[Author Bio]

Cameron Alan "C.A." Gordon is an American independently published author, public speaker, blogger, dancer, skateboarder, and comic book superhero enthusiast. He is the creator of the sci-fi/fantasy novel series TEEN JUSTICE and has released the first two installments of the Justice Has a Curfew trilogy: Book One (2023) and Book Two (2024). The final entry, Book Three, is currently in development.

Childhood: Early inspirations and aptitudes (Birth-1996)

Cameron Gordon was born in Seattle, Washington, to former Navy journalists Albert "Butch" Ford, Jr., a professional jazz pianist, and L'Tanya Yvette Gordon, a social worker and entrepreneur. Shortly after Gordon's birth, his mother relocated to southern California to raise her son as a single parent with the aid of her family; particularly her father, Perry Gordon. Gordon lived in San Bernardino from the ages of three to seven before his mother relocated again, this time to San Diego County. The two finally settled in Oceanside near the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.

At the age of three, Gordon's sense of ethics and entire worldview were shaped by his introduction to the DC Comics superhero Batman as depicted in the 1989 film. His mother also instilled a deep appreciation for classical literature and the theatre, especially the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Gordon attended a Montessori preschool, where he discovered his passion for performance and audience engagement in the role of Baby Bear in a production of the fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears. In addition to his obsession with Batman, Gordon quickly grew enamored with other comic book characters that enjoyed a cinematic rebirth in the early 1990s, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dick Tracy. By the time Batman Returns was released in 1992, Gordon added Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Green Hornet to his regular rotation via reruns on Nick at Nite (later FX and the SyFy channel).

As a result of severe childhood asthma combined with constant exposure to the San Bernardino and Los Angeles smog, Gordon spent much time in the hospital and underwent multiple emergency nebulizer treatments. In addition, frequent asthmatic attacks (some of which mysteriously recurred on Sunday evenings between 8-11pm PT) facilitated Gordon's introduction to the world of comedy via The Simpsons and In Living Color, later succeeded by The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, and Mad TV.

Initially described by elementary school instructors as "hyperactive", it was quickly determined that Gordon would benefit from placement in gifted and talented education (GATE), in which he participated from the first through fifth grades. At the commencement of the fifth grade at Lake Elementary, Gordon was voted "Most Likely to Become a Scientist" by his classmates.

Middle school: Multiple relocations and household shuffle (1997-1999)

Following his mother's first diagnosed bipolar breakdown and a short tenure at the prestigious Guajome Park Academy public charter school in Vista, Gordon was moved to the barrio section of Oceanside, where he attended three middle schools over the course of two grades (including a semester in home school). It was during this period that Gordon experienced overt racism for the first time from neighbors and classmates, as well as general bullying due to his limited athletic capabilities, above average intellect, and refusal to conform to traditional young Black male stereotypes ("I was Urkel until middle school and Carlton until high school"). At the same time, Gordon's household expanded with the sudden additions of a former gang member cousin ten years his senior, followed shortly thereafter by an aunt on the verge of divorce (a different aunt than the mother of the cousin). By the end of 1999, Gordon was relocated to a small apartment complex situated across the street from Jefferson Middle School, the last public school he would attend prior to college.

Gordon's tenure at Jefferson includes several notable events, including:

• Gordon willingly relinquishing his bedroom to his newly divorced aunt and taking up residence in the spandrel beneath the 2nd-story staircase.

• Receiving the Backstreet Boys' multiplatinum album Millennium as a gift, only to immediately lend the CD to a pretty girl in class and have it returned with tracks 7-12 scratched beyond repair.

• Falling in love with and, subsequently, reciting a poem to his substitute teacher, Athena Koester, in front of the entire 8th-grade English class on the final day of Koester's week-long assignment.

• Failing a predictive career assessment.

• Gordon's first pet, a spayed toy poodle named Sirius, mysteriously giving birth to a litter of four puppies, including the runt, later named Niles.

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High school: Skating, storytelling, and the creation of TEEN JUSTICE (2000-2003)

In the aftermath of the Columbine massacre, it was decided that Gordon should eschew attending either of Oceanside's two available public high schools, Oceanside and El Camino High. Instead, he joined the inaugural class of Pacific View Charter, an innovative TK-12th grade hybrid institution that also prepared students for early graduation via the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE). This coincided with Gordon's lifelong dream of graduating at the early age of 16.

