Chronicles, I had never read a series of books following the same timeline of events. Well... I am so glad I decided to read it. Thanks to The Ugly Truth I learnt that characters from CL Walters books are never just good or bad. They're all so beautifully complex that each one of them deserves his story to be told.” Paola, Amazon Reviewer

“Fantastic book. I will say I was so concerned about how the book would end, that I found myself speed reading. Since, at times, it went over identical dialogue from the previous book, I didn’t feel as guilty. The ending will have you buying the next book before you take your next breath.” Rayna, Amazon Reviewer

Praise for The Bones of Who We Are:

“This novel was a raw and honest depiction of one of the greatest struggles people face today—how to make peace with and find freedom from the demons of our past. It is intricately woven narrative that explores the intrinsic value of a human being, the search for identity, the power of forgiveness, and the strength in hope. C.L. Walters approaches issues head-on that many people avoid and does so with intentionality and grace. Ultimately, she introduces a perspective shift on pain and the hope that comes with understanding that we are all deserving of love.” S. McClellen, Amazon Reviewer

“The last story int he Cantos Chronicles was wonderful! We get yet another POV this time Gabe. This story was so heart breaking that I just couldn't put it down. I loved the journal entries and each chapter was surprise after surprise. This entire story was just so shocking and because I had my own brush with suicide I felt so much for Gabe. I think that readers will enjoy this trilogy as a whole as they ride the highs and lows of these amazing characters.” Crossroad Reviews

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Cantos Love: Gabe

I just recently returned from a trip home… my first home, I should say, Oregon. It was a visit with family. reconnecting with many people I hadn’t seen in years. The trip made me think of Gabe, of The Bones of Who We Are and his mental and emotional journey back in time. (Definitely check the trigger warnings if you dive into that book). There’s a saying that “you can’t go home” again… and maybe that’s true in the sense when you do return home you are changed . . . but I do think there is power in returning home—just like any hero’s journey and the return with the elixir (in this case knowledge and experience).

As I write this—March 21—it’s Gabe’s birthday—and I’m on an airplane returning to my new home. I am getting ready to dive into the next newsletter installment of The Wedding Assignment (in which he returns with everyone else from The Cantos Chronicles). I’m having a lot of fun writing these characters as adults, but you can only read it in the newsletter.

Want to read more Gabe?

Here’s a link to the letters (his is included here).

Here’s a bunch of posts I put together when I first marketed this story (the cover is different!)

An aesthetic

5 Thinks to Know About Gabe and 5 More Facts and 5 Reason Gabe thinks he’s a monster

The Story and Different Kinds of Love

Teens and Depression and Gabe

Gabe and Poetry

The Bones of Who We Are Playlist (the list) and here’s a link to the Spotify list)

Where you can find Gabe:

Swimming Sideways

The Ugly Truth

The Bones of Who We Are

The Wedding Assignment

Cantos Love: Seth

I have a secret. Come a little closer… Seth is one of my favorite characters. Shhhh. Don’t tell the others. But the proof is in how many different works he’s made his way into. He starred in The Ugly Truth, and was a secondary character in Swimming Sideways and The Bones of Who We Are. Then he showed up starring in a second novel, The Messy Truth About Love. And now he’s made an appearance in the new novella I’m publishing in my newsletter, The Wedding Assignment. The only other character to make so many appearances is Tanner from The Stories Stars Tell. I must have a thing for the broody and slightly villainous. Okay. Maybe an overstatement. Morally gray? Probably better.

In honor of three years, here are the character letters reposted from our Cantos Crew: Abby, Seth, and Gabe.

There’s a link to The Ugly Truth Spotify playlist (definitely check out my favorite track, Ayahuaesca by Vancouver Sleep Clinic).

Do you have a favorite character from the Cantos Chronicles?

