Plenty of novels are inspired by true events. But for one La Jolla couple, the events and people in their novel are personal and combine secret priesthood, a family mystery, international romance and heartbreak.
Anthony and Christina Adams will release their debut novel, “Chasing Shadows,” on Friday, April 25, and sign it at Warwick’s bookstore in La Jolla on Sunday, May 11.
The couple met in their early 20s at a beach club where Anthony was playing guitar and electric sitar with a progressive rock band. Christina, a vocalist, had just returned from touring India and Europe in a world music ensemble and was looking for local musicians to work with.
They’ve been together ever since, collaborating on creative works and traveling around the world to explore other cultures, which have influenced their work in theatrical events, original music, television and film.
“Chasing Shadows,” written under their pen name, A.C. Adams, is based on true events in Christina’s life, starting with the sudden departure of her father.
“He left without a trace when I was in my 20s,” Christina said. “I was devastated. I idolized him and he was very important to me. When he vanished, I couldn’t understand why he did what he did and had to find out. So we went on this crazy quest to find out what happened.”
She and Anthony set out on an international adventure to learn more about her father and where he might have gone. Their travels took them across Europe to his native Ireland and then to Italy, following whatever bits of information they could find.
“We dug deeper and found out he was a priest in Italy before he met my mother,” Christina said. “He left the priesthood and they pursued him until he came back. We also found out he was in this obscure society that only selects a few people to . We knew nothing about this growing up.”
She went on to learn that her parents met while in Rome, fell in love and moved to the United States to start a new life. From there, Christina and her sisters were born and the family seemed happy until he left.
When the Adamses eventually found Christina’s father, they learned he had a second life they knew nothing about.
“He basically said ‘I have a new life and you are not welcome in it and don’t me again,’” Anthony said.
The couple were stunned but also inspired by what they had learned to turn the story into a novel.
The result was “Chasing Shadows,” in which the main character, Sophia, based on Christina, finds out something “more shocking than she could have imagined — a web of family secrets and lies that challenges everything she thought she knew.”
“It was very difficult in the beginning because he was so important in my life,” Christina said. “In the end, it was very cathartic. When it first happened, I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it. But making it a work of fiction freed us.”
The book’s story, told from three different perspectives — those of Sophia and her father and mother — takes readers on a multi-generational journey that goes back to World War II. There are references to “The Troubles” conflict in Ireland as told by the character inspired by Christina’s father, and the character inspired by Christina’s mother comes to with her own secrets.
“We structured the book so the mystery unfolds organically,” Christina said. “It follows the main character’s journey to unravel the mystery.”
Anthony added that “we took free rein to fictionalize to make it the most effective story possible for those that love history, mysteries and thrillers.”
Learn more at adams-entertainment.com. ♦
