Adam’s Comments (group member since Jun 13, 2012)

Adam’s comments from the Q & A with Adam J Nicolai (author of Alex) group.

Hi Jacqueline -
I've had a number of reviewers that agree with you. I think it would be best done in a Kubrick kind of style, but I'm not sure who would best develop that kind of experience today. In any case, it's not something I've pursued (yet), but I'd love to see it happen.

It's really interesting how different readers see this relationship differently. I was at a book club last month talking about Alex, and we talked about this same thing. I asked one of the participants what she thought of Alina, and she said she thought Alina was thoughtful, kind, patient, and gracious, and Ian was lucky to have her. :)

The thing to keep in mind when thinking about Alina's position is that she's pregnant. This puts quite a different spin on things for her. She feels like she doesn't have time to grieve as much as she needs to. She feels like life is moving on. She doesn't want to take anything out on the baby. She doesn't want the baby to feel like a second fiddle, or like she's not wanted. She especially, more than anything, wants Ian to be engaged and in love - with her, and with the baby.

Granted, that's a lot to read in to her from the text of the novel, but it is Ian's story, after all. A few of these things are hinted at in the call where she breaks up with him, and a few more in the conversation at the hospital when they get back together. I'd like to add the caveat to the above paragraph that this is just what I thought Alina was probably thinking. There's no saying I'm right either.

The last thing I'll say in her defense is this: just imagine actually living with the guy who's described in the first 1/3 to 2/3 of this book. He is rude, moody, and even violent. Personally I think he has every right to be that way. But does that mean you'd want to live with him? Especially if you were going through your own emotions at the time, and he was completely non-responsive to them?

Alina did try to understand what he was going through, I think. But she's human, she was going through her own stuff, and she couldn't get through it in the same house.

Thanks for the last comment, Dawna. I look forward to writing more books for you!

Hi Mallory!

I kicked around a couple ideas having to do with the same characters, but ultimately decided the story really needs to stand on its own, at least for the time being. Honestly I didn't really think of the possibilities for Silvia and Teres though, so that is intriguing. Thanks for mentioning it. :) As it stands, though, I'll be leaving the world of Alex alone for the time-being.

Well... kind of. Actually, the book I'm working on now, Rebecca, is set in the same "world" - 2010 Minnesota - just earlier in the summer. There are a couple minor things that indicate the events of Rebecca happen during the six months after Alex disappears, but it's not a tie-in story by any means. I do consider it kind of a "companion piece" though. There are some similar themes, but the story itself is very different.

Just for the record, Rebecca is coming along nicely and I expect it will be available by the end of this year.

As you may be able to tell by the title of this thread, I have picked up the habit (from my wonderful wife) of creating words as needed. "Author-ey" questions would include things like:
- How often do you write?
- How long did Alex take to finish?
- What's next?
- Who inspired you?

And all those other questions about how I function that I can't imagine people would be interested in listening to me go on about, but will gladly answer if I'm wrong. :)

This thread is for discussing Alex's themes and how they impact our lives.

This is not to say that Alex is so critical a novel that everyone who's read it has their lives changed - I'm not quite that pretentious. But a lot of people have told me they started crying at some point while reading it, and I'm included in that number. That tells me that there are heavy things going on here, and I don't think they're restricted to the obvious grief Ian felt for his son.

For me, one of the most critical themes in the book is just parenting in general. Since I've become a parent, I've struggled daily to get my head around what it means to be a good one. The idea that I'm responsible for two small human beings is staggering. The idea that these two small people owe their existence to me is likewise staggering.

I think there are a million intricacies to the role of parenting. There is the love, unlike anything I'd ever felt before. There is the fear - fear that harm will come to my children, fear that I will screw something up, fear that I'll raise them to be too lazy and they'll never get a job, or too disciplined so they can never enjoy life. There is guilt, tons of it, about not spending enough time with them, or smothering them, or living in the wrong area. And sometimes, when I look at them, there's just this pure, undiluted joy. Looking at them has the power to just make me happy.

That's a lot of emotion. There's a ton of power in that relationship, and it's a theme I want to explore more in future novels. Did it come across for you in Alex? How has parenting changed your life, or how do you expect it might?

Parenting is the big one, but of course there are others: the marital relationship, surviving trauma and hardship, even how bad it can suck to work in Corporate America. What themes did you pick up on? Why did they resonate with you?

This thread will be for questions about Alex's plot: the mystery around what happened with Alex while he was alive, as well as what happened after he died. Stuff like:
- Why was Alex only able to repeat things he said in life?
- Did everything that Alex said have a hidden meaning? If so, what was it?
- Did Alina give Ian enough time to recover?
- Was Ian being completely unfair to his wife?

Pretty much anything having to do with the plot or actual events of the book, or how was it constructed or laid out. Or, let's be honest, anything at all - I've never really been that hardcore of a moderator.

Just to reiterate, though, while I'll gladly answer questions, I'd love to hear your take on some of these questions as well.

Hi everyone. Thanks for taking a look at my Q&A group. I hope you enjoy yourself and get a chance to get a little insight into Alex, though the dirty secret is, I'm hoping to get a little more insight into it as well. :) Everyone I talk to has something slightly new or different to say about this book, which I love.

I'd like to go ahead and say this whole discussion group is a giant SPOILER ZONE for Alex. Let's all assume everyone's read the book. (If you haven't, you can pick it up cheap on Amazon. I hear it's well worth your time. :)

I think this would be a good thread for introductions. Feel free to post as much or as little of your background as you're comfortable with. I'd just like to get to know everyone a little bit. I'll start.

My name is Adam. If you follow my blog at all, you probably know I've been writing for ten years or so, but Alex is my first published novel. My wife and I have two kids, and yes, my son was the inspiration for this novel. I am an atheist, but I was actually quite religious earlier in my life. I made my final "conversion" while I was writing Alex, actually, though it was less a formal conversion and more a decision to start being honest about the beliefs I'd had for years.

Normally I wouldn't bring that last bit up, but given the subject matter of Alex I thought people might find it germane. :) I'm not sensitive about my beliefs, so if you have any questions about how they fed into the story, feel free.

Man... it's hard to know how much to say here. One of the toughest things about this author gig is that I don't want to talk about myself more than anyone wants to listen. If anyone has any other questions about my background, just let me know.

Thanks again for checking in.