#NuevasPáginas: "Third Culture Kids"
with Sofia Robleda author of 'Daughter of Fire'
Hey Book Franz,
Apparently it’s National Latina Day! Which feels like a perfect time to remind you to explore the #NuevasPáginas archive for interviews with some powerhouse Latina authors that you might have missed in addition to today’s special guest! To celebrate, I asked BookThreads to shout out their favorite bookish Latina and I’d love to bring that energy here too — if you want to shout about a fellow Latina reader/author that you love, please feel free to do that in the comments.
But how are you doing? Are you gearing up for the fall/school season to begin? Are you reading? If so what are you reading? I’d love to check in and see how you are doing! Click on the link below and let’s catch up.
I personally have been hoovering between being busy, trying to enjoy the summer, trying not to get all emotional about my kid starting elementary school (I am currently failing at this) and worried/worked up with so much more. Reading hasn’t necessarily been the priority. It’s been hard to get sucked into a book lately though when it does happen for me, it’s felt like a miracle sent from the sky. I’ve been meaning to write a special review for a book that really sucked me in. Hoping to do that soon!
In terms of book events, I am [trying] to gear up for a busy September! I literally have an event every week in September. Why do I do this to myself, you might ask. Because I love books, I love talking to people that write books and that is my weakness. I have a hard time saying “No” when the opportunity to chat with an author comes up. Especially the authors I’ll be chatting with in September. I’ll do a whole issue on the events I have coming up in September, but for now, I wanted to share that I’ll get to speak with the first Latina Poet Laureate — Ada Limón! Wednesday, September 4th at 6:30 PM at the MLK Library auditorium!!!!!
Ada Limón will share a reading from her acclaimed works and we’ll be chatting about her ongoing exploration of our personal and societal ties to the natural world. I am so deeply excited and hoping not to fangirl too much. I just went over to the registration page to share the link with you all here, for anyone that might want to join us but apparently the event is FULL already!!! OMG, hello anxiety — yes I hear you in there. You can though still join the waitlist: Register here!
It’s been lovely catching up a bit and I hope to be back next week with another interview or even a review, but if not, I am wishing all the parents, caregivers and teachers a wonderful first week back to school. Teachers/caregivers — thank you for everything you do, it is not recognized enough but I hope you interact with parents that do acknowledge it. Parents — thank the teachers!
Wishing you happy reading,
#NuevasPáginas is a space that aims to amplify and spotlight Hispanic/Latine/x authors with newly published books. The goal is to connect readers to their next favorite Hispanic/Latine/x authored book through a mini casual get-to-know-the-book-and-author interview. So please help me connect to more readers. So that together we can continue to build the love/support of Latine literature!
Without further ado…our special guest author for today’s Nuevas Pagina issue is…Sofia Robleda author of Daughter of Fire!
Could you tell me a bit about where this photo was taken? Is it special to your book in some way?
This is my living/dining room where I write, in my home in London. I’m leaning on the stand-up writing desk my husband built for me, and which I used to write the majority of my book, so it’s pretty special.
Tell me about your book without telling me about your book - share any literary inspirations behind your book! If there are none, the gap you wanted to fill in the literary canon with your book
I LOVE retellings of ancient myths from a female perspective, think Circe, The Women of Troy. And I also LOVE novels set in royal courts… think The Other Boleyn Girl, Wolf Hall… but as far as I know, no one has really done a retelling of the Popol Vuh. Silvia Moreno Garcia touched on the Maya myths in her fabulous novel Gods of Jade and Shadow, which was a huge source of inspiration for me. And even though my original intention wasn’t to ‘fill a gap,’ but connect with my lost ancestry in some way, I do hope that I’ve somewhat expanded the retelling genre towards our own beautiful, prehispanic myths.
And now, I absolutely intend to fill more of the gaps I see. I love novels set in the 16th century, but they’re largely Eurocentric. We are oversaturated with the Tudors, or at least I am. But I want there to be stories about our royal courts and families… I have also tried to offer a glimpse into that 16th century world in Daughter of Fire, but I am working on more - I basically want to be the Mexican Philippa Gregory!
What are two central themes in your book that you connect with the most and why?
Catalina's search for belonging, and the struggle to reconcile the (sometimes painful) duality inside her is one that I connect to quite strongly. I grew up in Mexico but at the age of 10 there was a huge financial crisis in the country and my father (who was an airline pilot) moved us to Saudi Arabia for a better job. It was a massive culture shock. I didn’t speak English well, but I learnt it very quickly at the American school I attended. From then on, I was sort of split. I never felt completely Mexican ever again, but I also never felt Saudi, or Singaporean (where we moved to next), or Australian (where I went to for university). It was only at the age of 18 when our international school explained to our graduating class that we were ’Third Culture Kids’, that I understood more about this confused feeling inside me, of not fully fitting in anywhere, except maybe with other TCK’s like myself.
The other central theme that I also connect to is making your own choices and finding your own path in a patriarchal world. While I have been privileged to have a father (unlike Catalina) who has largely been supportive of me, I was still raised in two incredibly sexist countries, Mexico and Saudi Arabia (in the 90’s no less). Saudi especially left a deep mark inside me. I will say in fairness, that I loved the years we spent there and the many friendships I made with so many people from around the world, including Saudis, but it was a very difficult place for a young girl. It was difficult to be looked at and treated as a lesser being because I was a girl. I knew and I felt how wrong and unfair that was, and I spent many years feeling very angry about it. Catalina breaking out of the molds and restrictions placed upon her by the men around her (both K’iche’ Maya and Spanish), is a struggle I think that I, and many Latines are familiar with.
