Adriana Girolami

Award-winning author, Adriana, and I have never met. I found her online through a friend. Her books look exciting and she has great experience to lend into each one.

Please, introduce yourself. Tell us about your personal life, family, education.

My name is Adriana Girolami. I was born in Rome, Italy, and immigrated to the United States after my father’s untimely death. I attended the Art Students League in New York City, and I initially embarked on a career as a portrait artist and illustrator. I am now also an award-winning writer of historical fiction and an accomplished portrait artist. I illustrate all the covers of my books.

My visual style is apparent not only on the covers of my books but the pages in-between. I am the author of the historical romance series, The Templar Trilogy: Mysterious Templar, The Crimson Amulet, and Templar’s Redemption. My latest offering is the award-winning novel The Zamindar’s Bride, which reflects my passion for different cultures, world travel, and the ever-present love and romance.

I am presently writing Daughter of Hades, continuing The Knight’s Templar’s Series. I credit my attraction toward art and history to the eternal city of Rome, the place of my birth, and my parent’s guidance, who encouraged me to read at a very early age since a variety of books were always available in my home.

I am fortunate to have traveled extensively worldwide with my husband, which stimulates my creativity and imagination. I am enthusiastic about physical fitness and Martial Arts, and jogging is one of my favorite pastimes. I play racquetball and have achieved a black belt in Kenpo Karate. I am an optimist by nature and look forward to a bright tomorrow and writing my new exciting novel.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

Since I love solitude while I write or paint in my studio, I usually enjoy the company of family and friends in my spare time. A picnic on the beach or a lovely dinner in one of my favorite restaurants, coupled with some interesting conversation. Of course, jogging or playing tennis are also activities I often engage in in my spare time.

If you are active in career fields other than writing, what do you hope for the future of that business? Describe your work or business activities in which you are presently active.

Since I was an artist before I became a writer, portraiture remains a career I am engaged in presently and hope to continue in the future.

No Time for Hobbies

Do you have hobbies? How did you get started in them?

I don’t have hobbies. I am always super busy caring for my family, writing, painting, and my daily exercise. Unfortunately, there is no time for hobbies. I wish there were more hours in a day.

If you are a writer, are you an avid reader?

I love to read, one of my favorite activities ever since I was a little girl. I usually read before going to sleep, which I favor instead of watching television.

What is your ultimate writing goal as you see it today?

Writing is part of my life and an integral part of me. I believe I will write as long as I am able and as long as I live. I love to be a storyteller, and my dearest wish is to have many people read and enjoy the work that I create. I hope they will enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoy writing them.

What inspired you to write your first book?

As I previously mentioned, I was an artist before I became an author. However, I loved to be a storyteller, but it never occurred to me that I was a writer. I wrote my first book quite by accident, I was looking through an art book about costumes through the ages, and I stumbled on a portrait of a Countess named Polyxena. I don’t know why that name resonated with me in such an extraordinary way. A story suddenly came to me, and I felt compelled to write it. But not to have it published, just for my enjoyment.

However, a friend of mine who is also a NY Times Bestseller read it and, to my surprise, was impressed with it and encouraged me to have it published. Mysterious Templar, the first book of my trilogy, was born. I was also fortunate that my first book was published in Japan and translated into Japanese. Polyxena, a name that I accidentally found in that artbook, is now the heroine of my Knights Templar Trilogy.

How do you decide on the title of a book?

Usually, the title comes alive as I am in the progress of writing the story. Sometimes there is a specific character that dictates the title. However, my latest novel’s title, Daughter of Hades, came first before writing the novel. Therefore, there is no specific way I give a title to my books. I suppose I let my creativity guide me.

Have you developed a specific writing style and why?

I don’t believe I developed a specific writing style. It must be part of me since I am a visual artist. I am also a visual writer. Images appear in the recesses of my mind, almost like seeing a motion picture, and I try to write the storyline as I see it and imagine it.

How much of your books is realistic and experiences based on someone you know, or events in your life?

My writing is mostly imagination. However, all writers put little parts of themselves and the experiences we had in our novels. Sometimes we don’t even realize we are doing it. In the third book of my trilogy, Templar’s Redemption, and after the book was published, I realized that Wilfred the Valiant, one of the story’s characters, bore a remarkable resemblance to my father based on my mother’s stories about him. I guess he will always be my Knight in Shining Armor!

Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

I love many writers, but Alexander Dumas is on top of the list for many reasons. Adventure, impressive and fascinating characters that are so tridimensional, they seem real. You gain considerable knowledge by reading his books about French history all the way to Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the guillotine.

The First Book

Do you remember the first book you read?

My first book was a Christmas gift when I was a very little girl. The Brothers Grimm authored it, and it contains many of their fairy tales. Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, etc. I remember being so happy and fascinated by the book that I ignored a beautiful doll which was another of my gifts.

Is there an author, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

Again, there are too many to enumerate. However, since I must choose one, it would be the great Dante Alighieri, the author of The Divine Comedy. He was a literary genius and a man with an extraordinary passion for living. His strong political views were reflected in his role of judge and jury of the famous people of his era who he admired or disliked. It’s fascinating, especially in the amazing Inferno (Hell), how he punishes those he considers evil and guilty. He openly and without modesty plays God in a most extraordinary poetic and eloquent way.

I would be fascinated to have a conversation with this highly unusual controversial, and brilliantly gifted poet whose extraordinary prose is considered divine and beyond compare.

When you see new authors struggling, what single piece of advice could you give them on a moment’s notice?

I would advise them to relax and take a pause. You can’t create when you are under stress. Writing should be exciting and joyful and not an unpleasant chore. They should have no fear since creativity will return soon after they clear their minds. I believe that it is the best way to write something of quality, and other challenges will diminish as a result.

How do you want others to see you or remember you? Is it important to you?

I hope that the people I love will remember me. Also, the small contribution I make as a person in my life will be a good and positive one. However, I have no particular desire to be remembered. If people still enjoy reading my books, it will be an honor for me to be remembered in that way.