Behind The Book Betrayed With CC Robinson 

Another author Mickey has reconnected me with yet again, is with author CC Robinson as we discuss the third book in the Divided series titled Betrayed! Betrayed will be released in October of 2026! 

Q: Welcome back to Book Notions CC! Without spoiling, what can fans expect in the third book Betrayed? 

A: Hey Bianca and everyone! I’m thrilled to be on here again.

As the third in the Divided series of four books, Betrayed represents the dark, descending part of the series, where our heroes get stretched to their limits. We hope they change into the new version of themselves who bring freedom to the Federated Republic of America, but that’s on them!

Harriet is our main, plot-advancing character for Betrayed, and she is a very unique leader for this book. Harriet’s personality isn’t like the “take-charge, do anything” Marcos or the “how dare they do that, anger-motivated” Rose. Harriet is a healer, a trained medic who’s now heading to College on the track to study medicine. She’s a steady, calm thinker who feels deeply but hides those emotions from the world.

But Harriet is also hiding a past which gets revealed at the end of Caged. This is a no-spoilers answer, but I’ll say that Betrayed is a road-trip adventure — where our heroes are desperately trying to find an ally against the deadly and evil Martin regime — rolled up with a grief-healing journey. Living in a dystopian society is not only life-limiting, but trauma-filled. And, of all my main characters, Harriet has borne the most trauma in her short life.

So, readers can expect the same, if not more, action elements as Divided and Caged, with quieter moments of introspection and healing woven in.

Q: What were the challenges of writing the third book in a series? Did you also have a great time writing the third book?

A: I had the best time! I finished the second, revised draft for this book in August and went straight into writing United, Book Four in the Divided series. I’d say the biggest challenge in the drafting process for Betrayed was keeping all the plot threads spinning, the characters going on the right trajectory, and the details straight in my own head. I keep what I thought was a fairly detailed series bible, but while writing United I realized it wasn’t enough. I’ve reformatted my series bible and am now using that as a reference while I revise Betrayed.

Writing a series is a bit like moving a family with young kids across the country on your own. It takes significant planning and tracking of details, something no one tells new writers until we bomb on a first draft and go searching for the solution. I happen to love spreadsheets, but this series overwhelmed even my spreadsheet geekiness. So, I’ve turned to a software called Plottr to help with my series bible and tracking all the details.

You didn’t ask this, but the most interesting part of writing Betrayed was researching modern grief and trauma healing methods. I deeply-dove into psychology / trauma healing books and totally nerded out on the subject. Hopefully readers will feel that depth as they watch Harriet facing her past trauma. In my deep dive I’ve come to realize we probably all need to face some past trauma in our lives. Carrying around these wounds helps no one, least of all us. But facing the trauma is much harder than it looks from the outside. It takes great courage and humility, two traits Harriet has in abundance, though she doesn’t see it in herself.

Q: What do you hope fans learn once they finish reading Betrayed? 

A: I hope they learn the value of having a close group of friends you can share anything, including your worst fears and nightmares, with. Harriet has that in Marcos, Rose, and Jason, but she must learn she can trust them with her life through this book. And hopefully, readers already know that racial hatred and prejudice are abhorrent, but there are more reminders inside this book on that theme!

Q: I forget, will there be a book 4 in the Divided series, or will Betrayed be the final book in the series?

A: Book Four, United, will be released 6-8 weeks after Betrayed, so yes! I had originally planned Divided as a trilogy, but with four main ethnicities and four main characters representing those ethnicities, I wanted each of my main characters to have their opportunity to lead us all. We got that with four books. Jason will be my main character advancing the plot in United, though that book’s plot has so much going on that it will feel like they’re all working together.

If readers follow me on social media (@ccrobinsonauthor on most platforms), I’m currently doing cover reveals for United and blurb reveals for both of the final books in the series. And of course, if readers want to sample my writing for free, all are welcome on my free e-newsletter list. Readers will receive Upheaval, the post-apocalyptic prequel to the Divided series, eBook for free. In Upheaval, we meet two of my favorite supporting characters, Moses and Juli, as they fight to save their hometown of Cincinnati from Martin’s domination. Sign up at https://ccrobinsonauthor.com/booknotions