We asked fellow author and professional interviewer Kristen Tsetsi to conduct an in-depth interview of our newest author Adrienne Dellwo. Kristen told us that Adrienne provided some of the most comprehensive and interesting answers in an interview she conducted. We agree, and a month after Hero Academy has been on the shelves, we present this in-depth interview.
*We implemented light edits in the following interview for clarity.
Q: You are, artistically, a jack of all trades-you sing, act, write, make award-winning films, and play instruments. Strictly in the pursuit of more traditional storytelling-acting, film making (whether as writer or producer), and fiction writing-what does each form satisfy in you? Do you hold one method of expression more dear than the others (and if so, why)?
Adrienne: We all have certain activities that help shape how we define ourselves. The first one for me was writing. I’m a writer before I’m anything, and I have been since I wrote, produced, and directed a play in the third grade. The next thing to become part of my self-definition was “musician,” which eventually broadened out to “performer” and included acting. I love acting, but it’s something I do and not something I am. Being back on stage for a play recently was an incredible experience. I used to have health problems that I thought would keep me from ever doing it again. Before that, I’d only had a couple of small parts since college. (Well, except for tabletop role-playing games, which I consider improv. I play regularly, which is why RPGs show up in Hero Academy.)
As a writer, it’s difficult for me to narrow my focus to one medium, but if I had to choose one thing, it would be fiction. Without screenwriting, though, I don’t think I’d ever have become a published fiction author. My degree is in journalism and I worked for about a decade as a TV news producer. During the early phase of my career, I kept trying to write fiction and just didn’t get anywhere with it. I never finished anything.
Then I met the man who would become my husband, who’d always wanted to be a filmmaker. He got me writing screenplays. After years of writing material intended to be spoken, and pairing words with visuals, I felt right at home. Screenplays helped me develop as a storyteller and boosted my confidence. When I went back to fiction, I “got” the whole process a lot better. I knew I could write something through to the end.
When it comes to filmmaking, first and foremost, I’m a screenwriter. Another part of my self-definition, though, is organizer. I’m pretty good at bringing a lot of things together and leading a team, so producing and directing came pretty naturally. To be clear, I don’t love the producing part. That’s just something that has to be done for a film to get made. I leave that to other people when I have the option to.
Directing, though…that’s a lot of fun! It pulls all of my strings, because you have to understand acting and actors, you have to delve into the story and consider every detail of it, and then you combine words and visuals and music to tell a story. As a writer, it’s surreal and awe-inspiring to see your characters standing in front of you, giving voice to the words in your head. You have more tools at your disposal than when you’re writing fiction, and it’s fun to play with those and use elements other than words to tell a story.
Fiction, though…it’s a kind of magic, unlimited by budget or special effects software. It doesn’t rely on a team of people and a bunch of equipment. With fiction, I can sit in my office by myself at three a.m. and create anything I want. As a writer, I can give a 14-year-old girl wings, turn a developmentally delayed little boy into a hero, or send someone to another dimension. I can make music visible, create a world where the only light comes from bioluminescence. I can even give someone cell service in rural Kansas. I’m limited only by my imagination. What can be better than that?
Q: What was your introduction to the Just Cause Universe (how did you first learn of it, what was the first work you read) and what was your reaction to it?
Adrienne: I knew Ian Healy, the creator of the Just Cause Universe, before I knew the universe. We became Facebook friends a few years ago after he published a short story of mine called “Dax and the Red Eyes” in a superhero-themed anthology called Caped. After that, we helped each other out with some reading. I read one of his steampunk novels—The Oilman’s Daughter—and he read my first book, Through the Veil.
I guess he liked my work, because, as I was recovering from my health issues, I made a joke on Facebook about going from nine doctors down to two—whatever would I do with all the free time? He mentioned writing for the JCU as a possibility, and I perked right up. A lot of people who’d read “Dax” had said they wanted to know more about the world and the characters, so a superhero novel involving those characters in some way was one of the projects on my to-write-someday list.
So I told Ian I’d love to pitch an idea. Then I read Just Cause (the first JCU novel) to see if it would be a good fit. My ideas really seemed to gel with his world, and I found the world itself fascinating and compelling. It’s so complete, so full of people and institutions and history, that it jumps off the page as a living, pulsating universe. I really respect how diverse it is. Right away, I admired the scope of his creativity and how it’s paired with an intricate understanding of technology and systems and institutions. It was something I wanted to be part of, and I could see my characters in it.
