Adi Tantimedh has written graphic novels (JLA: Age of Wonder, La Muse), radio plays and TV scripts, a weekly column for Bleeding Cool, and now wrote the private detective novel, Her Nightly Embrace, out November 1st. It’s the start of the Ravi PI series, which is also in development as a TV show and audio drama podcasts.
Adi writes interesting and quirky characters in some of the most awkward and amusing situations. They’re fully dimensional, far from perfect people that make for a thoroughly entertaining and relatable read.
We caught up with him for a Quick Six Interview, and asked a bit about the book:
What inspires you recently?
Alan Moore and his near-infinite micro and macro scope of his massive new novel JERUSALEM.
Who decides on your book cover art?
In the end, it’s the publisher who decides. I pitch ideas, then we discuss and arrive at a concept we’re all happy with.
What do you do when you aren’t actively writing?
Reading, doing research, lots of reading, and some drawing.
Morning or night person for work?
For writing prose, I find night is quieter and more suited for work. Mornings can be distracting with emails, news and briefings to deal with.
How do you know when a book is finished?
When all story and character progress have been exhausted and there’s nothing else left to write. I never write a story without knowing the ending beforehand, but that still leaves plenty of room for discovery and surprised before the end.
What book is your touchstone?
THE IDIOT by Dostoyevsky. I wasn’t even forced to read it.
What’s next for you?
The second RAVI P.I. novel, which I’m now writing, a new project involving ghosts, and another project involving the most dangerous woman you will ever meet, but that one will have to wait till I finish the third RAVI P.I. novel.
How has writing the novel been different from everything else you’ve done?
Challenges?
Writing HER NIGHTLY EMBRACE felt like a honing of ideas I’d had about updating the private eye genre, which I’d never written before but thought about for years. The challenge was to present a world that’s very close to our own and private eyes closer to what they do in our reality than I’ve read in most detective fiction, and without relying on fantasy or Science Fiction elements as a crutch. Ravi seeing gods should be a complement and commentary on his reality rather than altering reality into a fantasy world.
Review of Her Nightly Embrace, Pop Culture Beast 2016:
Ravi sees gods. They are the spectators of his life, watching as things get interesting, chaotic, and fall apart. He’s been seeing a lot more of them lately, Tweeting each other on their mobile phones about #ourownpersonalholyfool.
Ravi lost his job as a teacher awhile ago, and came to work for Golden Sentinals as a Private Investigator. It’s a fairly exclusive service, and sometimes his cases can get pretty weird. (Click to continue)
Quick Six: Pop Culture Beast lets artists choose from our standard ten questions – and we let them tell us what they’d like you to know.
Also see our Quick Six Interview with Sendhil Ramamurthy!
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.