Meet Adeline Bryant, author of “FATED: A Bonded Legacy Novel”

Tell us what your book, “FATED: A Bonded Legacy Novel,” is about!

Sure! Here’s the summary: 

FATED follows the tumultuous lives of three young wolves—an isolated alpha (Caleb), a strong-willed she-wolf (Lena), and the reluctant heir of a powerful dynasty (Kai)—as they navigate fate, legacy, and the dangerous edges of their own hearts.

As Caleb faces reintegration into the Collective to restore divine order to a fractured world of packs, Lena grapples with the independence she’s earned and the mate she never expected. Meanwhile, Kai—torn between duty and desire—learns that denying fate may cost him everything.

Filled with intricate pack politics, LGBTQ+ representation, searing intimacy, and moments both hilarious and heartbreakingly tender, FATED delivers a lush paranormal romance where the characters are bound by fate, defined by their choices, and ultimately broken—or remade—by their world.

What did you love most about writing this book?

The thing I loved most about writing this book? The world-building. I went FERAL for it. 

Before drafting a single chapter, I spent a full month crafting what I lovingly call my “world-building bible,” which became the backbone of the entire trilogy. I’m talking character profiles and arcs; pack demographics, geography, and cultural traits; mythic scaffolding—the works. I researched the Pacific Northwest, real wolf pack behavior and hierarchies, and dipped into Greek, Roman, and Norse mythologies—with a touch of Omegaverse—to stitch together a religion and magic system that felt ancient, sacred, and lived-in.

Honestly? It lit me up. There was something healing and grounding about building a universe from scratch, letting lore and landscape shape my characters’ lives and choices. That world-building bible became my compass, anchor, and playground for the entire trilogy. Creating it wasn’t just fun; it was deeply comforting. It gave me something sacred to hold onto during a time when I needed a place to pour my imagination. It’s where the magic started, what helped these wolves step onto the page fully formed, and it’s still the place I return to whenever I need to remember the soul of my story.

How did you start writing?

FATED was a bit of a happy accident. Last fall, during a slow day at work, my teammates and I were passing the time with a game of “Would You Rather…” in our Teams chat. Someone asked, “Would you rather wake up in your underwear at work or naked in the forest?” and the immediate follow-up was, “Well… are there werewolves, and is one of them my fated mate?”

That single joke sparked a full conversation about lycanthropy lore and all the ways I wished paranormal romance stories would play with (or subvert) traditional genre tropes and story mechanisms. I ended up word-vomiting every shifter idea I’d ever wanted to see, and my teammates replied, “I’d totally read that.” Their encouragement was the nudge I didn’t know I needed.

I was in a depressive slump at the time, and writing became both an escape and a lifeline. I built an entire world from the corner of my couch and started posting chapters on Inkitt, where a small but passionate group of readers showed up week after week to follow Caleb, Lena, and Kai’s journeys. Watching something brewed from a work chat transform into a story people actually cared about was wild—and the fact that readers kept coming back for more? Yeah… that lit a fire in me.

Tell us a little bit about your self-publishing experience.

Self-publishing hadn’t even been a consideration when I started writing FATED. I was simply having fun crafting the story and sharing it weekly on the Inkitt platform. It was my Inkitt Pack’s response that pushed me to share a draft with a friend who had just begun her reading journey. When she finished, she told me to publish it immediately so she could add it to her Storygraph—an idea that felt both thrilling and impossible.

I’m a bit neurotic with Type A tendencies (hello, eldest millennial daughter with GAD, hyperfixation, and a praise kink), so I knew that if I was going to publish FATED, I had to deliver the best product possible. I dove headfirst into researching self-publishing—blogs, articles, countless hours of YouTube tutorials—trying to understand every step, every option, and most importantly, how to retain full ownership over the art I’d created.

From there, I built a complete plan: which platforms to use, which distribution channels to prioritize, and everything required to transform an Inkitt serial into a polished novel. I was incredibly fortunate to have the support of my husband, who helped invest in beta readers, a writing coach, an editor, a proofreader, and a graphic artist. I set a goal to publish in mid-August so the book would be available for spooky season, when paranormal stories thrive—and then I got to work.

I spent four months learning, recalibrating, and collaborating with vendors to bring FATED to life. It was exhausting, exhilarating, and easily the hardest project I’ve ever taken on. But I learned so much. And now, moving into the rest of the trilogy, I feel prepared, empowered, and excited to do it all again—this time with experience on my side.

What was your biggest challenge in bringing the book to market, and how did you solve it?

My biggest challenge in bringing FATED to market was… me. I was the one standing in my own way. Other than my husband, my teammates, and the friend who first encouraged me to publish, I didn’t tell anyone I had written a book. I have an EdD and was working at a university, and I worried that writing paranormal romance—especially spicy paranormal romance—might affect how I was perceived in academic spaces. I kept my “indie author persona” completely separate from my professional identity, convinced I had to hide it.

My husband didn’t let that stand for long. He told me to own the fact that I wrote “the smutty werewolf book with the super cool magic system” and then planned an entire party to celebrate the release of FATED. His pride and belief in me pushed me to fully lean in. It was a complete surprise to my family and friends, but I didn’t shy away from talking about the book or making the spicy elements fun. I didn’t just hand out free copies—I put together full PR boxes with the novel, bookish goodies, author merch, and a few bedroom toys 😉. It was such a hit that my guests said they felt like big-time influencers, and the preorders that came in afterward were incredible.

I’m still very much a novice marketer, but I’m no longer hiding this accomplishment. I’ve built an author Instagram where I share book content, reading updates, and behind-the-scenes glimpses into my writing process. I’m also preparing for my first book convention at the end of November and have been submitting to indie bookstores and bookish box curators to help get my novel into readers’ hands. It’s a learning curve with plenty of trial and error, but I’m enjoying the journey—and celebrating every small win along the way.

What's one piece of advice you have for other writers?

Oh man, just one?!

Alright, here’s my feral pack-mama advice:

Stop worrying about the ROI and remember why you fell in love with writing in the first place. We created these wild, magical, gut-punching stories from nothing. We built worlds, crafted characters, and poured literal pieces of our souls onto the page. And yes—we want people to read them. We want reactions. We want chaos in the comments.

But if you fixate on numbers—sales, downloads, reviews—you’ll drain the joy out of your own magic. Those metrics will never fully measure the work, heart, and hunger you put into your craft.

So don’t let the algorithms clip your claws.

Keep writing. Keep sharing. Keep howling your stories into the world in every way you can. Your readers are out there, wandering the woods, waiting for the exact kind of magic only YOU can make. And when they find you? They’ll devour your backlist like it’s their last meal and salivate over whatever you write next.

Create because you love it.

Protect your joy like it’s your pack.

The rest will come.

Anything else you want folks to know?

Still here?! Well, if you take anything away from this interview, I hope it’s this: stories matter. The ones we read, the ones we write, the ones we cling to when we’re trying to stay afloat. FATED was born from a silly work chat, shaped during a depressive slump, and carried forward by readers who believed in the magic right alongside me.

I’m endlessly grateful to everyone who has picked up the book, left a comment, shared it with a friend, or simply stepped into this world for a little while. Writing can feel lonely, but sharing stories builds community—and this one has already brought so many incredible people into my life.

If you find something here that speaks to you—comfort, escape, feral joy, a moment of emotional resonance—I hope you carry it with you. And if you ever need a pack? You’ve got one now.

Welcome to the world of FATED.

Welcome to the pack. 🌙🐺

Where can people find your book?

https://addiewrotethat.com/books