We chat with author Christopher Roubique about Mythspeaker, which is an epic fantasy adventure inspired by Indigenous American mythology follows a band of misfit children who must pull off an impossible heist in order to save the world!
Hi, Christopher! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi 😊 I’m Christopher, a massive nerd who lives in Wisconsin with my wife and daughter. What kind of nerd, you ask? Uh . . . yes. All of the nerd. Currently, I’m sitting within five feet of several Digimon statues, a Captains Picard and Kirk signed plaque, an unknowable quantity of Magic the Gathering cards, a Mass Effect helmet, a Lego Pokédex, and more video games and monster manuals than you could shake Glamdring at. I love fantasy and science fiction, could watch cooking shows forever, and inexplicably (according to my friends) grew up on a farm where I learned to drive a tractor before I could drive a car.
Also, (because everyone always asks eventually), it’s Roo-beek, like “unique” or “boutique” but, y’know, with different letters.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I think I’ve always loved words. From what my mom tells me, I was fascinated by them before I could talk and never grew out of it. My first specific memory of loving writing was making sentences with wooden letters in preschool. And the first time I remember thinking I wanted to be a writer was in 2nd grade when I wrote a poem about wolves that I thought was the coolest thing ever.
Note: It was not the coolest thing ever. But wolves are awesome.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: I have this really distant memory of reading Amelia Bedelia and finding it very funny when I was very small.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Broken Sky by Chris Wooding. I saw it in a Scholastic Book Order in the 5th grade and had to read it. That book—and that series—changed my life. It showed me how vast fantasy could be, how unique and spectacular. I really wish more people had read it (or would!) because I’ve only ever met one person that’s even heard of it. But I still love it. And I still have that 5th grade copy on the shelf next to me.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Ooh, tough question. It’s probably a tie between Broken Sky, The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, and this one moment with the character Fade at the end of Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher.
Your debut novel, Mythspeaker, is out February 24th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Whimsical
Wondrous
Funny
Indigenous
Misfits
What can readers expect?
Mythspeaker, at its core, is a heist novel. And just like all great heists, that means we have a hero who needs to steal something important, a unique team he builds to do it, and the actual operation, which will definitely go perfectly to plan! But beyond that, Mythspeaker is a story about how hard and isolating it is to be told you’re special. How difficult life can be when you feel like you’re all alone. How important it is to have faith in yourself, your friends, and your beliefs. And how amazing it is to learn that you were never as alone as you thought.
It’s also a celebration of Indigenous American cultures and characters, all through a world, tribes, and myths of my own making. There are figures of wonder that can shape the land around them, fantastical creatures, and a continent on the back of a soaring turtle. Her name is Gonoka.
Where did the inspiration for Mythspeaker come from?
From the moment I started writing books, I wanted to write an Indigenous high fantasy novel. The sort of story I would have loved as a kid, looking for any reflection of myself I could find. But my first attempts didn’t really translate to something Melanie Figueroa, my agent, thought might sell to a publisher.
And then, on a car trip over Christmas, my wife and I started talking about the idea of a high fantasy heist where the object to steal was a fantastical monster or its egg. But it didn’t feel quite right. Not until the next day, when it suddenly clicked that this would be my Indigenous high fantasy novel inspired by the amazing Native peoples and cultures of the Americas.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Oh my gosh, yes! So many. But to call out a few:
Very early on, I introduce the ruling body of the Indigenous city, Tlera Tana. Writing the descriptions of those mighty chiefs was a delight. Especially because I modelled it—just a bit—on how the judges were always introduced on Iron Chef America.
Of course, I loved writing any time the main cast of kids is together. They are all SO different in just the right ways to bounce off each other and create so many laughs. I adore that team of misfits. I think I could write dialogue for them forever.
And lastly, there are a small number of . . . special chapters in Mythspeaker. Chapters that behave differently from the rest of the book and feature a different sort of perspective. Each one of those was a delight to write, especially because of how they culminate into, well, I can’t say. But you’ll see!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Oh yes. I started this book while my wife was pregnant. And drafting a book so important to me while also caring for her and preparing to become a dad was overwhelming. I actually sent the first finished draft to my agent the day before we suddenly had our daughter. And then my agent—who is truly wonderful—told me that this book was a good start . . . but that I’d been holding back. I hadn’t put all of myself and my voice on the page. She asked if I could try again. So I rewrote the whole thing, mostly in my head, while dancing around holding a screaming, beautiful newborn who really didn’t want to sleep.
Honestly, I’m still a little shocked this book exists. But the biggest thing to writing, to making it in publishing, to continuing on in any worthy endeavor is perseverance. There will always be obstacles, great or small, and your determination is what decides whether you’ll get through. For what it’s worth, you’re stronger than you think. I promise.
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Very, very long! Even though I graduated with a degree in English and have always loved writing . . . I didn’t think I could write books. I exclusively wrote poems. Then, when I got my first (awful) job after college, I was so creatively stifled that I started writing a book bit by bit to keep my mental lights on. And by the time I finished it, I realized that writing books was what I’d been searching for all my life. It just fit. And then I queried that book and no one wanted to read it!
That was 13 or 14 years ago now. And I don’t blame them, for what it’s worth. I started writing something new. My first MG book, actually. And no agent wanted to read that either. Then I wrote another MG. Still nope. A YA novel. Still nope. The next book I wrote—an Indigenous fantasy novel, of course—went a little viral in a pitch event. But despite 20 full requests and multiple declarations of how beautiful it was . . . no agent wanted to try selling it. They said they weren’t sure how to pitch it to publishers or “didn’t quite fall in love”. That sort of thing. I was crushed. But I kept writing.
The next book only got 1 full request, which happened to be from Melanie. She said she loved the book and got what I was doing, but just didn’t see how to sell it to publishers. I was crushed again. But she ended with a very earnest invitation to send her any other book I wrote. So I sent her that Indigenous fantasy novel.
And she declined that one, too. Like the others, she said it was beautiful but she didn’t know how to sell it. 3 months passed. I was working on other things, and all of sudden Melanie emailed me again asking to talk. On the phone, she offered to be my agent—not because of either book but because of how I wrote them, my voice and style. She also said that she’d never heard of an agent doing this before, because I essentially had no book for her to sell. She just believed in me enough to sign me then and there for whatever my career might be.
I was rejected over 200 times across 7 manuscripts and 8+ years before I got an agent for no book at all.
I wrote 2 more—both fun but not right to sell—before I wrote Mythspeaker. And the secret all along wasn’t changing the way I wrote. It was learning how to build the story I wanted to tell around a high concept—a hook that in a single sentence leaves people wanting more.
So, it’s been a loooooong road. But grit matters. Perseverance matters. I really believe that just because you haven’t gotten where you’re going yet doesn’t mean you’ll never get there at all.
What’s next for you?
Enjoying the debut experience with Mythspeaker mostly! It’s been such a joy interacting with people and outlets like The Nerd Daily to discuss this story I adore. And I’ll be doing events at schools and bookstores, too—more information on that will get posted to my socials and site as time goes on. We’re even having a book launch at a library in my area 2 days after release!
But I’m still writing, too. Currently, I’m editing a new MG fantasy I wrote last year while I wait for an edit letter on another project I can’t talk about just yet.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
I’m currently looking forward to reading Wilderlore #5: The Traitor’s Gambit by Amanda Foody, Dreamslinger by Graci Kim, Red River Rose by Carole Lindstrom, and The Princess Bride by William Goldman (which I’ve just never previously gotten around to).
