Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Zilla: Maybe your next great read is actually an audiobook! Adria Bailton’s Arcing brings us a speculative story in audio form. Adria, can you tell us a bit about it?

Adria: Arcing: A Novelette is a speculative women’s fiction, coming-of-age story that may resonate most with Gen Z but, of course, with anybody who struggled with major life decisions at a young age.

 When a tragic event splits Rosa’s family apart, she finds herself on her own embracing freedoms she’s never had. She meets Dan on one such night of freedom.

Dan has dreamed of otherworldy Rosas since he was young, but never thought he’d meet her in his life. When he finally does, he can’t get her out of his mind.

Just as everything is looking up for Rosa – she’s found a man she loves and her life is stablizing – she’s forced to confront her own complicitness in her family’s destruction. Will Rosa choose love or family?

Zilla: What inspired you to write this book?

Adria:When I was working on finishing a novel to send to an author open call from a publisher in 2021, I was also thinking about the main character of this novel, Rosa. Why did she behave the way she does in the novel I was working on at the time? Additionally, I wondered about the character in a song that had been stuck in my head. As someone who is neurodivergent, I find comfort in listening to a single song over and over and this song was on my rotation. Finally, I had a dream, which may be embedded in the text somewhere. Of course, I had to work on this story of Rosa’s because I was on a deadline for the novel.

Zilla: So would you say Arcing is a character-driven novel?

Adria: Arcing is definitely character driven. As I said, I was thinking about characters primarily, ruminating on why Rosa seems so detached from her sisters. Why would she be like that in this moment of such turmoil for her whole family? I also was trying to get to the motivations of the character in a song, which produced Dan.

Zilla: From your characters to someone else’s—who are your favourite characters that you didn’t write?

Adria: That’s a tough one, but I’m partial to a couple of bodyguards, Joscelin Verrueil and Gideon the Ninth. Of course, I read Joscelin in Kushiel’s Dart over 20 years ago when I was still in formative years for reading. I enjoyed Cassiel’s Servant, which is a recent release of the same story told through his eyes recently. Sometimes a story is just such a good read. I tend to think the current Romantasy trend could use a trek through those books. Jacqueline Carey, in my opinion, is the assignment.

Gideon didn’t really grab me until the sunglasses in Gideon the Ninth and then I was all in. Apparently I love a sword-wielding bodyguard, whether they follow orders and a strict observance of their religious order or not.

Zilla: What’s your next writing project?

Adria: I’m always working on short stories, drafting or revising. Recently, I drafted a novel about a lesbian couple trying to find a home in the dinosaur apocalypse. It’s with some readers for feedback right now and I hope to get back to it for revision in mid-April. I also have the story of Nina, Rosa’s younger sister during this time, in a novel called Worlds Divide coming out from Balance of Seven in 2026 With those two novels and their revisions on the horizon, that’s enough in the long form for now. The short stories revolve around a personification of death and another is a list story about killing oppressors.

Zilla: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Adria:  You can find me primarily at my website. My socials are BlueSky, TikTok, Mastodon,  YouTube, and Instagram. Arcing: A Novelette can be found on Goodreads and many places where audiobooks are sold. A sample and links to audiobook retailers are available at my website. Readers should also be able to find the book through their library app.