Cantos Love: How They Came to Be

For anyone that’s been following my writing journey, you’ll know that the 2018 version of Swimming Sideways didn’t  start out as a contemporary coming-of-age story but as a 2008 paranormal fantasy called Fallen (That’s a link to that original story). After facing a plethora of rejections, I put this story away and moved away from writing believing that I just must not be good enough. Rejection—at the time—did a number on my self-confidence—but Abby, Seth, and Gabe didn’t stop talking to me regardless of my insecurities. So I wrote The Ugly Truth abandoning Fallen with the belief that perhaps Fallen had always been Seth’s story after all. That is when the paranormal fell away and The Ugly Truth became a contemporary coming-of-age story. I queried again. Only this time, after even more rejection, I stopped writing.

Fast forward several years, my father unexpectedly passed away.

Grief did strange things to me, and one of those things was forcing me to return to the one place I felt comfort, like the best version of myself. Writing was the one place that offered me solace amidst the grief. During that first year, I remember looking in the mirror and asking myself, “if you only had today, are you doing what you were meant to do?” And I knew that while I was doing something I was good at, writing had always been my passion—my calling. That awareness now alive inside me, within the next week, I was sitting in my car at a stoplight and Abby spoke up: “It’s time to write my story,” she said.

So I did. Finishing Abby’s story, Swimming Sideways, helped me fix Seth’s, The Ugly Truth, and suddenly Gabe started talking, and The Bones of Who We Are was written.

These stories go together—it’s hard to read one without the context of the other. Abby’s story, Swimming Sideways,  is first because her story is the catalyst that brings change to Cantos, to the reality of what has become the norm for Seth and Gabe and Cantos High. But because she brings that change, Seth and Gabe can’t stay the same. Seth’s story The Ugly Truth is the follow up to Swimming Sideways and explores how that change manifests in his life (check the trigger warnings), but Seth’s change doesn’t occur in isolation, impacting Gabe in The Bones of Who We Are and pushing him toward his own change (check the trigger warnings). Each story is told from the perspective of one of the three characters, each offering their version of the story.

I’m really proud of these stories, of forcing myself to push through the the insecurities, the doubt, and the imposter syndrome to see these three books published. While it didn’t happen when I thought it would, these books getting finished and published happened when it was supposed to. Timing, sometimes, is everything.

If you haven’t read these stories, Abby kick things off, here’s with a letter introducing you to her journey.

And if you’ve read all three of these books, you might enjoy these short vignettes from In the Wait (but there are spoilers if you haven’t read the books).

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Cantos Love: A Month of Cantos

It’s Cantos Month!  Three years ago this month, The Cantos Chronicles were rereleased with their new covers! 

And last year, The Messy Truth About Love came out, adding to the Cantos World.

Did you know that I’m writing a serialized story in my newsletter called The Wedding Assignment about Abby and Gabe? 

Want access to this story? Sign up for my newsletter. (sign up here)

I’m having a ton of fun, and to celebrate, I wanted to spend the month highlighting some fun bits about these books from reader thoughts to background fun. Be sure to comment and tell me what you’d like to know more about.

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The Letters She Left Behind, 3 Years.

When I was in my early twenties—an English major—I wanted to be a writer. I knew I wanted to be a writer before that even, when I would choose to sit at home and pen stories over going out with high school friends. Or when I would close my latest Judith McNaught reread and think: I want to do that. Even before then, when I wrote my first story at eight and read it out loud to my mom.

I read recently in a book by Deepak Chopra called The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams (1994), the seventh law was the Law of Dharma or Your Life’s Purpose. To paraphrase Chopra (definitely check out the book if you’re interested), each of us is born with unique talents and a way of expressing it that is original to us. In conjunction with that talent is a set of personal needs matched up to that talent which can only be expressed by us. By fulfilling this need utilizing our talents, we will find fulfillment. 

I understand this. My love and desire for writing and stories started early, and my proclivities and knack for it always leaned in that direction. That doesn’t mean, however, that at eight, or sixteen, or twenty-six, I was prepared to achieve the dream. There was work to do.

