Cover Reveal! Go On Pretending by Alina Adams
History Through Fiction is excited to reveal the cover of Alina Adams' upcoming novel, Go On Pretending. Designed by the talented Christine Horner, known as The Book Cover Whisperer, the cover features a woman gazing into the distance, set against a backdrop of watercolor roses and the iconic Soviet Red Square. The vibrant colors and evocative imagery perfectly captures the novel's sweeping narrative.
Go On Pretending spans three generations of women navigating the tides of history, from the segregated 1950s America to the fall of the USSR and the rise of revolutionary Rojava. The story begins with Rose Janowitz, a pioneer in the golden age of television, who hides a radical past and a secret romance with Jonas Cain, an African-American leading man. As the narrative unfolds, Rose's daughter, Emma Kagan, returns to the US during the era of glasnost, facing the collapse of the Soviet Union and searching for belonging. Finally, in 2012, Libby, Rose's granddaughter, joins the Women's Revolution in Rojava, Syria, unearthing long-buried family secrets amid the chaos of war.
Alina Adams, a New York Times bestselling author, brings her unique perspective as a Soviet immigrant to this multilayered tale. Known for her compelling narratives, Adams captures each era with authenticity and emotional depth. Go On Pretending offers a powerful exploration of personal freedom and the enduring strength of family bonds.
Set to release on May 1, 2025, Go On Pretending is available for pre-order now. Coinciding with premiere of Beyond the Gates, the first new soap opera in twenty-five years, all pre-orders will be shipped on February 24, months before the novel is available elsewhere. We invite you to dive into this unforgettable journey through history, brought to life by Adams' masterful storytelling and Horner's stunning cover design. Stay tuned for more updates and prepare to be transported across decades and continents in this remarkable novel.
Exclusive Offer: All readers who pre-order Go On Pretending through our online store can choose one of two free ebooks by Alina Adams. The options are:
Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama's Greatest Moments - This ebook offers exclusive, behind-the-scenes interviews with actors, writers, and directors who created fans' all-time favorite moments from shows like All My Children, Another World, As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives, Edge of Night, General Hospital, Generations, Guiding Light, One Life to Live, Search for Tomorrow, The Young and the Restless, and more!
The Fictitious Marquis - Named the first Own Voices Jewish Historical by Romance Writers of America and described as a Jewish "Bridgerton" by Kveller Magazine. Originally published by Avon Books in 1995.
Watch the Unboxing!
Praise for Go On Pretending
I was instantly drawn into Alina Adams' fascinating book GO ON PRETENDING as it opens with the birth of Guiding Light by its founder, Irna Philips, and I was an actress on that show for 26 years. But the book is better than any soap opera as the plot spirals from America to Soviet Russia with great characters and an amazing amount of historical research. It is a page-turner with characters you love to hate and questions that are all answered.
–Tina Sloan, Guiding Light actress, award-winning author of CHANGING SHOES, CHASING CLEOPATRA, CHASING OTHELLO, CHASING CZARS
Go On Pretending hooks you on the very first page then takes you on an emotional ride through history with generations of unique and highly engaging characters. An epic drama not to be missed!
–Kyra Davis Lurie, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Mann
Go On Pretending is a sweeping historical saga bridging three countries and three generations of indomitable women who take enormous risks in support of artistic freedom, racial equality, free speech and, most of all, the right to love without prejudice. An intense and enthralling read.
–Shelly Sanders, Bestselling author, Daughters of the Occupation
Adams’ newest novel stretches from the 1950s to the 2010s and spans characters, countries, and continents. The characters’ unspooling lives—so different on the surface but deceptively similar underneath—ask us to confront questions personal and political. A fascinating, important, thought-provoking read.
–Addison Armstrong, author of The Light of Luna Park and The War Librarian
Go On Pretending is a fascinating, romantic, and inspiring look at the ways that women's struggles and ethnic and racial identities have played out across time and continents. Mixing real-life figures and events into these fictional women's lives makes them all the more relevant, while illuminating the grand sweep of history as well as the truth that the political is personal."
–Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, author of When Women Invented Television
About the Author
Alina Adams is the NYT-bestselling author of soap-opera tie-ins, figure-skating mysteries, romance, and historical novels. Born in Odessa, USSR, Adams immigrated to the United States at age seven and learned to speak English by watching American Soap Operas. After receiving her B.A. and M.A. in broadcast communications at San Francisco State University, Adams worked in television as a writer and researcher. Years later she penned the As The World Turns book tie-in, Oakdale Confidential, which became a New York Times bestseller. Her first historical novel, The Nesting Dolls, is a Soviet-Jewish historical novel published by HarperCollins in July 2020. My Mother’s Secret, published by History Through Fiction in November 2022, provides readers a rare glimpse into the world's first Jewish Autonomous Region of Birobidzhan while exploring universal themes of identity, love, loss, war, and parenthood. Adams lives in New York City with her husband and their three children.
