Sofia Robleda: On Finding an Agent That Never Gave Up
Sofia Robleda is a Mexican writer. She spent her childhood and adolescence in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. She completed her undergraduate and doctorate degrees in psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia. She currently lives in the U.K. with her husband and son, and splits her time between writing, raising her son, and working as a clinical psychologist supporting people with brain injuries and neurological conditions. For more information visit SofiaRobleda.com, and follow her on X (Twitter) and Instagram.
Sofia Robleda
Photo (c) Michael Oosthuizen
In this interview, Sofia discusses how a DNA test helped inspire her new historical fiction novel, Daughter of Fire, her hope for readers, and more!
Name: Sofia Robleda
Literary agent: Johanna V. Castillo, Writer’s House
Book title: Daughter of Fire
Publisher: Amazon Crossing
Release date: July 23, 2024
Genre/category: Historical Fiction
Elevator pitch: For a young woman coming of age in 16th-century Guatemala, safeguarding her people’s legacy is a dangerous pursuit in a mystical, empowering, and richly imagined historical novel.
Bookshop | Amazon
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What prompted you to write this book?
In 2018 I asked for a DNA test as my Christmas present. By this point in my writing career, I’d written two fantasy novels and had gotten hundreds of rejections, but I didn’t want to give up on my dream to become an author. The results took months to come, and as I’d expected, the majority of my “blood” was European/Spanish. What I didn’t know, is that I also had a fair bit of Indigenous “New World” blood, as they called it.
I started reading more about our native history, especially about the Mexica and the Maya. Growing up in Mexico City and Cancun, we’d been exposed to a lot of the awesome parts of those civilizations, but I wanted to know the real stories. Not just the stuff they teach you at school. When I came across the fact that a bishop in Yucatan had burned thousands of Maya books, and only four had survived the conquest, I felt deep in my bones that I needed to tell this story.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It took five years to research (including a trip to Guatemala), write, edit, find an agent, and find a publisher. The heart of the book always stayed constant, the story of this young woman coming of age as she grapples with the two halves of her K’iche’ Maya and Spanish identity, all the while trying to fulfill a promise to her mother to preserve the sacred text of their people, the Popol Vuh. The romantic sublot also remained steadfast throughout all stages, but there were several additional subplots and many (many) characters who were sacrificed or melded together in the end, for good reasons. I’m completely in love with the way this novel has turned out in the end, and I can’t wait for people to read it!
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
The loveliest surprise was that I managed to land an agent quite quickly, and in a rather unusual fashion. When it was time to query my novel (which means approaching agents who might be interested in representing it), I started by doing it the “usual’” way. I would email them and hope they liked my “hook” enough to want to read more of it. But it so happened that X (Twitter) used to have these epic all-day events called PitMad where you could write a tweet about your novel and use specific hashtags that agents and publishers could use to find novels they might like.
Well, I have to admit, it is not my strength to write short things, I like a good plot twist and tangents. I cannot write an elevator pitch to save my life. But I so happened to have a writer friend who had read through my novel already. I sent her my pathetic draft Tweet to ask her for some feedback. Instead, she wrote back an entirely different and outrageously improved one.
My wonderful agent Johanna Castillo saw the Tweet and gave it a like, and we began the process of submission—which, actually, was the “bad” surprise. It took us almost two years to find a publisher! It was really demoralizing at times, but Johanna never gave up, and neither did I.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I think the best surprise was seeing firsthand how all the work and learning I’d done in my previous “failed” novels had consolidated and helped me become a better writer. I really felt like this book poured out of me, not only because it was a story which was truly coming from the heart, but also because of how easily the words came to my fingertips.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope they become immersed in the setting, in the internal battle that Catalina faces in choosing between her father and mother. I hope people can feel the devastation that comes from colonization, and I hope they fall in love with the K’iche’ culture and the Popol Vuh.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Every time I sit down and write I tell myself, STORY FIRST, TELL THE TRUTH, ROCKS EXPLODE.
Story first is the most important thing. If you’re writing a novel, write the blurb even before you start. If you’ve already started, write it now. What I mean by blurb is the one or two paragraphs that say what your story is about—like the paragraphs written on the back covers of books. This blurb will act as your compass. If you can do that—you know the core of your story. You know where to go if you get lost.
To understand the other two bits, these are pieces of advice I saw/read from Neil Gaiman – “Fiction is the lie that tells the truth,” and Stephen King’s memoir On Writing, which I highly recommend.
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