I read the first book before writing my pitch, then the second one while I was putting the pitch together. I was well into the third when he accepted the pitch, and I just kept going. Of course, it was research, but hey, what kind of research is more fun than reading great stories? By the time Hero Academy came out about nine months later, I’d read ten JCU novels. (That includes The Path, and ooo, it’s a good one!)
Q: Your contribution to the Just Cause Universe, Hero Academy, tells the story of freshman Chloe Wyld, who wants to impress “legendary combat instructor Mustang Sally,” who’s featured in the Just Cause Universe series since the first JCU book, Just Cause. Why did you choose Mustang Sally as the companion protagonist for your new creation?
Adrienne: That actually wasn’t my choice at all—when he accepted my pitch, Ian sent me this long email that included existing characters he wanted me to incorporate: Mustang Sally, Keith and Ingrid Jordan, Ment, and Lindsay and Katie Malone. Sally was the scariest one to take on, since she’s been the protagonist of most of the books. In some ways, though, she was also the easiest because of that. The more I read, the better I got to know her.
I probably enjoyed writing Ment the most because he’s got such a distinctive personality. Lindsay seems the most “mine” because she only appeared briefly in a previous book, and she was five years old. I adore Lindsay—she’s got some qualities I always wanted and admired in other people.
Q: What were the challenges of writing for an existing character, and where did you have the most fun?
Adrienne: The challenge was getting Sally’s voice right. The last thing I wanted to do was have readers hate the way I handled this beloved character who they’ve followed for years! I took comfort in the knowledge that Ian stood between me and the readers and would be able to fix any mistakes I made, or just make it more “Sally” when necessary.
At the same time, since I was enjoying the books as a reader, it was great fun to play with these characters. It’s almost like I was writing fan fic. I kept notes as I went of Sally’s experiences that I could bring into the story in some way, to make sure it was a continuation of the character.
It’s an honor and privilege, as an artist, when another artist invites you to share their work. This is someone else’s creation, a labor of love, and I know how much passion he’s poured into it. In the end, I wanted my part of it to be worthy and to contribute something meaningful.
Q: Superheroes all have their flaws. They have to, or they’d be too damned perfect. What’s Chloe’s flaw, and how did you come up with her character?
Adrienne: Chloe’s a perfectionist, a little socially awkward, and insecure. She second-guesses herself a lot and doesn’t trust her gut.
I decided to make Chloe a gymnast because my daughter, who’s now 13, did gymnastics seriously for several years. Too many people have this attitude that gymnastics isn’t a “real” sport because there’s a subjective aspect. More than once, while sitting at the gym during my daughter’s classes, I witnessed fathers realizing what incredible athletes gymnasts are. One went on and on about how he never worked as hard as his daughter and the other girls on the team—not even as a college football player. I remember another one saying, “The stuff they do is amazing. They’re like…Batman, in training.”
So it seemed like gymnastics was the perfect background for a superhero with a physical ability like flying. A competitive athlete would be an attractive candidate for a superhero training academy—here’s someone who’s in great shape, self-disciplined, and knows how to focus and perform under pressure.
There’s a lot of my daughter in Chloe, and, of course, some of me at that age. The rest developed as I figured out what challenges she’d face and what she’d need to find in herself to overcome them.
Q: Will you be writing more books for the series?
Adrienne: I certainly hope to write more JCU books! HA is the most fun I’ve ever had as a writer, and Ian is awesome to work with as a publisher. I’ve talked to him a little about my next idea, and I’ve put a lot of thought into a new character who will figure prominently (along with Chloe and some of the other HA kids.) Right now, I have half left to write in the first draft of a book called Traveler Hunted, which will complete my Veil trilogy. Ideally, I’d like to start on another JCU book as soon as I deliver Hunted to my other publisher.
I wrote an origin story for Misty Michaels, a secondary character in HA, for an anthology called The Good Fight 4: Homefront, and I had a great time doing that. There are a few more characters I might pick to explore in that way, too. I had to populate an entire school, so I’ve got a lot to choose from!
Thank you, Adrienne!
Interview conducted by Kristen Tsetsi, 5 On interviewer at JaneFriedman.com and author of the novel The Age of the Child.