Ukrainian Writer Zoriana Bezodnia: Words Are Like a Living Code That Influences People When They Are Spoken, Heard, or Read

Zoriana Bezodnia is a Ukrainian writer and the author of the fantasy novel The Obsidian Dagger, who believes that words are a living code capable of influencing people when they are heard, spoken, or read. Fascinated by the power of words, she decided to pursue a degree in philology at university. Her writing journey began with the birth of her younger sister, for whom Zoriana created fairy tales. At just 14 years old, she began working on her book The Obsidian Dagger, the first edition of which was published last fall. This autumn, she plans to release another edition of her book. Zoriana shared with Drive Music Media her experiences of studying philology, writing fairy tales for her sister, and creating her first book.

Interviewer: Why did you decide to become a writer?

Zoriana: It wasn't my decision, so there were circumstances. In general, I believe it's hard to make such a choice: you either write literature or you don’t; the same applies to other creative fields. For me, as far back as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by the concept of language itself. I've always considered it a living code: it might sound strange, but I perceive words as something very fluid and unstable, possessing weight, color, state, and sometimes even shape. And observing how they influence people when spoken, heard, or read really excites me. That's why I decided to study philology – I needed to understand how it all works. My journey with books and writing began with the birth of my younger sister. At first, I wrote fairy tales for her, then moved on to short stories. During my teenage years, I started experiencing emotions and feelings much more intensely than ever before. Sometimes, it felt like I lacked space for them inside me, so I created projections of myself as characters, placed them in specific situations, and wrote it all down instead of keeping a diary. I think this is how many writers begin. By the age of thirteen, I had completed my first book and was eager to get it published. However, a breaking point in my life made me disown that work, so it ended up buried somewhere in the archives of our old computer. At 14, I first conceived the plot of The Obsidian Dagger. The reason this book means so much to me is that the idea came like a flash, almost as if someone had sparked it within me. I had never experienced anything like that before. For the first time, my work wasn’t about me, though at times, it does intersect with my life. I don't regard myself as a writer in the traditional sense. There are simply certain things I want people to feel and understand, and books seem to be the only way for me to convey that.

Interviewer: Last year, you published the book "The Obsidian Dagger". Can you tell us about the book: who are the characters, and what was the process of working on it like?

Zoriana: I spent quite a long time working on this book and, honestly, I'm still refining some details for a reissue.

The Obsidian Dagger is a niche piece, not meant for an overly broad audience. It is quite philosophical and raises questions about what life and death are, how they are interconnected, what algorithms govern the universe, if the Creator exists what he or she might be like, what love is, which manifestations it has, how fate unfolds, why certain things are beyond our control, and so on. It's essential to understand the context of its creation: the idea of this book came to me after a near-death experience. That was the moment I realized there is more to reality than what we can perceive and comprehend. This work, much like those I hope to write in the prospect, is a tribute to the unknown, to what we want to understand but cannot yet grasp. It is largely an attempt to explore what lies beyond the physical world by blending Gnostic legends, mythology, philosophy, and physics, particularly quantum one. The bulk of the writing process took place during the COVID-19 quarantine when I was in 11th grade and my first year of university.

As for the characters, it's important to note that they are very complex and multi-layered. All of them. There is no clear antagonist. Each character has their light and dark sides. For instance, the main character, Deus, who is depicted as the devil in this story, is not purely evil, he is still capable of true love. On the other hand, the protagonist, Diana, despite her kindness, does not represent absolute good. These two main characters embody metaphors for two profound yet unobvious human vices: the thirst for knowledge and the illusion of hopelessness. The book also features fictional characters like God, god-like beings, mythical creatures, otherworldly entities, religious figures, and others. They are all integral parts of the fantastical world of the story.

Interviewer: Why did you choose the science fiction genre?

Zoriana: It's a great option for blending fictional narrative with hypothetical reality. That's exactly what I needed. I wanted to share some of my deep observations about human beings, their emotions, worldviews, and self-perception through the lens of metaphors and a fantastical world.

Interviewer: The book is out now, but what are you working on at the moment? Are you already writing a new story?

Zoriana: I’m working on a new edition with a different publisher, but I can't yet announce the release date.

As for a new story, I'm not writing something entirely new. Instead, I'm expanding on the original and working on a prequel to the book.

Interviewer: What inspires you when creating characters? What was the process of shaping your characters' personalities like?

Zoriana: I drew inspiration from my close circle. The main heroine and minor characters are composite images of people close to me, as well as reflections of myself. As for the main male character, I needed to create a uniquely idealized image: he's remarkably handsome (at least in my opinion), charming, proud, even slightly arrogant, wise, and cunning, well, where without it. In his case, I was probably inspired by Woland from Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, although he turned out to be an entirely different character.   There is also a female character in the book who I feel is deeply connected to me, even though her story doesn’t intersect with mine. She is one of the supporting characters who takes center stage toward the end of the story.

