Guest Post: From a Six-Year-Old’s Imagination to an Epic Fantasy Novel
By Chris Roberts, coauthor of Beneath the Song
I never set out to write a fantasy novel. And I certainly never imagined that the idea for one would come from my six-year-old son.
But sometimes the best stories begin when you least expect them.
I still remember sitting beside our swimming pool, watching my son Noah play with a little girl he called his girlfriend. They were having fun, doing what kids do, when they started coming over to ask me questions.
Which creature would win in a battle? What if this one fought that one? What would happen if something even bigger came along?
At first, it was just a fun conversation between a father and his son. But the questions kept coming, and the ideas started growing. Eventually, Noah imagined something that genuinely caught my attention.
What if people were living on an enormous creature without even knowing it? What if the world beneath their feet was actually alive?
I remember thinking there was something really interesting about that idea. The more we talked about it, the more possibilities I began to see.
When an Idea Becomes a Story
Like most parents, I’ve heard my children come up with countless imaginative ideas over the years. Most lead to a few minutes of conversation before everyone moves on to something else.
This one was different.
I kept thinking about what Noah had imagined. If people lived on something enormous and alive, how could they not know? What would happen if they discovered the truth? And what kind of world could exist around that secret?
Those questions became the foundation for Beneath the Song.
The story eventually grew into a dark epic fantasy following Caiven, an eighteen-year-old who begins uncovering disturbing truths about the world he’s always known. His father’s mysterious writings, forgotten memories, and a sealed door beneath a quarry are only the beginning of a much larger mystery.
We wanted to create a world filled with mystery, danger, and discovery. One where readers gradually realize that something much bigger is happening beneath the surface.
And to think, it all started with a little boy asking which imaginary creature would win in a fight.
Turning Imagination Into 180,000 Words
Of course, coming up with an interesting idea and turning it into an actual novel are two very different things.
What began as a simple concept eventually grew into approximately 180,000 words. There were characters to develop, mysteries to connect, and an entire world that needed to feel believable despite its extraordinary premise.
I took on the writing itself, developing the narrative and bringing the story together, but Noah’s imagination remained the foundation of what we were creating.
I never wanted this to be a book where I simply borrowed an idea from my son and moved on. I wanted it to be something we could share, something he could look at and know he helped bring into existence.
As the story developed, so did the scope of what we’d originally imagined. There were times when an idea that seemed small would open the door to something much larger. Sometimes solving one mystery created three more. And sometimes I found myself thinking back to that original conversation, amazed at how far we’d come from where it all started.
Writing a novel of this length has given me a greater appreciation for authors and the work that goes into telling a complete story. But more than anything, it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had with my son.
More Than Just a Book
With the November 3 release of Beneath the Song approaching, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what this experience has meant.
Naturally, I hope people enjoy the book. I hope readers connect with Caiven, become invested in the mysteries, and find themselves wanting to know what happens next. And yes, I’d love to see the novel become successful.
But when I think about everything we’ve done to get here, the part I’m most proud of has very little to do with sales or recognition.
My son had an idea when he was six years old, and instead of letting it fade away, we turned it into something real.
One day, Noah will be older. He’ll have his own interests, his own dreams, and his own path to follow. But he’ll always be able to look at Beneath the Song and know that something he imagined as a little boy became an actual published novel.
And I’ll always remember where it began.
Not at a desk, in a writing class, or with some carefully developed plan.
Just a father sitting beside a swimming pool, listening to his son talk about imaginary creatures.
Sometimes I wonder how many incredible stories begin in ordinary moments just like that.
I’m certainly grateful I didn’t miss ours.
Title: Beneath the Song (Chronicles of the Forgotten Truth Book 1)
Beneath the Song by Chris Roberts and his son, Noah Roberts
Chronicles of the Forgotten Truth — Book 1
Release Date: November 3, 2026
Blurb: Tomorrow, Caiven Asterin turns eighteen.
By nightfall, the world he thought he knew will begin to break.
When Caiven’s Closing of Sight fails, he sees what no one is meant to see. The mountains above Vale’s End are not mountains at all, but part of something vast—something alive.
And somehow, Caiven can hear it.
For generations, the Unseen Accord has taught his people that the Closing is necessary. That some things are better left unseen. That forgetting is the price of safety.
Six years ago, Caiven’s father refused to forget.
Then he disappeared.
Now forbidden marks are appearing. Names have been erased from records. Others who survived their Closings are beginning to surface. And the deeper Caiven follows the mystery his father left behind, the more the world reveals itself to be something far stranger—and far more dangerous—than anyone has been allowed to know.
Then Caiven finds the message his father left for him:
Find me beneath the song.
To learn what happened to his father, Caiven must follow that song into places the Unseen Accord has spent generations hiding—and uncover why an entire civilization was taught not to see the world beneath its feet.
But the Accord may not be the only thing that wants the truth to remain buried.
And some things were never meant to be found.
Some truths were hidden to protect the world.
Some truths can end it.
About the Authors
Chris Roberts and his son Noah are the authors of Beneath the Song, Book One of the Chronicles of the Forgotten Truth series. Their debut dark epic fantasy releases November 3, 2026, in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover formats.
Learn more about their story, watch the official cinematic trailer, or read Chapter One at https://www.cnrobertsbooks.
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