IMAGINATION AND REALITY CLASH AND BLUR

The world is falling apart. nothing is the same anymore. There are no heroes left except for one. The evil that is wrecking my home and the villain I must defeat is my own family. And I might become the next villain, since I inherited the curse. But I can’t let that happen.

A story about overcoming and breaking the cycle of childhood abuse told in an action-packed character story about kids becoming superheroes and best friends!

Hello! Welcome to my page about ZCN & Friends, and thanks so much for taking the time to visit and read about the story.

Here’s a bit of background info on the book...

ZCN & Friends: Adventures in I*V is the story of my life, both how it happened in reality and inside of my head. There is a lot of personal reflection, growth, and identity searching in this series. This story has followed me all my life, just as it follows the narrative of my life. It has been my companion.

I recently finished a BA in English, and my final class at the college was to do a "Ted Talk" for school (y’know, before the virus happened). My topic was about Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and how it is misrepresented in media, particularly in horror films. As I delved into this topic because I was so interested in it, I got a sinking feeling that no one really understands what life is like for someone with DID, nor who anyone can really be! DID is presented as this surreal, "psychotic" state of being that leaves not only the sufferer in an existential crisis but also everyone around them in turmoil. I hated seeing this esoteric mental illness be painted in such a dubious and duplicitous light that I knew I had to get my story out there to destroy the stigma, especially as I saw the DID community come out in backlash against recent films like "Split" and "Glass." So, yes, everything in ZCN & Friends is based on my personal experiences with DID, and I hope that children and teens alike can view this lighthearted and serious story as an inspiration and can see that even someone with "the dreaded DID" can be a hero and someone they really want to look up to.

But that’s enough for the backstory... here’s what the book is actually about.

Zena (the self-proclaimed hero of the story, who even gave herself the middle name of "Coolio") is a 12-year-old "boy inside a girl’s body" who only knows how to fight. That is her purpose in life. As such, she trains under the legendary Angel of Battle nemself to be the strongest Water Wars fighter in all of the imaginary world of I*V. Zena is always proving herself to be strong, but she meets her match when a legendary villain is reawakened. Strangely familiar to Zena, this villain literally crumbles the world around her and paralyzes anyone who dares come near her with fear and overwhelming negative thoughts. Not only that, but the Angel of Battle cannot even stop the villain and must sacrifice nir powers to Zena, an action which causes Zena to lose her memories and grasp on reality temporarily. But Zena finds some friends to help her cause:

Calla and 5, children of the Leader of I*V and well-versed in the legends and stories of the Legendary Angels from times past. Calla is a pacifist, but will she gain the courage to fight back to save her brother, 5, as he struggles with a strange curse?

Kiki and Cassie, two best friends who just want to have fun. And the whole villain thing is ruining it.

Jamesy, a whiney kid who seems to have not grown past age 7 but also strangely is in-tune with what’s happening around him.

Guinnie, Zena’s pet penguin she rescued and rehabilitated. Yes, the penguin also has super powers.

As Zena confronts the legendary villain and tries to make new friends, she starts hearing strange voices in her head that sound at once familiar and detached. These voices help Zena to find resolve and to reconnect with her "lost self" in the real world, who is fighting an even tougher battle than she is...

What I love so much about ZCN & Friends is that the two stories (one in reality and one in the imaginary world of I*V) parallel each other and bring to light what life is like for a child detached from the world but still trying to deal with the reality of trauma, mental illness, and abuse. Reality can feel very surreal sometimes, especially for a kid so heavily dissociated from it. I coped a lot with problems by "zooming out" and viewing things as a story, so this is where the concept of ZCN & Friends comes from: taking an alternate look on reality’s suffering and seeing it from the lens of a child’s imagination as they go through it. So the "battles" feel real, in that way.

I hope you enjoyed reading a bit about ZCN & Friends and are looking forward to more of the story! I am currently finishing the final FINAL revision of the work, and I hope to have it all done and posted soon! I will post the chapters up to around 13 or so, which is half of the final work. I don’t want to spoil the whole thing. After all, I have to leave you wanting for more!

Have a lovely day and never forget to dream,

~CRK