John Charles Reedburg - A Spellbinding Novel, a Riveting Meditation on Identity and Ancestry

John Charles Reedburg is a talented producer, author, screenwriter, and award-winning filmmaker with almost 15 years in the entertainment industry. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Guy Hanks and Marvin Miller Screenwriting Fellowship Program at the University of Southern California. He holds an MFA in Fiction from Antioch University Los Angeles, an MFA in Screenwriting and Directing from Chapman University, and undergraduate degrees in Communications and Journalism from California State University and El Camino College. In 2004, he was one out of three winning filmmakers chosen out of 2,000 applicants to make a film for the Dodge Fellowship Grant Award at Chapman University. His thesis film "Rib Shack" won several festival awards. John's literary work has featured in the Fictional Cafe. As our Author of the Day, he tells us all about his book, Cracks of Light.

Please give us a short introduction to what Cracks of Light is about.

Cracks Of Light is a story about a nine-year-old boy named Demetrius, who is raised by an abusive younger mom, Olivia. Olivia suffers from a mental illness and often self-medicates to cope and that's her trigger for abuse towards the boy. The only way for Demetrius to often escape from his reality is through the use of his overly active imagination and his frequent encounters with the supernatural known as The Light. However, his mom, Olivia isn't all bad, she's mostly a mom learning how to be a parent and has suffered childhood trauma herself growing up. She was a runaway teen when she had him. The Light is the supernatural energy that eventually links everything together through ancestry and visits to the other side. I consider this novel as an urban fantasy horror that is grounded in reality. It's sort of how the tagline states it, "Which would you trust, an abusive human, or a comforting orb of Light?"

What inspired you to write this story? Was there anything in particular that made you want to tackle this?

The idea came from a couple of screenplays I wrote in undergrad and grad school. While a junior in undergrad at California State University in Dominguez Hills, I wrote my first screenplay called "Dying While Dead," it was my first screenplay and everyone said it read like a novel. So I scrapped it and kept the character premise for Demetrius and changed his mom's name to Olivia. In grad school at Chapman University's film program, I had another screenplay called "Shaman" which was similar to Dying While Dead and about a boy named Kenny who dealt with the supernatural and spiritual energy and eventually he became a superhero. One day during a screenplay read in class someone was like, "Man if you could do this for an entire book. It'll be something else. You have a gift for writing descriptions." I was like, again, someone suggested I write a novel. Then after a few years of writing and optioning screenplays and never thinking of writing a book. Then finally, I had a phone interview with the late great Psychic Sylvia Browne a few months before she passed for an entertainment news channel on YouTube. Where I asked Sylvia after the interview, "What do you see in the future for me?" Then Sylvia was like, "I see you writing that novel." And I'm like "What novel? You don't see me writing a screenplay?" Sylvia said, "Yes, but first, I see you writing that novel." Then I thought about it. My mom said I should follow her advice. Already being a writer who wrote for screen, I wanted to brush up on my techniques for prose. So from there, I enrolled for my second MFA at Antioch University Los Angeles, where I wrote my debut novel "Cracks Of Light" and received a degree in Creative Writing. My first MFA was from Chapman University where I received an MFA in Writing & Directing for Film and Television.

You worked in the entertainment industry for almost 15 years. How has this influenced your writing?

I'm influenced by the diversity of people I often have to deal with or experience on a day-to-day basis. I watch the footage and study people down to the way they talk and formulate their speech patterns. Another way I'm influenced is through having a thick skin and understanding how to accept criticism and separate art from business. I only allow someone's opinion to improve me, and never move me.

Tell us more about young Demetrius. What makes him tick?

The thing that makes Demetrius tick is that he mainly wants a normal functioning family and he wants to understand why things are happening the way they are.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

Not much outside of writing, filmmaking, and anything entertainment industry-related.

The plot addresses complex issues, including mental illness, abuse, and addiction. Was this hard to do sensitively?

Yes and no, the hardest part was rationalizing how intense I should be in presenting the subject matter to readers. Some readers may appreciate me being uncompromising in the illustration of abuse, addiction, and mental illness within the story and some may not. However, at the end of the day, it is all about my license in bringing into my art and that is something I will never compromise -- The Truth.

How is Cracks of Light different from your regular type fantasy books?

It’s an urban fantasy horror that’s grounded in reality.

Cool cover - tell us more about how it came about.

The concept for the cover is inspired by what actually takes place in chapter two of the novel where the main character is locked in a dark closet and comes into contact with The Other Side.

The book contains some shocking twists - did you plan it all out before you started writing? Or did some of it just "happen" along the way?

I began with a premise but didn’t write an actual outline until after completing the first draft of the book. Sometimes it's more exciting to let things happen along the way. I like surprising myself sometimes.

Which of your characters was the most challenging to create?

Pastor Jordan Demetrius’ grandfather Revered Dr. Reginald A. Jordan and his mom Olivia have been the most challenging when compared to other characters from the story.

This is book 1 of the Cracks of Light Series. Can it be read as a standalone? How do the other books in this series tie in with this one?

Cracks Of Light can be read as a standalone. However, each person in the Jordan family will have a book dedicated to the telling of their story involving The Light.

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

Don’t have any interesting writing habits but my average writing day always begins with a terrific cup of hot coffee.

What are you working on right now?

Right now, I’m finishing the second book in the Cracks Of Light series. Hopefully, it’ll be out by March.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

They can contact and follow me via social media:

https://www.facebook.com/JohnCharlesReedburg
https://www.instagram.com/johncharlesreedburg/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21170197.John_Charles_Reedburg

https://www.amazon.com/John-Reedburg/e/B08W2DP5QL