If a book was home, where would your home be?
*Quickly searches for books written in idyllic island or warm seaside locations where nothing bad happens*
Google: No exact matches found.
This is a very difficult question, probably because of what I’ve explained before and how I’ve grown up in different places - for a long time I haven’t been sure what “home" really feels like. But if there’s a book that gives me a feeling of comfort (having read it many times). I would say Pride and Prejudice. Obviously everyone in that novel is hyper privileged, but hey - a girl can dream about having endless help with cleaning, laundry, and childcare (I won’t mention cooking because my husband takes care of that thank goodness).
But anyway, I do love living in England. It’s an interesting place in many ways, but also in terms of converging a lot of my different ‘lives’. I’ve got childhood friends here from Saudi, high school friends from Singapore, university friends from Australia, and even a cousin from Mexico! People also visit all the time, which is something I never really experienced growing up either. But I don’t see myself living here forever. One day, I would love to go back and live in Mexico. Even though it’s been more than 20 years, it will always have the most special place in my heart, and I miss it.
If your book was a famous musician who would it be?
Ok so I was thinking probably a woman who is a fiery rock star but also incredibly compassionate, and I thought of Dolores O’Riordan from the Cranberries… I went to look her up and just found out she died in 2018 and now I’m crying. WHY ARE ALL THE BEST SINGERS DEAD! Anyway, I’m not really sure if I can pin it down to one singer, but I did curate a whole playlist for the book, which I’d love to share with you all:
What comfort food could a reader pair with your book?
Oh, now we’re talking! I cannot tell you how many tortillas were sacrificed in the pursuit of this book. Thousands. I just warm them up and eat them rolled up, plain. But of course you’re welcome to add cheese and make it a quesadilla, with Valentina or San Luis sauce, YUM.
In what ways has access (or little to no access) to Hispanic/Latinx/e literature defined you as a writer?
The only two Latinx books that I clearly remember reading as a teen were House of Spirits and Like Water for Chocolate. I read them both in English and in Spanish, and they’ve been seared into my brain. If I close my eyes I can flick through and picture some of the scenes in both books so clearly, they’re almost like a movie - and I’ve never watched either of the remakes! But yeah they had a huge impact on me, in helping me see our society more clearly, and giving a voice to that angry Mexican girl inside me.
I’ll also never be able to write without some kind of magic occurring in my books, and I thank Isabel Allende & Laura Esquivel for inspiring me to explore those magical elements which are such a key part of our culture. I do wish I’d had some more young adult novels to read growing up, or even Latinx picture books as a child. I envy kids nowadays who thankfully have a lot more choice, but of course there’s still a long way to go!
Where can readers keep up with your work?
If you’d like exclusive news and goodies, I have a newsletter called The Sporadic Herald that I send irregular updates on, which you can sign up to on my website: https://sofiarobleda.com/ I promise, I don’t spam!
I also am active on Instagram and Threads and sometimes TikTok: @sofiarobleda
I do hope you all love Catalina’s story! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Thank you to Sofia Robleda for taking the time to chat with me abouther book! Please please make sure you purchase a copy (or request your local library carry a copy) #SupportLatinxLit!
Sofia Robleda is a Mexican author. 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, in Australia. She currently lives in the UK with her husband and son, and splits her time writing, raising her son, and working as a psychologist, supporting people with brain injuries and neurological conditions.
Synopsis for Daughter of Fire: For a young woman coming of age in sixteenth-century Guatemala, safeguarding her people's legacy is a dangerous pursuit in a mystical, empowering, and richly imagined historical novel.
Catalina de Cerrato is being raised by her widowed father, Don Alonso, in 1551 Guatemala, scarcely thirty years since the Spanish invasion. A ruling member of the oppressive Spanish hierarchy, Don Alonso holds sway over the newly relegated lower class of Indigenous communities. Fiercely independent, Catalina struggles to honor her father and her late mother, a Maya noblewoman to whom Catalina made a vow that only she can keep: preserve the lost sacred text of the Popol Vuh, the treasured and now forbidden history of the K'iche' people.
Urged on by her mother's spirit voice, and possessing the gift of committing the invaluable stories to memory, Catalina embarks on a secret and transcendent quest to rewrite them. Through ancient pyramids, Spanish villas, and caves of masked devils, she finds an ally in the captivating Juan de Rojas, a lord whose rule was compromised by the invasion. But as their love and trust unfold, and Don Alonso's tyranny escalates, Catalina must confront her conflicted blood heritage--and its secrets--once and for all if she's to follow her dangerous quest to its historic end.
Daughter of Fire was fascinating. I loved the descriptive prose and the storyline. The author gave us so many characters to root for and to dislike, with all the intrigue of the royal courts. I read it because it cited the Popol Vuh, a pre-Columbian Mayan text.
Happy National Latina Day to us! Glad to be part of #NuevasPaginas and looking forward to reading the new book by today's interviewee. Sounds excellent.