J Adrianna
Adrianna J Tetnowski
'The idea of what makes a female character strong is so subjective. I think it’s important to show strengths of different kinds'
Adrianna J. Tetnowski is the author of The Tales of Iradas series, The Mortaery Chronicles, and The Anari duology.
She loves to write dark fantasy novels featuring steadfast heroines and morally grey villains.
You can find more about Adrianna here, along with details about her literary work.
The Interview
Why did you choose Tom Edwards Design to create your cover?
Tom had an amazing portfolio of artwork, and I knew pretty much from the start that he would be able to create a stunning book cover for my debut novel, ‘The Dark Maiden’. Then ten books and three series later, I’m still so impressed with the amazing and professional quality of his work. I’d done a lot of research into cover artists, but his work was always the one I ended up going back to. And I knew I wanted his artwork for the covers of The Tales of Iradas series, The Anari Duology, and The Mortaery Chronicles.
What makes you come back to Tom to design your covers?
Tom has a way of capturing the dark essence of the books I write, and his art style really is stunning. Every book cover he has designed fits so perfectly with each other, and when you put them side by side, these books just look like a series you would want to read. We’ve had so many compliments over the years about our covers, and it’s so great that our readers love them as much as we do.
What was the best part of working with Tom to design your cover?
His attention to detail! He mentioned to us that he loved drawing armour, so naturally when we asked him to design ‘Black Dusk: Flame and Shadows’, the fourth book in my dark fantasy series The Tales of Iradas, he was so excited. And he didn’t disappoint. I love how he sends the artwork in stages – first a rough outline of the cover, and then by the second draft it’s all fleshed out and looks amazing. He somehow manages to take mere descriptions of what I want and completely exceeds my expectations every time.
What impact do you think creating strong female characters in your novels has on the fantasy genre?
The idea of what makes a female character strong is so subjective. I think it’s important to show strengths of different kinds. In The Tales of Iradas, my two female leads – Serendipity and Adelaide Redbane - aren’t fighters, but they’re both clever, resourceful, and steadfast. Meanwhile, in The Anari duology, Ariadna Vikander is an assassin. She can fight, she’s feisty, and she can look after herself when caught up in trouble. Lastly, in The Mortaery Chronicles, Jinx Mortaery is an alchemist. She may not be able to fight either, but she’s cunning and witty. Her strength lies in her knowledge of alchemy, and that makes her more dangerous than any weapon could.
Displaying a variety of different characteristics and skills of female characters is what makes them strong, rather than just sticking them into very specific and typical tropes like only being amazing fighters. I like what varied female characters can bring to my fantasy novels more than just a singular personality ever could, and it makes my books more interesting because of it.
The names of your characters are great! How do you decide on naming them and do their names say something about their personalities?
This is going to sound silly, but I Google names from different countries and either blend them together, or take parts of one and stick it with parts of another. I also try (not always) to give some sort of meaning to my character names. Adelaide Redbane is a princess – Adelaide means ‘noble’. Serendipity is a peasant-turned-lost-princess of Iradas, and one meaning of her name is ‘an unplanned fortunate discovery’. Perhaps my favourite though is Jinx Mortaery, Jinx meaning ‘bad luck’. I had a whole scene in Palace of Ash explaining why her father named her that, and given her rather tragic backstory it fit her perfectly. Plus, if it just sounds cool, then I’m all for it.
Have there been any unexpected developments in your stories or characters that even surprised you as the author?
Ohhhh yes. My sister edits my books, and we had a little laugh about “Hey, we could pull a Marvel with these books”. Then, as my three individual series went on, their storylines ended up merging together perfectly. We jokingly call all three series together under one name, The Tales of The Anari Chronicles. I wrote these books over a period of around twelve years, so this merging of series came as quite a surprise, even to me and my sister, when we realised how perfectly they pieced together.
Can you describe your typical writing routine? Do you have any specific rituals or habits that help you get into the creative zone?
I’ve made a very good habit of starting my writing routine at 5am. I don’t always stick to it, because life gets in the way sometimes, but for the most part, I do. It allows me to get the bulk of my writing done for the day, and I can do it first thing in the morning with a clear mind. I also find mornings peaceful, so that really helps set the mood for writing.
Every book or series I write (and I mean every…single…one) has an individual Spotify playlist. I religiously listen to the specific one for whichever project I’m working on. I even ended up buying a typewriter, something I’ve always dreamed of owning. Recently, switching from writing straight up on my laptop to a tech-free option like that has seriously helped words flow better on a page. Then I just type it all up, editing as I go along.
Many authors write across different genres. How do you decide which genre to explore, and do you find it challenging to switch between them?
I actually find it really helpful to switch up genres, and in fact I work better like that. Writing in different genres gives me the opportunity to rest a bit from one specific category, in this case fantasy, and I end up feeling more enthusiastic whenever I bounce from one to another. 2024 marks the end of The Tales of Iradas, and after twelve years of writing fantasy, I’ve moved on to steampunk and even thriller. But fantasy will always have a place in my heart. I’m excited to work on multiple genres, although I’ll admit thriller was somehow a harder genre for me to get into writing about than fantasy ever was, despite the fact that I do love reading a good thriller.
Can you provide any insights into your upcoming projects?
Are there specific themes or ideas that you're excited to explore in your future works? I’m actually taking a brief hiatus from fantasy, and I’m currently working on a psychological/medical thriller based in an asylum (can you tell I’ve watched American Horror Story?) But 2025 will be the year of steampunk for our imprint, Paper Owl Publishing. We have a new series and a standalone novel in that genre coming that year, as well as the thriller I’ve been working on in 2024. Let’s just say, expect a whole bunch of young misfits with a talent for making illegal weapons in both my upcoming series and standalone novel.
Meet The Authors
Meet some of the amazing authors I've had the privilege of collaborating with. In this interview series, I delve into their writing processes, influences, inspirations, techniques of worldbuilding, and the advice they have for aspiring writers.
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