Rising Stars: Meet Melissa J. Roche of Lafayette

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa J. Roche

Hi Melissa J., it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I love that you ask for “my story,” because story is at the heart of everything I do. Story was the deep thrum of imagination in my youth that led me to write pages and pages of a YA sci-fi novel in handwritten notebooks to pass around to my high school friends. And story also sparked my early love of astronomy, of worlds and stories “out there” beyond physical reach but never out of reach of wonder.

I’m an author, a storylover and storyteller. I’ve written books for readers of many ages, from a sweet romance about a skater/astronomer based on my small town in Colorado (“Skate Cute”), to an ongoing series of youth adventure books written by me in collaboration with my upper elementary kids (The Explorers Series: “The Curse of the Crow” and “The Treasure of the Island”). I’m currently writing a YA science fiction novel about a neurodivergent 16-year-old space pilot hiding her identity at a military technical school on a moon base. Or perhaps the novel is writing me. It’s hard to tell, sometimes.

I’m also a scientist, a stargazer and asteroid girl. Throughout my grad and post-grad career, I’ve used the data from telescopes both big and small to study the characteristics of asteroid orbits, particularly groups of asteroids known as “families” formed from ancient and massive collisions in the asteroid belt. I love the way that space rocks surprise me sometimes, not unlike my novel’s unruly cast of characters.

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?
The life of a creative, or an academic, is rarely smooth. I’ve wrestled with imposter syndrome in both fields, biting my nails over rejection letters and studying through the night to get slightly better grades on impossible tests. I’ve stood face to face with male superiors and colleagues who didn’t see me. I’ve put my work and heart out there, then pulled it back again, then put it out again, enough times to know that the back-and-forth will never end. The process will never be easy, nor my work perfect. But within it all, there is still good.

I wish I could say I have a magic formula for easing imposter syndrome. All I can say is that in both fields the symptoms lessened when I changed posture: stepped back, took a deep breath, loosened my grip, opened my hands. When I began to take the long view of my hopes and dreams as an author, I could see each rejection as the next piece of the story. And when I learned to view my scientific colleagues as companions rather than competitors, the fight for funding became a little less fierce. In either case, I’ve found that how “smooth” the road is in any field of life depends on my posture and perspective.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My most proud moment? Every time a young reader giggles at one of my goofy jokes in “The Curse of the Crow.” Or that comment from one of my kids’ classmates that he couldn’t put our books down, just like Harry Potter, and are we going to write seven books in the series? I come alive with every laugh, every smile, every spark of imagination lighting up a new window of wonder in young eyes.

I’m especially proud of how our book, “The Curse of the Crow,” began. It all started one summer day in hot June when I grabbed a pen and notebook and followed my kids, then ages 6 and 8, under the lilac bush in our front yard, which was really a sailing ship. Within minutes we were joined by a crew of characters, starting with a very normal captain (named… Cap), and a totally epic warrior defender woman named Ressa. Followed shortly by a unicorn. And a cook who loves magic food and hilarious jokes. And a girl who can turn into a crow, who is secretly under a curse. But I really shouldn’t say any more. You have to read it for yourself.

And that’s just it: I want both my writing and my science to throw open the doors of delight and imagination. I am at my best when I’m holding everything—my science, my writing, my presence in the world—with open hands. When I take the long view of career and success, starting with curiosity instead of certainty, wonder instead of fear. When my words offer the microphone to other voices that aren’t always heard, celebrating the good we all share. That’s what I’m most proud of. That’s what I want to be known for.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Privilege often disguises itself as luck. I have not always recognized it for what it truly is, but now I’m trying to name it in my life. I had the privilege of a good education, and parents who never said “An astronomer novel-writer? Um, really?” From an early age, I had the privilege of reading books about girls who followed their crazy dreams, girls whose skin and culture looked a lot like mine. Girls I wanted to be, and write about.

Very few people told me “no.” Throughout my academic life, I’ve had the privilege of time and resources that cleared the way for achievement and intellectual stimulation, which paid off in applications and scholarships. And as a professional and a mother, I currently have the privilege of a stable relationship with a partner whose income pays the bills, opening up space for my creative freedom, as well as time for deep exploration of self and faith.

And at the end of it all, I know intimately the One whose creational, transformative work is alive in every detail of our world, infusing my work and my words with an ever-expansive invitation to communal delight. The best I can do with my privilege is to offer it up, to open my hands and exhale the invitation: Come and see. Read and wonder.

Pricing:

• The Curse of the Crow – $11.99
• The Treasure of the Island – $11.99
• Skate Cute – $14.99

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melissajroche.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writerchickphd/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writerchickphd
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@StargirlSkates
• Other: https://books2read.com/ap/n0AgjG/Melissa-J-Roche

Image Credits
Image credits (all): Nathan Dykhuis