Case in point: One of the first novels I wrote (not the first. That one sits in a proverbial eDrawer collecting electronic dust), was The Letters She Left Behind, a romantic suspense that follows Adam and Alex on an adventure to catch a killer, all while given a second chance at love. I was around twenty-seven when I wrote it, a new wife of three years, a new mother. My main characters in this story, however, are in their late forties and dealing with things like grief, being widowed, and the empty nest. Needless to say, at twenty-seven, I was ill-equipped to write this story, severely lacking experience to give it justice. 

“Talent is nothing without hard work”

— Cristiano Rinaldo

While I think we may have a talent or a knack for something, that doesn’t mean it is’t necessary to build the skills necessary to do it. When I look at The Letters She Left Behind (which was rewritten in 2019 and published in January 2020) I can see how much I have grown as a writer since, how much experience I’ve gained. How much practice I’ve devoted to the craft. I love how footballer Cristiano Rinaldo tweeted once, “Talent is nothing without hard work.” I have had to work hard to develop those natural talents toward writing. 

When I reread The Letters She Left Behind, sometimes I think I should rewrite it and re-release. Then I think that would be a disservice to who I was as a writer and all the ways I grown since. It’s good to look back over the bridge to see where I once was to appreciate where I am at now. And hopefully, I’m always working hard to grow.

So in honor of the anniversary of the publication of The Letters She Left Behind 3 years ago, here’s to working hard and growing.

Also, here’s some previous blogs I wrote about this book:

Playlist

Character Interview with Adam and Alex

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Behind-the Scenes: The Trials of Imogene Sol

I promised the story behind The Ring Academy: The Trials of Imogene Sol. So here it is. 

At the end of 2019, I had just released The Bones of Who We Are, and in the in between before a new project was discovered, I decided I wanted to both have fun with writing, develop my craft, challenge myself, and include the people who followed me on Instagram. In my stories, I asked my followers to vote on what they were interested in me writing by choosing their top categories for me to mash up. The winning categories were SciFi and Romance (which is probably much better suited to Maci Aurora than CL Walters, but this was before Maci Aurora made the scene). Thereby, Imogene Sol was created. At the end of 2019, I wrote several chapters, but in early 2020 (pre-pandemic), after a trip to the hospital for an emergency gallbladder surgery, I lost the thread of the story.

For the next nine months, Imogene Sol’s story sat. Toward the end of 2020 in the midst of lockdown, I decided to look at Imogene’s story again, knowing I needed something for my newsletter and wondering if it might be something to include. I wrote another draft—a complete one—and published it in my newsletter in 2021 as a serialized story. 

As I worked on publishing The Messy Truth About Love in 2022, I knew I didn’t have the creative bandwidth to write a new novel yet. So I decided to strengthen The Trials of Imogene Sol with a revision and publish it as a novella, hoping for a bit more time to refill the creative well. I was aware the story needed a few more scenes to help it feel more complete, but knew that could be done given the amount of time I was providing myself.

Now, three months into rewriting, it turns out there is enough story for a novel—and a fun one at that. I’m in the process of the first revision (after the drafted rewrite and armed with some feedback). With a few new scenes still to write, the book is nearing the 50,000 word mark. Shorter than most of my novels, but still considered a full length novel. For comparison, Swimming Sideways topped out around 82,000 give or take a few words and The Messy Truth About Love was around 95,000 words. My longest novel is The Stories Stars Tell which altogether is around 135,000 words give or take (very long for a contemporary).

Besides the length of the story, the biggest difference is the category. All my books up to this point have been contemporary stories with the exception of The Ugly Truth and The Bones of Who We Are which while still mostly contemporary, both contain elements of magical realism. Imogene Sol’s story is going to be the biggest change. 

Set on a planet in an interplanetary federation, Imogene’s story takes place at a Federation Academy called The Ring Academy during her final year. She’s competing for job placement in the Federation, only it becomes very clear that someone is after her, and it isn't just her job on the line but her life. This story is going to be more plot driven than many of my other stories, but there’s still an important emphasis on interpersonal relationships, including a budding romance. While not strictly science fiction, I’d label it more space opera, or a subcategory of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare while capitalizing on the melodrama of high-stakes and high risk adventure, interpersonal relationships, and romance. A famous example of a space opera is Star Wars.

