SOAPS AND SKATING AND SERIALS, OH MY!

Thanks to Jean Henry Hall for interviewing me on her blog, Murderous Musings.  An excerpt is below:

What was it like working for Proctor and Gamble Productions as website producer for the soaps, “Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns”?

I was there for 10 years, and I had a wonderful time. Writing the websites meant writing in the voices of characters from the show, characters I hadn't created but still needed to bring to life through words (without the help of actors!). It's a great skill for any writer to have.

Tell us about your latest groundbreaking project, Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama's Greatest Moments.

Soap fans love to talk about their favorite moments. And there have been books written on the history of various soaps and stories. But, up until now, you could only read about how great they were, you couldn't actually view the scenes themselves. That's all changed now. "Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama's Greatest Moments" is a one of a kind book in that, after asking fans and soap experts what were some of the greatest moments of all time, I went and interviewed the actors, writers, producers and directors involved with those moments - and then I added links to where you could actually view them. It's a completely interactive experience that's never been done before.

How did you become a bestselling author?

Doug Wilson, who directed ABC's figure skating coverage for many, many years tells a story of how, during the 1988 Olympics, he was planning to open Brian Boitano's Long Program with a shot from across the ice. But, the camera he'd designated for it broke down, and he had to improvise what became Boitano's dramatic, opening head-shot, which is still used on retrospective shows today.

According to Doug, "This just goes to show, that if you work hard and prepare and plan everything out... there's not telling how lucky you can get." Like Doug, when it came to being a bestselling author, I got lucky. In December of 2011, I wrote a biography of skater Sarah Hughes, hoping she would at least make a respective showing at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Two months later, she won the whole thing.

In 2006, I pitched the idea of doing a book based on "As the World Turns" to coincide with their 50th Anniversary. The show wrote the book into the on-air story. And "Oakdale Confidential" debuted at #3 on "The New York Times" best-seller list.

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Read the entire piece, including advice for aspiring writers, interactive storytelling, and my latest novel, "Counterpoint: An Interactive Family Saga" at: http://murderousmusings.blogspot.com/2012/09/bestselling-author-alina-adams.html