Alex Adams was born in New Zealand, raised in Greece and Australia, and currently lives with her sweetheart in Oregon--which is a lot like New Zealand, minus those freaky-looking wetas. Her debut novel, White Horse (Emily Bestler Books/Atria, April 17, 2012), is a post-apocalyptic thriller, the first in a trilogy.
On your nightstand now:
Jonathan Kellerman's Rage and Rob Ziegler's Seed. Kellerman's novel is a reread for me. I recently experienced a sudden urge to spend more time with Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis. Now they're living in my iPad. Seed captured my attention at the World Fantasy Convention in San Diego. Night Shade Books had an interesting display for the novel with these tiny packets of seeds. I stopped to rattle them (couldn't resist!) and wound up reading Seed's flap copy. It went straight onto my must-read list.
Favorite book when you were a child:
It's not one book, but three: Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree books. I knew there was no such thing as a magical tree with ever-changing worlds at the top, but I wanted there to be. I still want there to be. Who wouldn't love to take a day trip to the Land of Presents?
Your top five authors:
This question is standing on a pile of shifting sand. My answers change daily, depending on what I'm reading, and depending on my mood. I love Terry Pratchett for his wit and for his wisdom. I love George R.R. Martin for his ability to weave an intricate tale without dropping threads. Stephen King showed me monsters in dark places, then Jodi Picoult revealed them as mortal women and men. Jane Austen taught me that love is funny. And Jasper Fforde takes me someplace new and completely imaginary with every book. That's six, but I get lost after the number three.
Book you've faked reading:
Pride and Prejudice, but only when it was required reading in high school. In those days, Jane Austen and I did not click, and I had to fake my entire 12th-grade book review. We reevaluated our writer/reader relationship in my early 20s, and fell in love.
Book you're an evangelist for:
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. It's the funniest book ever. Really.
Book you've bought for the cover:
None. While an amazing cover (Twilight; The Book of Lost Things; Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children) has the power to reel me in for closer inspection, it's the cover flap and first few lines (at least) that make me open my purse.
Book that changed your life:
Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks was the first book I read on my own. It opened entire worlds.
Favorite line from a book:
"The truth may be out there, but the lies are inside your head." --Sir Terry Pratchett (Hogfather). Few speak simple truths about human nature as well as Terry Pratchett.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Actually, it's the just the most recent. There are a handful of books that affected me so deeply and entertained me so greatly that I'd love to recapture that first magic reading experience. Among them are the Harry Potter books, The Thorn Birds and King's The Stand.