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Sofia Robleda is the author of Daughter of Fire, which is out now.
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 UK 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.
Sofia’s novel, Daughter of Fire, is an empowering, richly imagined and beautifully written historical novel about a young woman named Catalina, born in the 1530s to an Indigenous Guatemalan mother and a Spanish colonizer father.
Let’s get to know Sofia as she talks favorite novels, what inspired her to write Daughter of Fire, research methods and more!
What are some of your favorite books?
This such a tough question because I feel like this changes as you develop. However, there are some books that live rent free in my head & I know have influenced me and shaped me in profound ways. The Color Purple by Alice Walker, House of Spirits by Isabel Allende, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel – I read these books in high school multiple times, and they’ve never left me. I also adore Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and more recently I think Circe by Madeline Miller and The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami – absolute stunners in my view.
When did you know you wanted to become an author?
About ten years ago. I’ve always been a writer – I remember in primary school writing ‘Stories of Love and Passion’ with a friend! We had a blast. I’ve also kept a journal since the age of nine (it’s more an annual review since my son was born), but I never thought of writing as something to take more seriously until I seriously fell in love with it at the end of my psychology doctorate degree. I think I needed some escape from the grueling years of training I’d gone through, and I wrote a story about mermaids, and I just completely fell in love with the process of creating a whole world. Over time, I realized this is truly what I wanted to do, although it’s taken ten years and another two novels to get to the point of being a published author. I’m still working as a clinical psychologist, which I do love as well.
What inspired you to write Daughter of Fire?
In 2018 I asked for a DNA test as my Christmas present. The results took months to come, and as I’d expected, the majority of my ancestry was European/Spanish. What I didn’t know, is that I also had a fair bit of Indigenous ‘New World’ ancestry, 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 lost it. Literally, couldn’t stop crying, and that is how my story came to life. The Popol Vuh survived this destruction. It was written in secret, only a few years after the conquest. No one knows who really wrote it… but my novel is a reimagining of what could’ve been.
What type of research did you conduct while crafting the story?
I went a bit wild researching this novel to be honest! I visited half a dozen museums, read countless books, travelled solo across the world to Guatemala to climb pyramids, traverse jungles and explore underground caves. I also got support from Professor Allen J. Christenson to ensure the words I used in K’iche’ Maya were correct. He gave me the most thorough and incredible notes, and I’m so grateful, because above all I wished to show my complete respect and reverence for the original authors of this manuscript & the K’iche’ Maya people.
What was your favorite chapter or part to write?
I think I had the most fun writing the retellings of the Popol Vuh, when Catalina, Juan and Cristobal ‘become’ the myths and gods themselves. I found that part to be the most fluid writing for me, and I enjoyed getting lost in the mysticism of it all. It also felt a lot like connecting to those ancient storytellers whom I personally felt guided by throughout this process.
What are you currently reading and what’s on your TBR (to be read) list?
I’m currently reading Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel, and really enjoying it. I can’t believe this was her debut, she is so talented! My TBR list is enormous and really varied this year! I’m trying to focus on supporting other debuts & I’m really looking forward to reading The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava, Daughters of Shadong by Eve J Chung, and Constanza by Rachel Blackmore. There are so many incredible new books coming out… I feel privileged to be part of the class of 2024!
