Interview with The Star-Touched Queen author Roshani Chokshi

Welcome to SFFWorld, Roshani. Many thanks for giving us some time here. In your own words, who is Roshani Chokshi?

Thank you for having me! As for this question, I’ve been pondering it for 25 years. I am…shorter than you expect, less funny than I think I am and eternally eager to listen to other people’s stories. That’s about the best I’ve got for now.

Tell us a bit about The Star-Touched Queen?

THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN is my love letter to fairytales. I grew up reading a lot of mythology, and as I got older, I saw how these stories were very interconnected. TSTQ has a snarky flesh-eating demon horse sidekick, a princess who is far too ambitious, a king who is far too heartbroken, and stars that pinwheel out of sight and only give you half a story.

Your main character is the cursed Princess Maya. What was important for you when you created this character and did she change much from what you initially had in mind during the writing process?

Maya’s ambition was the most important thing to me. That idea of her never changed, but I was glad that the writing process forced me to unearth what her ambition would look like. One of my highschool teachers talked about the famous Lucifer quote from Paradise Lost (“I’d rather reign in hell than serve in heaven”) in the context of the Hades & Persephone myth. He forced us to consider who Persephone was, and whether she chose to stay in the Underworld because it gave her more agency. I loved that idea. Very different from the idea of the spring-time maiden who just couldn’t control her hunger pangs any longer. I couldn’t wait to get to know who this girl was.

What were your goals when you started writing The Star-Touched Queen and how do you feel about the end result?

I didn’t have any conscious goals when I wrote TSTQ. I wrote it for myself. I wrote it to honor the childhood stories I heard growing up. I wrote it to see someone who looked like me as the protagonist. I’m very pleased with the end result. The wonderful thing about writing fairytale retellings is that they do not try to be different. They know their bones are the same as any other tale’s. I enjoyed taking what I believe is a universal story of love and self-affirmation and giving it a new setting and injecting it with a different mythological framework. I wanted to write something unfamiliar that would still feel like home to many readers. I did the best I could, and so I’m pleased with it 🙂

You’ve already got a lot of positive feedback. What are your hopes and expectations now that we’re getting close to the official publication date?

Thank you! I’m so glad that the book has had a positive reception so far. I have so many hopes! But zero expectations. I hope that the book’s performance allows me to write full time and create more projects. I hope that some readers will feel like this book was written for them alone. When I was in middle school and high school, fantasy was my escape and also my talisman. Those books taught me to see the world in different ways. I really hope that my book could be that escape and world for another reader. I hope that readers from different cultural backgrounds will see themselves in TSTQ. I hope that it reminds them how we are all heroes and heroines.

Mixing mythology and fantasy, do you feel you’re able to bring something unique into the YA Fantasy genre with The Star-Touched Queen?

I hope so! I think TSTQ is unique? I don’t think I’m the first to mix mythology and fantasy. And I certainly hope I’m not the last. As for unique stories… every coming-of-age journey is unique. Every first love is different. Every demon (internal or external) that haunts us is different. And that’s what makes YA fantasy so wonderful to write.

Getting published by a major publisher has to be every author’s dream. Can you tell us a bit about the process that led up to The Star-Touched Queen being published?

Lotsssss of heartache. TSTQ was not the first story I queried to agents. After flailing about in the querying trenches for 3 months, I signed with my brilliant agent (Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency). I thought I’d finally made it. I was very wrong. From October-March, we were on submission with publishers. Lots of rejections. Lots of days where I’d go from bedàclassàbed. In February, I stopped feeling sorry for myself and yanked out my soapy heart. I revised the book down to the bones. A month later, we sold.

What’s next? Do you have more new and exciting projects you’re working on?

I do have new projects! Can’t vouch for their excitement. I’ve always been fascinated by the La Belle Epoque era in Paris. It’s the calm before the storm of World War I, and also an interesting time for colonialism. I’ve also always wanted to write a story honoring my Filipino heritage, so perhaps this is the time. We’ll see 🙂

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