Black & Native Women Horror Writers: Interview With Rebecca Roanhorse
By Eden Royce (@EdenRoyce)
It takes something significant for me to add a book to my already enormous to-read list. I make a point to do my best to read stories by and about marginalized people, as in the scope of publishing, we are still woefully underrepresented. One of the books I heard about during my travels on social media featured a Native woman monster hunter, and I knew I wanted to read it. The author Rebecca Roanhorse also had a short story (“Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™” - linked to later in this article) published online at Apex Magazine that was nominated for several awards. After I devoured the Apex story, I joined Edelweiss, a site that provides advanced reading copies from publishers to bloggers and reviewers in order to read her upcoming novel Trail of Lightning.
It takes something significant for me to add a book to my already enormous to-read list. I make a point to do my best to read stories by and about marginalized people, as in the scope of publishing, we are still woefully underrepresented. One of the books I heard about during my travels on social media featured a Native woman monster hunter, and I knew I wanted to read it. The author Rebecca Roanhorse also had a short story (“Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™” - linked to later in this article) published online at Apex Magazine that was nominated for several awards. After I devoured the Apex story, I joined Edelweiss, a site that provides advanced reading copies from publishers to bloggers and reviewers in order to read her upcoming novel Trail of Lightning.
Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.
Maggie, a tense, terse, and a challenging character to get
to know as she doesn’t care much for people. She’s also powerful and a
necessary part of the community that she lives on the outskirts of. When she
taps into her clan powers, which always seem to be simmering just below her
surface, she is force of nature. Early on, Maggie performs acts of physical and
mental strength that let me know I was in for an engrossing ride. Modern
weapons, unlawful lawmen, clan powers, tricksters, and more than a few monsters,
made this a book I tore through.
I reached out to Rebecca to ask for an interview and she
graciously accepted. Read on to find out about her acclaimed short story, her upcoming
release Trail of Lightning, and her
thoughts on some of the cultural similarities those of Native and Black American
ancestry share.
Thank you for granting me this
interview. Tell us a bit about yourself and your writing style.
Hi All. My name is Rebecca Roanhorse and I’m a
speculative fiction writer of Ohkay Owingeh and Black American ancestry. I’ve
written a short story that has gotten some good feedback and a couple of awards
nods, and I have a handful of books coming out over the next few years, the
most immediately one being Trail Of Lightning, which kicks off The Sixth World series.
First off, congratulations! Your short story “Welcome to Your Authentic
Indian Experience(TM)” won a Nebula award! On top of all that,
it was voted Apex Magazine’s Reader
Favorite Short Story of 2017. Does this recognition from popular reader
vote feel different from being selected by an awards committee?
Thank
you! Since you sent me these questions, it’s also picked up a Sturgeon and
Locus nomination, which I feel like really are two ends of the reader spectrum.
I honestly am blown away by both kinds of recognition. I write pretty
commercial fiction, so I am thrilled that my work is hitting its mark and
appealing to a wide variety of readers. But every author wants to be acknowledged
for their craft too, so those nominations make the hard work feel like it
means something. I am grateful all-around.
“Welcome” was also translated into
Vietnamese by Bao La for a science fiction magazine. Why do you think it
resonates with so many?
As
of now, the story will also be translated into Simplified Chinese, Romanian and
Italian. It’s wild, more than I ever thought to dream. When this story works
for people (and it doesn’t always work – I have a few reviews where people just
didn’t get it or didn’t like it), I think it’s because they’ve been in the
shoes of the protagonist. They know what it’s like the struggle with identity
and performative identity, they know what appropriation feels like to the point
of erasure, they know what it is to trust and be betrayed. My story speaks to
the specificity of the Native experience, but it is an experience marginalized
communities all share in various ways.
On
to your upcoming release Trail of
Lightning, which I had the lucky opportunity to get an ARC of. Your main character Maggie Hoskie
is a supernaturally gifted hunter, who kills monsters for a price. She’s also
surly, broken, and angry, yet deeply desirous of connection to someone. Why do
we sympathize with her so much?
