Today we’d like to introduce you to Cy Cross.
Hi Cy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I’ve been writing for as long as I remember. One of my earliest memories is showing my father a story I wrote about my friends and I going on adventures. Eventually, I started planning out elaborate stories with my toys and action figures. But my habit of creating stories would’ve remained just a hobby if it weren’t for my parents, who cultivated a love for reading within me.
My mother would force my siblings and I to sit around her as she read novels aloud. I thought it was lame for at first, but before I knew it, one of those stories sucked me in. That’s when I began checking out books at the library at an alarming rate, and scholastic book fares became holidays.
Growing up as a light-skinned black kid who loved to read wasn’t easy. I was too white to fit in with black kids and too black to fit in with whites, so I was in a real awkward spot during a lot of my adolescence.
But no matter how bad things got, no matter how lonely I felt, books were a friend I could always rely on. I soon realized that I, too, was born to create stories other people could rely on during hard times, and I’ve been writing novels ever since.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Every writer will tell you that writing in today’s world is extraordinarily difficult. People’s attention spans have gotten shorter and shorter, so for a lot of people, picking up a book is the last thing they want to do when relaxing from a hard day’s work.
It doesn’t just affect writers trying to find their audience; it also affects our core motivation. If no one wants to read, why write in the first place?
This is a challenge I face every time I’m in front of a keyboard, and I suspect I’ll be facing it for the foreseeable future. Luckily for me, I’ve had people read my work, and they’ve expressed to me the joy and insight my stories have brought them. Knowing their lives are better for having experienced the trials and tribulations I put my characters through does wonders for my soul I cannot even begin to describe. With that in mind, I can continue to write new and better stories, plowing through my insecurities with every word I type.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
This is the premise of my novel Nina and Minerva: After an alien invasion cripples society, two extraordinary women from opposing factions fall in love as the burden of saving the world is thrust upon them.
Jealousy is a concept the animal kingdom has been grappling with since the very beginning, but social media has made it even easier for humans to be pitted against one another. Material items, perceived social status, the “quality” of romantic partners… With so many variables of our lives put on display for all to see, how can we possibly be secure about where we are in life?
Because Nina and Minerva is about two women on opposite sides of the social ladder falling in love, you get a look at the pros and cons of what it’s like living in a third-world country and a first-world country.
In a third-world country, external problems can be extreme. You don’t know where your next meal is coming from, your shelter is likely dilapidated, and drinking water can be a luxury. But the love born from those intense day-to-day hardships can create beautiful, fulfilling relationships that last a lifetime. This is reflected with Nina’s precious relationship with her little brother Lucio, who’s tragic death is the inciting incident of the story.
In a first-world country, internal problems can be extreme. If you’re lucky enough to have your day-to-day needs met, you don’t have critical distractions to take your mind away from cosmic questions like your purpose in life, your place in the universe, and how lonely you may be despite living a world more connected than ever. This is reflected in Minerva’s day-to-day life, who’s privilege and comfortability hides a deep depression she keeps hidden from everyone around her.
Because Nina and Minerva provides insight into two women living drastically different lives, the beautiful contrast between their circumstances will provide insight into your own life and make you appreciate aspects of it you may have taken for granted. After all, what’s the use of being jealous of others if everyone is going through it in their own unique way?
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I’ve known for a while that if you don’t risk anything, nothing will be gained. But I can’t say the decisions I’ve made in life were that risky.
After graduated high school, I had to make a decision. I could either go to college and be crushed under the financial burden of student loans for the next few decades, or I could get a job and write during my free time. Some may consider it risky choosing the latter, but it didn’t feel risky to me. I made the decision to do what I love, and doing anything else would’ve felt like the truly risky decision.
Pricing:
- Nina and Minerva – 19.99
- Nina and Minerva vs. The Shadow of Despair – 19.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://a.co/d/9DeZXoO
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilcrossv2/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/cy.cross.5?eav=AfZu1pW14GEuj6_pgmHSYoxFrFKAUmlZMxrWTQo0mVL8gIlc5ypECzGC7pdwYicBG3w&refid=7&ref=page_invite_notification&paipv=0
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilcrossv2
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@cycross3969?si=iCExJaYkNHsNGpmN
- Other: tiktok.com/@cy04070
Image Credits
Raul Martinez
@theramalakazaam
