The book, written over six weeks in a period of furlough during the pandemic, is a prequel to her debut novel, a visionary fiction story called ‘The World Within’ which, in contrast, was written over six years around full-time jobs.
On what led Adriana to initially write the book:
“Five years ago I wrote 'Six Shamans And A Visionary' during the pandemic because I wanted to write a story that looked at a system of government that put power in the hands of the good, as opposed to forfeiting it to the greedy. I wanted to talk about the importance of the Supreme Court, the highest law in the land, and the more important task of choosing its gatekeepers - people with kindness, reason, virtue, patience, balance, integrity, love, compassion and foresight at their core.”
‘Six Shamans And A Visionary’ is currently available online via Waterstones, Hatchards and Amazon, but the author explains what led her to decide to put her book online for free, via a chapter a day:
“This story is a political commentary within a folk-fantasy setting. Unfortunately, there are things going on right now that aren’t fantasy, but a horrible reality. That applies to humans everywhere on this planet, and sadly always has, but it feels like things are escalating and eroding pretty fast at the moment. The disintegration of democracy that’s happening in the United States in real time was a key motivation to write this story. I never thought I'd see the current US Administration and President return for a second term.”
“This book isn’t extraordinary in any way and not particularly well crafted either. And I want to be clear that I’m not trying to jump on any bandwagon or promote my work on the back of a really scary situation happening in the United States right now. The truth is, I wrote this book because I needed it. It allowed me to explore the best elements of humanity in a world that is carelessly giving away its power to the wrong people. That is what this book is really about.”
In sharing her novella over 22 days via her ‘Six Shamans And A Visionary’ Facebook page, she’s hoping it’ll serve as a short distraction from the heavy weight of world affairs that penetrate our devices.
“24-hour news is helpful in many ways, but in a TV culture that seems to celebrate the worst of human behaviour, I think it’s also important to focus and celebrate on our good qualities as a species.Unfortunately, we cannot fix every injustice caused by the world's monsters, but there are still things we can do. We can discuss how and why good human qualities are so crucial and important in areas such as real-life politics, we can look at our strengths and abilities as an organised collective against things like fascism and we can remind each other that through courage and perseverance, good will prevail in the end.”
‘Six Shamans And A Visionary’ is available on Facebook.