Ultimately, I am enjoying the opportunity to write outside the “norm” of what I’ve offered so far in stories I’ve published. I absolutely adore contemporary stories, but I am also a huge fan of other categories. Imogene Sol isn’t the last story you will get from me that steps outside the bounds of contemporary stories. I hope you are as excited about that as I am.

The Ring Academy: The Trials of Imogene Sol is scheduled for publication on August 1, 2023.

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Behind-the-Scenes: Reading & All My Rage

An important part of my process as a writer is reading. I’ve mentioned this before… repeatedly. Reading across genre and category on a continuum from amazing reads to mediocre to needs so much work is a powerful tool. This practice helps me with my own craft and style. It helps me see amazing author choices and technique, to varied narrative structures, to how not to approach writing. All powerful lessons.

Some of my auto-buy authors.

Every once in a while I come across a book that blows me away. These books are the ones that linger long after I’ve closed the book. They make it hard to sleep because I’m thinking about the characters and the dilemma. They make me want to slow down and savor them, but I can’t help but burn through it page after page because I need to know what happens. These are the books whose authors have a way with words that somehow connects with my bones and takes up residence in my marrow. Language so powerful that it somehow changes my DNA.  

I want to share these books with you, so here we go. The first one this year is All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir.

All My Rage sat on my shelf since its release in 2022. I preordered it. Got a signed copy. Tahir is one of my favorite authors, and I have made the claim that Ember in the Ashes series is one of the best YA fantasy works I have ever read. And still All My Rage sat on my TBR shelf and sat and sat. Why? I knew I was going to love it,  and I didn’t want it to be over. So rather than read it, knowing it was there waiting for when I was ready was comforting. Do you know what I mean?

Well, I finally pulled it from the shelf as my first read of 2023. I was right. I knew what it would be, how I would feel reading it. All My Rage is magic (and an award winner. It deserves all the awards!).

The story follows Noor and Salahudin during their senior year in the small town of Juniper. While they are in a fight and avoiding one another, the failing health of Salahudinʻs mom brings them back together. As they navigate the complicated and painful landscape of their lives, they can count on one another to weather the awful storms each of them face. But when circumstances tear them apart, they find themselves clinging to a solitary life preserver. Will they be able to find their way back to one another?

Tahir has a way with words that burrows under your skin. Her ability to get right to the heart of a thought with succinct clarity is powerful. She creates characters that are flesh and bone, trapped inside the black and ivory pages, ready to leap fully formed into the world. The narrative is adeptly pieced together revealing truths both ugly and beautiful in a way that isn’t rooted in blame or pain but rather in the matter-of-fact humanness. It is what it is. And yet still offers us a slice of hope that we can navigate the uglier parts to find the beautiful.

All My Rage is a tapestry layered with themes of grief, addiction, anger, abuse, racism, and poverty. A tour de force, this is a story that conveys the truth. From being a teen, to being caught by one’s circumstances, to finding love, to giving and accepting forgiveness, Tahir’s All My Rage captures the beauty of the human spirit in all it’s flaws and all its beauty. 

When I closed the book with tears in my eyes, I wanted to read it for the first time… again. I had experienced something great. A work of perfection that I needed to share. All My Rage is everything, and the very reason I am in love with stories, with reading, and with writing. 

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Book Hangover List

Tomorrow is my birthday. When I was little, I loved my birthday. My parents made it magical. Ask anyone, and one of the first things out of my mouth was the date of my birthday. My cousins loved to tease me because I always said it backwards (at least in the US). “When’s your birthday ,Cam?” they’d ask. “Seventeen November,” I’d answer. I still love my birthday, though as an adult, I don’t struggle to go to sleep the night before excited about presents. Truthfully, now I wouldn’t mind the clock slowing down because I realize how much quicker each birthday arrives.

