How the Mystery of a Missing Father Inspired a Debut Novel: Guest Post by A.C. Adams

My wife and creative partner, Christina Adams, and I met in San Diego in our early twenties. I was the composer and book writer for an original rock opera, An Eye In Each Head, which was being staged locally, and she had just returned from touring India and Europe as the lead singer of Vrindavan, a world music ensemble. Our artistic and personal connection was instantaneous, and we wrote dozens of songs and stories before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue careers in the entertainment industry. After years of writing, producing, and developing projects for television, film, and theatre, we decided to write our debut novel, inspired by the true story of Christina’s family. 

As long-time co-writers in various mediums, we are frequently asked about our creative process and how a married couple can work together daily without killing each other. Our answer is simple: it’s easy when you find the right person and a living hell if you don’t. We are fortunate to enjoy working and creating together, sharing a seamless partnership based on respect and collaboration rather than competition. The quality of the storytelling is our priority. If one of us likes a particular plot point or line of dialogue and the other doesn’t, we continue discussing it until we reach a new solution that satisfies both of us. Since we can practically read each other’s minds and have developed a singular voice as a writing team, we’ve adopted the nom de plume, A.C. Adams, for Chasing Shadows and our future novels. 

Chasing Shadows required more research and a deeper collaboration than our previous projects. The story was inspired by the quest to find Christina’s father, who vanished shortly before we met, leaving a chilling message stating he had a new life and must never see her or her siblings again. Christina’s world was turned upside down. He was a brilliant university professor and a loving parent whom she idolized. How could he justify such cruel and unfathomable behavior? She needed to find out, and I was committed to the challenge, so we embarked on an international search to uncover his secrets. The process took years, but what we learned about his past unraveled everything she thought she knew about her family history. For years, her father had led a covert life as a Catholic priest and a member of an elusive, powerful society that operates in the shadows of world affairs. Although we interviewed many of his friends and colleagues, the details of his extraordinary life remained a Gordian knot that was impossible to untangle. Her estranged mother also had a hidden past of trauma and deceit, and one of the best outcomes of the journey was their reconciliation. 

When we realized our search had reached an impasse and there were crucial details about Christina’s father we couldn’t verify, we decided to write a novel inspired by true events. We would change the names and locations in the novel to protect our sources while preserving many incidents from his life and our search. Our goal was to remain true to his essence while revealing the dramatic truth of the story. 

It was time to outline, and after months of effort, we discovered a structure that perfectly suited the narrative, incorporating three points of view to tell a multi-generational family drama spanning seventy years across three countries and various locations. Sixty-two taut chapters provided the fast pacing we desired, and now that we had the framework, it was time to flesh it out. As usual, we divided the work in half and started writing, with Christina beginning with Chapter One and I with Chapter Thirty-One. 

After completing the first draft, we read it aloud and took detailed notes. Then, we revised our chapters and read the book aloud again, creating a new set of notes. Next, we exchanged chapters—I revised the first half while Christina worked on the second half. We repeated this process several times until we were ready to share it with a few trusted colleagues who read the manuscript and provided invaluable feedback. 

Writing our first novel was liberating, allowing us to explore the story and characters with greater depth and detail than was possible in a screenplay. We’re hooked and eagerly anticipate writing many more. However, we are not quite finished with Chasing Shadows; the characters still have more of their story to share, and we envision a sequel. 

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A.C. Adams is the nom de plume of co-authors Anthony Leigh Adams and Christina Adams. They have written and produced film and television projects for studios including Disney, ABC, CBS, NBC, and OWN. Their production company, Adams Entertainment, is based in La Jolla, California. For more information about Chasing Shadows and A.C. Adams’s other projects, visit adamsentertainment.com