Morgan Dark speaks about her YA fiction coming to the States
With so many books being published and self-published in America, many readers forget there are other books out there in the world… from different publishers stationed in different countries around the world. It is truly mind boggling when readers take a moment to think about this for many books readers pick up, especially classic books, have been translated to English from a different language. This is not just focused on the classics of old, but also on books of today. One such author who found success in Spain with her young adult novel is now about to find success in the States. Morgan Dark’s novel Zero is being translated from Spanish to English and released to readers in the United States for the first time as an e-book on June 28th.
Dark’s young adult novel focuses on the one-hundred-million-dollar thief, Zero. He is known for his robberies of high-class society; however, no one knows who he is, for his identity is concealed behind a silver mask. This does Kyle Bradford, senior at Drayton College, no good when he is accused of being Zero after special items around Drayton go missing. He sets out on a mission to clear his name and discover the thief’s true identity. Yet a shadow follows closely behind Kyle’s every step… Zero may be much closer than he thinks…
Zero will be Dark’s first novel translated to English as well as the first book of a trilogy she is currently working on. “Although my parents are from Spain, I was born in Miami. I am lucky to have two wonderful nationalities, but my life is, right now, in America. I love books so I spend a good bit of my time reading. And when I’m not reading, I’m writing new adventures for my characters,” Dark said. “Along with books, cooking is one of my other great passions and I like spending long hours over a hot stove preparing dishes. But, unfortunately, I am a terrible cooker…”
Every story has an origin. Though the idea for Dark’s series is a very intriguing one, it came from a rather traumatic experience on the author’s part. While living in New York, Dark’s apartment was robbed. Thankfully, Dark was not injured, but the experience was most certainly left an emotional scar. “Certainly, it was not a pleasant experience. After the [robbery], I was [traumatized] and I could not even sleep alone. I was afraid that the thief could come back, so I lived in a state of fear. But I have to admit that Zero helped me a lot. Creating the character and also the story behind him helped me forget what had happened little by little. It was like a cure for me.”
Though it did act as a cure, Zero was a challenging project for Dark. It took her six months to finish her first manuscript and then another three months to edit her work. “Writing Zero was not very easy because the whole book is like a huge puzzle. I didn’t want to reveal the truth behind Zero before [it was] time, so I wrote and re-wrote many scenes,” Dark said. Upon completion of her manuscript of Zero, she then decided to try and publish her work. “Before I started Zero, I was writing another YA book. A friend of mine told me about Rubiños at that time and I decided to try my luck. I sent them the manuscript and they answered me shortly after. That’s how it all started,” Dark said. “We are one big family so it is always a pleasure to work with them. You really feel that they take care of their authors. Being part of the publishing process is always an incredible thing, but if your publisher trusts in you, it is even better.”
Zero has found amazing success in Spain since its publication in 2015 and even won the Kritica Award for best young adult book of 2015. “When Zero was nominated, I was exultant because it is very hard to be among the top five YA books of the year. But when they announced that Zero was the winner, well, it was awesome: a feeling of warmth and good cheer,” Dark said. With how popular her book had become, it was not long after publication when English readers began seeking out and asking for Zero. “We sold almost [all of] the first print in just a few months [in Spain] and the novel was a smash hit on Amazon.es. But after its publication we started receiving emails from English readers. They wanted to read Zero because they had heard of it on the internet and they liked the book. So it was then when we planned to translate the novel to English,” Dark said.
Fans of Zero will be happy to know that the next installment in her series, Double Zero, is now for sale in Spain, which means an English translation cannot be far behind. “For the time being, there will be three books of Zero. The second one, Double Zero, will be on sale in Spain on June 9th and probably will be translated to English before Christmas,” Dark said. “Regarding current and future work plans, I am going to start writing the third book of Zero shortly and I also have some other projects in hand.”
Dark is a lovely young writer whose intriguing stories are now traveling across the globe. It is wonderful when different countries can share their culture with one another, especially stories, be they fact or fiction. Being a huge success already in Spain, it is likely Dark will find the same success in the States and she thanks her parents, her family, and her readers for their undying support in getting her to where she is today. “I would like to express thanks to my readers. This [would] not happen without you guys. You are amazing. And to those who have not read Zero yet, I would say this to them: if you are looking for a YA book full of mysteries and secrets in which nothing is what it seems to be, you will love Zero.” Dark said. “[To encourage writers,] I would give them two pieces of advice: trust and believe in yourself and write always about what you feel and what you think. You will be amazed how many of your dreams come true.”
Originally published at www.examiner.com on June 11, 2016.