Speaking of gifts, one of my favorite things to receive are books. So to celebrate, I thought I would share with you the books that have given me a book hangover. You know those books that when you close the cover after the final page, you sit in silence. And sometimes, it’s even hard to move forward, since you’re walking around in that story fog as it lingers. In no particular order, these are books I read that left me reeling in some way (needing a debrief) so that I had to pick up a book in a different genre to read something else.

So in no particular order:

1. Marcus Zusak’s Bridge of Clay (OMG! I love this book.)

2. Carlos Ruiz Zaffon’s Shadow of the Wind (Pure magic.)

3. Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes quartet. (The last one is A Sky Beyond the Storm. But I reread the series. Read the whole thing again. Seriously.)

4. Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner (Dear God… ugly cried.)

5. Jennifer Niven’s Breathless (Closed the book and felt empowered. My life finally made sense. )

6. Jeff Zenter’s  In a Wild Light (Every book by Jeff Zentner has given me a book hangover. He has this way of capturing character and then they worm their way into your heart.)

7. Fredrick Backman’s A Man Called Ove (They’re making a movie of this one. I loved it so much.)

8. TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea (Amazing characters and humor? Can’t go wrong.)

9. Emily Henry’s Book Lovers (*sigh.)

10. Mary E Pearson’s Dance of Thieves Duology. (I think about this story all the time. Like I’ll just be washing dishes and think about Kazi and Jase and wonder about their story.)

11. Rebecca Roanhorse Black Sun (One of the best fantasy novels I’ve read.)

12. V.E. Schwab’s Darker Shade of Magic (I remember being in awe when I read this. I was just shocked at how perfect this was).

I could add to this list, but it’s what I’ve got for now. Let me know if any of yours are on this list. Or better yet tell me one that isn’t so I can add it to my ever growing TBR.

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Advice: Find your People

I was sitting in a high school classroom the other day listening to high school students chat with one another. They sat in clumps, computers open, phones out, some with masks and others without.  Their conversations ranged from processing friendship drama to loud exuberance over a game they’d played the night before. Some begrudged the annoying dress code for an upcoming dance while others focused on an upcoming quiz in math. It made me think about my own experiences at that age and how important it felt to just be in the moment with one’s friends. How important it was to feel as if I had the opportunity to just be myself.

I was seventeen when this was taken.

Only, through my teenage years I never had been. It wasn’t like I didn’t like myself. I did. I just remember being afraid that other people might not like me. I was an introvert in disguise as an extrovert, a chameleon shifting colors to adapt to my needs. All I really wanted to do was be at home writing or reading. I remember feeling like other people wouldn’t be able to relate. They were fun and energetic. They did fun things, went to parties, had significant others. They wore stylish clothes and did well in classes. In hindsight, I was those things too. I didn’t have a boyfriend, but I had friends. Teachers liked me. I worked hard and did well. I was fun and laughed and was very conscious about how I presented myself. Though high school was mostly positive for me, I wouldn’t want to return to high school. College was where I finally began to feel comfortable in my own skin.

I read in this book—The Tattoo by Chris McKinney—about how each person has three suns around which they revolve. Those suns are family, friends, and a significant other. The main character of the book—Kenji—expresses that if two of those suns function in your life, then all’s good, but if two of them fail, you’re screwed. The point being: you must find your tribe.

Some of my favorite stories include the found family trope. The Aurora Cycle by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman; The Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, The Raven Cycle by Maggie Steifvater, Fable by Adrienne Young, The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. I love the idea of people finding their tribe. In the new story I’m working on, The Ring Academy: The Trials of Imogene Sol, Imogene’s found family is important as they help her clear her name of a horrible charge that could get her kicked out of the academy.

Coming August 1, 2023

I’m not exactly sure what this blog is about—maybe just a thought dump, but clearly, I’m thinking about “the tribe.” If I could offer a young person any sort of advice it would be that: Find your tribe.