Alina Adams
Author Interview - Alina Adams
Author of Go On Pretending
Rose Janowitz is a pioneer in the 1950s golden age of television, as she navigates the transition from radio to TV soap operas. But beneath the glitz and glamor lies a web of secrets. Rose's radical past and her hidden romance with Jonas Cain, the African-American leading man who made Guiding Light a hit on radio. How long will Rose be able to hide Jonas Cain’s identity—and their romantic relationship—from the public, and from Irna Phillips, the formidable doyenne who invented the soap-opera, a woman who makes—and breaks—professional careers on a whim.
In the 1980s, Rose’s daughter Emma Kagan abandons her privileged life in the USSR as the daughter of high-profile American defectors, to return to the country of her parents’ birth just as Mikhail Gorbachev announces the new openness known as glasnost. In the US, Emma navigates the hypocrisy and inherent contradictions of the political left and the right, as the collapse of the Soviet Union sends her scrambling for survival. Emma’s search for a place to fully belong finds her looking for personal freedom in the strangest of places—with unexpected and often life-threatening results.
In 2012, Libby, Emma's daughter and Rose's granddaughter, embarks on a bold journey to Rojava, Syria, joining the Women’s Revolution. Her search for utopia pulls Rose and Emma into the fray, where family secrets long buried are unearthed amid the anarchy of war.
New York Times bestselling author Alina Adams brings her unique perspective as a Soviet immigrant to the US who mastered English through soap operas to this multilayered tale. With a background in broadcast communications and a history of writing compelling narratives, Adams captures the essence of each era with authenticity and emotional depth. From the author of the acclaimed historical novel My Mother’s Secret, Go On Pretending offers a powerful exploration of the struggles for personal freedom and the enduring strength of family bonds.
Author Interview - Alina Adams
Author I draw inspiration from:
"Master of the Game," "Bloodline" and "The Other Side of Midnight" by Sidney Sheldon
Author Interview - Alina Adams | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
On the subway, where no one can bother me and I don't feel guilty for not doing something else more productive instead.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
If I'm stuck on an elevator with Scarlett O'Hara from "Gone With the Wind" I would first explain to her what an elevator was (don't know if she'd ever seen one on the plantation), and then I would demand to know if she did get Rhett back - and how that worked out. (Not well, I suspect.)
Author Interview - Alina Adams | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
My parents claim my first words were "pencil" and "paper." I don't believe them. I do believe that when I was gifted building blocks in nursery school, I gave them all names and personalities and made up stories for them. So it was pretty clear I wouldn't be an engineer.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardbacks don't fit in my purse and are heavy to hold while lying down. Paperbacks do fit in my purse, but they get wrinkled and don't last long in the rain. Audiobooks are usually read too slowly for me, but if I speed them up like my daughter does, it's hard to take the chipmunks reading a tragedy seriously. I can read an ebook at my own pace AND can carry a bunch around with me, since I never know what kind of reading mood I might be in at any given moment. I like to have options.
The last book I read:
I read Gabrielle Zevin's "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" and was stunned by how much I liked it, even though I have no interest in video games. I liked it so much, I promptly got all of her other books.
Author Interview - Alina Adams | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Definitely computer. I can barely type fast enough to get all the words in my head down on the screen, I most certainly can't write fast enough, either in print or cursive, to get them down on paper. I'm a plotter, not a pantser. I come from the world of soap operas, where first there's a long story, then a five day a week breakdown, then a scene by scene daily breakdown, and then a script. That's how I outline my novels before writing them, so I always know exactly what comes next, and writer's block is impossible.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Scout from "To Kill a Mockingbird." I also prefer pants to dresses and found school extremely boring, so spend most of my academic career first reading a book under my desk, then writing a book on my desk. Teachers initially tried to stop me, then realized it was pointless and left me alone.
Author Interview - Alina Adams | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
A casting director. I love the idea of bringing a character to life off the page in collaboration with an actor.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I loved the 1980s due to the abundance of shoulder pads. I have no shoulders or waist. Those big blazers really helped give the illusion of both.
Place I’d most like to travel:
The Starship Enterprise. Because I love the idea of beaming from place to place. All other forms of travel, car, bus, boat, airplane give me motion sickness.
My signature drink:
Before I met my husband, I never drank. I immigrated from the Soviet Union, so the only people I ever knew who drank REALLY drank, and I thought that was the only option. When I met my husband, I found out that it was possible to do so in moderation. Though I still say he drove me to drink. And now I love tequila.
Favorite artist:
Stephen Sondheim. I know he hated writing lyrics and loved writing music, and I'm sure his music is great. But it's the lyrics I'm in love with.
Number one on my bucket list:
I would love to write lyrics for a musical. It's the one writing thing I've never tried, but would like to.
Find more from the author:
Instagram: @iamalinaadams
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alina.sivorinovskywickham
TwitterX: @IamAlinaAdams
About Alina Adams:
Author Interview - Alina Adams
Alina Adams is the NYT best-selling author of soap opera tie-ins, figure skating mysteries and romance novels. Her historical fiction includes "The Nesting Dolls," "My Mother's Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region" and the upcoming "Go On Pretending," which is set in the world of soap operas moving from radio to television, the dying days of the Soviet Union, libertarian communes, and the Women's Revolution of Rojava, Syria. Visit www.AlinaAdams.com for more!
