CHASING SHADOWS: How a Real-Life Mystery Inspired a Co-Written Novel 

By A.C. Adams

My wife and creative partner, Christina Adams, and I met in San Diego in our early twenties. She had just returned from a tour in India and Europe as the lead singer of Vrindavan, a  world music ensemble. I was the composer and book writer for an original rock opera, An  Eye In Each Head, which was being staged locally. 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 often asked about our creative process  and how a married couple can work together every day without killing each other. Our  answer is simple: it’s easy if you find the right person, and hell if you don’t. We’re fortunate  to enjoy working and creating together, and we share 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 arrive at a new solution that works for 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 a deeper level of collaboration and research 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 that stated 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.

I was eager to assist her, and we  embarked on an international search to uncover his secrets. The process took years, but  what we learned about his past unraveled everything she believed she knew about her  family history. For years, her father had led a covert life as a Catholic priest and 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. To  protect our sources, we would change the names and locations in the novel 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. 

Now, it was time to outline. Using the time-honored, low-tech method of 3” x 5” index cards  pinned to a corkboard, we dove in. After months of effort, we discovered a structure that  perfectly suited the narrative, incorporating three points of view and presenting a multi generational family drama spanning a 70-year period across three countries and various locations. Sixty-two taut chapters provided the fast pacing we desired, and now that we  had the skeleton, 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, generating a new set of notes. Next, we  exchanged chapters, with me revising the first half while Christina revised the second half. We repeated this process numerous times until we were ready to share it with several  trusted colleagues who read the manuscript and provided invaluable feedback. 

Writing our first novel was liberating, enabling us to delve into the story and characters with  greater depth and detail than what 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 

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 numerous studios,  including Disney, ABC, CBS, and NBC. Christina is a producer of the Emmy Award-winning  series The Amazing Race and multiple programs for Oprah Winfrey. Anthony is the  composer and co-writer of Sideways: The Musical, which is based on the Oscar-winning  film and is in development as a Broadway musical. The Adamses also wrote and produced  the original musicals Love-In: A Musical Celebration and Primal Twang: The Legacy of The  Guitar. Both shows were filmed and aired nationally on PBS. Primal Twang won Best  Documentary Feature at the Rome International Film Festival. 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.

CHASING SHADOWS

When renowned professor Dr. Aidan Ryan vanishes without explanation, he leaves behind a haunting message revealing he has a new life and can never return. His devastated daughter Sofia embarks on a global search to uncover the truth behind her father’s disappearance. What she finds is more shocking than she could have imagined—a web of family secrets and lies that challenges everything she thought she knew.

After clues lead her to Italy, Sofia reconnects with her estranged mother, Ella, who reveals a hidden past of trauma and deceit. When they discover Aidan’s ties to The Brotherhood, an elusive, powerful society that operates in the shadows of world affairs, Sofia and Ella become ensnared in a deadly conspiracy. Trapped in ancient catacombs beneath the Roman countryside, they must confront their mysterious captors and fight for their lives. But as they edge closer to escape, one question remains: Will Aidan choose his family or The Brotherhood?

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