Today we’d like to introduce you to Robyn Dabney
Hi Robyn, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started writing in second grade, thanks to two amazing teachers at my small school in Moab, Utah, who encouraged creativity, and helped me write and illustrate my own stories. Though I did not pursue writing for many years, I can trace my love of words back to this wonderful school year.
My true writing journey began in college, where I was inspired to create The Soul Mender Trilogy. I was the same age as my main character, Riley Dale, and through her story, I explored my frustrations with a world becoming increasingly xenophobic and intolerant (this was in the years directly following 9/11 and the Iraq War). Growing up, I was taught to see everyone as equals, regardless of their differences, and that standing up for equal treatment of all people was critical to a peaceful world. So, when I encountered real-world bigotry on a scale I’d never seen it before, toward people of other religions, other cultures, other anything, it was a shock and a knock at the door to do something about it. Writing became my way of making sense of it, imagining where such hatred could come from and how empathy might be the solution. I hoped my words might impact someone to do better, or to feel seen and less alone.
Before finishing the first book in The Soul Mender Trilogy, I left my “real job” to focus on writing full-time, and I’ve never looked back. Now, I’m working on my second series, Daughter of the Summit and Sea. The first book, The Ascenditure, was released in May, and tells the story of a determined female climber who challenges a restrictive system to pursue her dreams, facing deadly consequences along the way. This series delves into themes of feminism, revolution, and the pursuit of passion.
Writing allows me to process and share ideas I’m passionate about. It helps me connect with the world, and I hope my stories help readers feel seen, understood, and connected.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
A smooth road? In pursuit of a creative life? Hah!
At first, I thought writing would be easy. I believed raw talent and a good idea was enough. But you quickly learn that talent and hard work are only part of the equation. You also need luck, perseverance, patience, and many other qualities you don’t even think about at the start. Rejections, long waits, criticism, loneliness, imposter syndrome—these are inevitable, too.
I couldn’t find an agent or publisher for my first series, so I self-published. It took me four years to find an agent, five more years to sell my next series, and another two years before the first book was published.
And sometimes, the bumps in the road aren’t even about your writing.
A few years ago, I lost my agent and close friend to a darkness she couldn’t overcome. Losing the person who believed in me, who saw my work as I did and fought for my career as if it were her own, was a devastating blow. In an industry where loneliness is pervasive, that loss echoed deeply. Around the same time, I went through a divorce, developed a second autoimmune disorder, and Covid hit.
But every challenge and obstacle life throws your way is also an opportunity. These bumps in the road help you grow, adapt, and gain new perspectives. They shape your writing, making it more personal, more universal, and more able to connect with others.
There are also smooth sections to look forward to. In these spaces, you meet incredible friends and wonderful fans, and if you’re patient enough, you even meet your true self. You learn to appreciate every little victory and moment of success, and all of those qualities you initially didn’t know you needed become fundamentals of who you are.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an author and freelance copyeditor who writes books and short stories exploring good, evil, and the human condition.
My motto is Truth through Fantasy.
Growing up on Tolkien, Lewis, L’Engle, Le Guin, and Atwood, I’ve always viewed the fantasy genre as a vessel for telling the truth. Through my writing, I aim to highlight real-world issues, spark conversations, and make readers think. I write to explore my own feelings. To sort out my own frustrations with the world. I write as a piece of the puzzle of authors past and present, from all curves of the globe, who are trying to sort out this crazy world we live in through words.
I want my work to combine thrilling adventures and meaningful explorations of tolerance, empathy, and the complexities of human nature. My characters face significant challenges because the journey to empathy, equality, and self-love is arduous. Plus, as a reader, I’m drawn much more to struggle and hardship than I am to an easy slide through life. Who isn’t?
And like most authors, I write what I like to read.
I’m currently working on two series: The Soul Mender trilogy and The Daughter of the Summit and Sea series, whose first book, The Ascenditure, was released in May and tells the story of a determined young woman in a patriarchal kingdom who dares to challenge the system and climb the mountains she’s been forbidden to summit.
I wrote this series for two reasons: the first is a love letter to the mountains and my parents, who instilled in me a passion for exploring the wilderness, finding the beauty in a silent massif, and not shying away from tough physical and mental challenges. The second reason is a strict condemnation of sexism and misogyny in traditionally male-dominated fields.
Growing up as a tomboy in the early 90s, I naturally gravitated toward traditionally male-dominated sports, jobs, and hobbies. Despite encountering instances of sexual harassment and sexism along the way, I had strong role models and books with fierce main characters to turn to for support. I have always been passionate about women claiming their power, so I wanted to write something to add to that particular bookshelf that might empower other young people.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I’m a pretty open book, so it’s hard to imagine anything that might truly surprise people, but here are a few things that might be of interest.
Despite my upbeat, positive personality, my writing is often dark. I love exploring deep, human topics through speculative fiction, and it’s always fascinating to see people’s reactions when I describe a short horror story I’ve written—or when I tell them about my idea for a burlesque-dancing robot in the Paris metro who falls in love with a customer. It’s fun to break away from people’s expectations about who I should be and what I should write. I enjoy challenging those assumptions and pushing boundaries with my stories.
I’m also an adventurous person who loves the thrill of adrenaline, and people often ask if I’m ever afraid.
The answer? Absolutely—more than I’d like to be.
But I refuse to let fear control me. I see every fear as something that shrinks my life, and as someone who values autonomy, I can’t stand feeling caged, especially by bars of my own making. Like everyone, I have my share of fears, but I work hard to break free from them.
Take my fear of spiders, for example. Growing up, I was terrified of them, but after a while, I got tired of being afraid. When I lived in West Texas, I discovered a tarantula living in a hole outside my bedroom window. Every morning, she’d stick her legs out of her den, waiting for prey. I decided that instead of fearing her, I’d get to know her. Every day, I’d go outside and touch her legs, and gradually, she became less of a monster and more of a friend. I even gave her a name. That shift in perspective helped me remember that spiders, like all creatures, are just trying to survive. Now, whenever I need to face a fear head-on, I remind myself to “pet the spider”—to confront fear directly and weaken its hold on me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.robyndabney.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robyndabneyauthor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robyndabneyauthor
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/robyntheauthor
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@robyndabneyauthor