Interestingly
enough, not every reader sympathizes with Maggie. I’ve read a few reviews that
said she took some getting used to and that the reviewer read on despite not
liking Maggie. Which is fair. Maggie doesn’t like herself very much at the
beginning of the book. But I think she speaks to the humanity in all of us,
especially women-identified folks who have been in these dark places in our
lives, fighting our own monsters. I find her incredibly sympathetic, but then,
I wrote her. But I get why she disturbs people. I just hope they give her a
chance.
On Twitter, you commented that you were
so happy with the cover for Trail of
Lightning (Rightfully so, it’s gorgeous.) specifically because of how
Maggie and Kai are represented – two Native characters, no feathers in sight!
What input did you have on the cover design?
Most traditionally published authors get very little
input on their covers. That’s why you should never blame an author if the cover
doesn’t speak to you. It’s likely not their fault. Writing this book and being
very aware of how little representation Natives get in SFF (or any popular
culture), I really pressed to have input on the cover. My agent agreed and we
pushed for that in the contract. Thankfully, I found the right editor for the
book and he wanted my input, as did
the amazing artist, Tommy Arnold, and the art director, Nick Sciacca. They led
the way, but they worked hard to include me and get it right.
What do you love most about The Sixth World, the setting for Trail of
Lightning?
I love that I was
able to create a fantasy world and make it Native, and not in a primitive
tribes vs. civilization way, as is the common way to integrate Native cultures
into fantasy, but in a contemporary way. I wanted to capture some of the magic
of the Navajo Nation but that magic for me is in the relationships and the
people, in the survival and love and language and land. I wanted to show my
characters at their best and their worst and avoid the simplified stereotypes,
so hopefully I did that. I’m sure I’ll hear an earful if I didn’t.
Maggie’s powers come from the traditional Diné way of
identifying, via clan. These clan powers are astounding in their intensity, but
take their toll on Maggie physically. What, if anything, does this say about our innate
connection to our ancestors?
Oh, now isn’t that
an excellent question. Thank you. I wanted to create a magic system that was
uniquely Diné
and spoke to both the trauma of our current existence as Natives and the
strength that comes from our ties to the past. In one scene, Maggie and Kai
(her medicine man partner) have a conversation about whether anything good can
come from suffering, and whether the powers they can tap into, those that
represent their ancestors and gods, are a blessing or a curse. I’m not going to
answer that directly, but it’s part of the story I’m trying to tell.
As a person of Ohkay Owingeh and African American ancestry, what
cultural similarities exist in both groups, if any?
There
are so many similarities between the cultures, like the emphasis on family and
community. Respect for our ancestors and passing down their stories to our
children. Powerful, amazing women who raise up and support one another. And
most importantly, a love of food. I can hit a BBQ or a Feast Day with equal
gusto. Being in an inbetween place is not without its confusion,
misunderstandings and hardships, but honestly, I feel lucky to be who I am.
Are there subjects you consider taboo
when writing?
If I am writing Native characters and settings, even
when fictional, I won’t include anything specific about spirituality or
ceremony. Native spirituality has been exploited and twisted so much by
unscrupulous people, resulting in not only exploitation but death, like in the
case of the James Arthur Ray. I won’t contribute to that.
What’s your next project?
I have two new projects that I’m excited about. The
first is a middle grade book called Race To The Sun. That will be published by Disney-Hyperion’s
new Rick Riordan Presents imprint, and it’s going to be an exciting adventure
through Navajo mythology starring a seventh grade Navajo girl, her little
brother, and her best friend (who will be Native and Black) battling monsters
to save the world.
Then, I’m getting ambitious and writing an Anasazi-inspired
epic fantasy called Between Earth And Sky where
the great matriarchal clans of a prosperous cliff-city vie for power against a
backdrop of political intrigue, celestial prophecies, rising rebellion and dark magic.
And, of course, The Sixth World series
continues with book two, Storm Of Locusts in April 2019.
Thank you for the interview. Is there anything else you like to mention?
Thank you for having me. I’d like to mention that I’m
making a lot of Con appearances this year, including BookCon, The Nebulas,
WorldCon and Indigenous ComicCon. I would love for everyone to come out and see
me. Dates can be found on my website.