Welcome to the RPLA Showcase
2016 Published Novella
Crystal Night by Charles A. Cornell
In Crystal Night, on the eve of one of history’s darkest moments, a Swedish bartender working in Nazi Germany accidentally uncovers a woman’s hidden past. Can he avoid becoming an accomplice as the Holocaust accelerates?
At the 2016 Royal Palm Literary Awards Banquet, author Charles A. Cornell won First Place in the Published Novella category. Each year at the RPLA Banquet, authors experience the joy of earning accolades for all the hard work that is often done in the privacy of the home with little to no recognition. We’re showcasing the best of the best with our First Place winners spotlight. Not only does RPLA recognize extraordinary talent, but we’re giving readers an opportunity to sample excerpts from the winning stories.
Click the link to read a sample:
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Q & A with Charles A. Cornell
Q: Where do you get your story ideas?
A: All of my story ideas start with the question: what if? This question leads to possibilities and then my imagination takes over. Speculative fiction speculates about science, magic and alternative history. There are tons of what-if questions in this genre. I never have a shortage of ideas I’d like to write about, just a shortage of time to write about all of them!
Q: Anything in particular about your award-winning RPLA entry that you’d like to share?
A: Crystal Night is a science fiction story set during an infamously dark period of human history in the Nazi era. Young people today may not be interested in reading the historical non-fiction about this time. So I constructed this story as sci-fi to attract readers to a subject they might otherwise be passed over. Crystal Night uses thoroughly researched social history, real place settings and the actual events of Kristallnacht 1938 with the added question of ‘what if these events were seen through alien eyes?’
Q: Who do you credit with inspiring your writing?
A: When I was very young I took inspiration from classic sci-fi writers such as Isaac Asimov, Aldous Huxley and John Wyndham. I was a devoted reader of the John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The most impressionable book I’ve ever read is 1984 by George Orwell. These works still inspire me today. I do love watching sci-fi and action movies. The quality of special effects today brings a lot of visual imagery to my creative writing process.
Q: Any tips for new writers?
A: Craft, craft and more craft. You never stop learning the craft of being an author. Don’t be afraid to express your inner feelings in your work. Following a trend is fine but be true to yourself and your characters. Accept rejection as an occupational hazard and keep moving forward in spite of it.
Thank you for sharing, Charles, and congratulations! Visit his website: www.charlesacornell.com
*When you purchase this book from the Amazon Smile link provided, you are promoting literacy throughout Florida. You pay no extra cost for the book. The Amazon Smile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to Florida Writers Foundation.
For more details about FWF, visit www.floridawritersfoundation.com
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Joni M Fisher
Congratulations, Charles A. Cornell!
Ken Pelham
Having read this story, it’s good to read some of your thoughts on its generation. Well done, Charles!