In the months following the successful release of the first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game, Gordon discovered that his asthma had reduced in severity from chronic to episodic, and that he was finally able to engage in extended periods of physical activity. He chose skateboarding as his focus, eventually emulating Rodney Mullen's freestyle approach to tricks as opposed to Hawk's popular vert style. Among his peers, Gordon is the only one to successfully land Mullen's signature half flip darkslide and handstand flip. Gordon continued skating well into his late 20's (prior to his marriage) and enjoyed a brief return to the craft after suffering a mild early midlife crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic when he turned 35.

From his earliest childhood attempts to entertain his mother and stay in the room with any additionally present adults as long as possible, Gordon displayed a natural talent for mimicry, comedic timing, and storytelling. During his freshman year of high school, he conceived the idea to turn the adventures of his and his two best friends' real-life backyard shenanigans into a fictional narrative of a group of teenage superheroes in the vain of such iconic teams as the Power Rangers, the Animorphs, Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, and the X-Men. Although he originally envisioned his creation as a group of nonpowered adolescent vigilantes, Gordon eventually made the critical creative decision to split his own psyche into five separate enhanced personalities and crafted "a series of revisionist autobiographies posing as a sci-fi superhero drama," resulting in the birth of Teen Justice.

College and introduction to dancing (2003-2007)

Gordon attended the Oceanside campus of MiraCosta College with the original goal of obtaining an AA in criminology to prepare for a potential career as a nonsworn field evidence technician with the Oceanside Police Department. However, during the fall semester of 2004, he opted for an introductory tap dance class instead of another self-paced weight training course to fulfill a physical fitness credit requirement; and, subsequently, Gordon discovered an innate talent and passion for the art. After an explosive breakout performance in the fall 2004 Shapes & Reflections dance show, Gordon spent the next several semesters immersed in a variety of dance courses, including advanced tap, jazz, modern, and contemporary.

Highlights during this period include:

• • Receiving the award for Best New Dancer at Dance Break 2005

  • Performing with an ensemble group at the American College Dance Festival at CSU Sacramento (2005)

  • A brief stint busking as a tap dancer in Kumamoto, Japan (2007)

  • Teaching tap and hip-hop dance for an after-school program at Lake Elementary (Gordon's alma matter) (2007)

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TEEN JUSTICE

Shortly after midnight on January 1, 2007, Gordon completed an initial draft of his first TEEN JUSTICE novel and submitted the manuscript to the Library of Congress for official copyright registration, complete with information about all characters, key concepts, locations, and all additional conceptual elements. More than sixteen years later, following several blog teasers and multiple traditional book publisher and literary agent query rejections, Gordon finally entered the world of independent publishing and released the first Justice Has a Curfew title in the summer of 2023. Curfew - Book Two was released in the fall of 2024, and the following spring saw the launch of Gordon's website and YouTube channel. Gordon is currently in the process of drafting Curfew - Book Three, with an anticipated completion date of late 2026.

Personal Life

Although raised as an only child by his mother, Gordon is actually the fifth of his father's eleven children, only two of whom he has met in person. He is the youngest of his maternal grandparents' four grandchildren and the only one of his siblings to carry the Gordon surname. When not in "maker mode," his interests include historical documentaries, comic books, video games, home renovation and police bodycam videos, music, movies and film scores, and popular culture.

Gordon is married and currently resides in northern California.
 

Published Works
 

TEEN JUSTICE novels

• Justice Has a Curfew - Book Three (in development)

• Justice Has a Curfew - Ultimate Edition (hardback compilation of Curfew trilogy with extensive bonus features) (TBA)

• Untitled TEEN JUSTICE trilogy (series books 4-6) (TBA)

Cam Infinitum blog (2016-2020)

• Prologue: It's pronounced "in-fi-NITE-ummmmm"

• Shuffle Play

• Lost in Transition

• Cinemacid Reflux Pt. 1

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Academic Publications

• Frenis Fallacy (From the Nighthawk Case Files) - short story, introduction to the Nighthawk universe (2002)

• Pacific View Charter Point Blank newspaper - staff editor, contributing writer, photographer, events coordinator (2002-2003)

• MiraCosta College Chariot newspaper - contributing artist, staff writer ("Detective Dude" column) (1998, 2004-2005)

• Hyde-nistic Dénouement - literary analysis of Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2008)

• Misanthropy is So Underrated - literary comparison of Moliere's Le Misanthrope with the MTV animated series Daria (2009)

• From Josie to J-Crew: Media in the Movies - sociological analysis of contemporary media through the lens of the 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats (2010)