Interviewer: Now your book is available in bookstores, but not long ago, you were just submitting it to publishers for consideration. What was it like when you received the approval from a publisher?

Zoriana: I realize I should probably say I was overjoyed since I had worked hard and waited a long time for this moment. But honestly, it wasn’t the most exciting event related to the book for me. Perhaps it’s because of the relatively small print run. I still hope to cooperate with larger publishers. As for truly significant moments, one of the highlights was becoming a laureate of the international Winged Lion competition in 2022. That was a big deal for me. Before that, I had shown the manuscript to Yurii Koval, the editor of the literary magazine Dzvin (published by the National Union of Writers of Ukraine). In fact, it was he who suggested submitting it to the competition. Another notable event was when my mom decided to read the book. Her opinion has always been a kind of guiding light for me, helping me determine whether my work is ready to be shared with others. She’s an artistic soul who has an extraordinary sensitivity to beauty and hidden meanings. I was really afraid she wouldn’t like it, but, fortunately, she did.

Interviewer: What was the hardest part of writing the book for you? And the easiest?

Zoriana: Writing books isn’t that difficult when you have something to say. For me, the hardest part at first was the organizational aspect – it was challenging to find the time for it.  Toward the final stages, I struggled not to give in to perfectionism, to stop endlessly revising and rewriting everything, and just to allow some passages to remain as they were. I’ve always been highly critical of my works, which I generally consider a healthy attitude, although sometimes it can go too far. There were moments when I spent weeks working on a single sentence or episode, making sure it read exactly as I wanted and conveyed the precise meaning I had in mind. Yet, that wasn’t so much a difficulty as it was a natural part of the creative process. The easiest part was, surprisingly, the writing itself. Fortunately, I eventually found the time. It coincided with the start of the quarantine. While it came as a shock to many, for me, it became an escape in the midst of studying and preparing for exams. At that point, the education sector hadn’t yet adapted to the new challenges, so I only had a couple of classes per week. The rest of the time, I was totally devoted to myself and my art.

Interviewer: What was the process of creating illustrations for the book like? How challenging was it to translate the characters’ appearances from your imagination to the pages?

Zoriana: Oh, the illustrations are a different story. For a long time, I hesitated to publish the book as I wanted it to feature atmospheric illustrations and, of course, a captivating cover, but it took me quite a while to find the right artist. And then, once again, time played to my advantage. It was during the emergence and rise of artificial intelligence, and I decided to use it to visualize the characters. This was, in a sense, my homage to time and technology, as it has become an integral part of our modern lives. I used Midjourney, and it seems I made thousands of requests before selecting a small batch of images. These were then refined, modified, and hand-edited in various graphic editors. That’s how the internal illustrations came to be. Thanks to technology, I was able to recreate the characters and atmosphere as closely as possible to how I had imagined them. The cover for the electronic version of the book was created by Tatia Koviz, an illustrator at the BookBanda publishing house, while the cover for the print edition was designed by digital artist IIONN. He also incorporates AI elements into his works, which is why I thought his style would complement mine. This was back in 2022, if I remember correctly. I described my idea to him in broad terms, without delving into too many details, sent him a rough sketch as a reference, and shared some guidance about the plot and main characters. Initially, I didn’t want anything abstract – I envisioned all the characters, their faces, and the background to be clearly depicted. When he sent me the first drafts, I was so thrilled that I gave him carte blanche regarding style and presentation. Somehow, he managed to capture all the imagery, symbolism, color scheme, and essence of the story, as if he had pulled it out of my mind. Why do the main characters look like medieval figures? Why are they entwined with roots? What is the light behind them? And who is the lone woman on the back cover? He depicted all of this without any prompts from me, and it miraculously aligned with the content of the book. He’s an incredibly perceptive, insightful, and talented person, and I highly appreciate our cooperation. By the way, he’s now serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, defending us and our freedom.

Interviewer: Do you have a mission as a writer? If so, what is it?

Zoriana: I wouldn’t call it a mission, but rather a goal – not just as a writer. I feel a deep connection to Ukrainian culture in all its forms, and this connection goes beyond my creative work, as my professional activity is also intertwined with it. My goal is to make a contribution to our culture, help it develop, and expand its reach internationally. My goal is to inspire people to support it and take an active interest in it. Given the current circumstances, I see culture as a flame that represents our resilience and the expression of our authentic national identity.

Interviewer: If you could describe your literary world with one word, what would it be and why?

Zoriana: I would say "infinity". This concept is even partially reflected in my pen name. My writing is deeply connected to the idea of a multi-layered universe in all its vastness and complexity. I believe that our world is not limited to what science has discovered about it – there are countless things we simply can’t yet perceive, but we can speculate about their existence. The size and nature of our world depend on the breadth of our perception of it. And there is a share of irrefutable truth in every such perception. Conceptually, this means the world is infinite. This very idea is reflected in my literary world, much of which is dedicated to exploring the unknown.

Pictures were provided by Zoriana Bezodnia