A THRIVING Costa Blanca town popular with expats has been used as the backdrop for a natural disaster novel written by a Brit.
Altea, located on Spain’s eastern coast, is known as the ‘Santorini of Spain’, bringing in more than 10 million tourists each year.
Now, the picturesque Mediterranean village is providing the atmospheric backdrop for an expat’s debut novel.
Adam Graham moved to Spain 14 years ago from the UK when his friend offered him a place to stay for a month.
Fast forward over a decade, and Graham is still living along the Costa Blanca in San Juan, having just self-published a thriller novel called Fault Line: Altea.
The book follows geohazards expert Dylan Wright as he investigates mysterious seismic tremors along the Costa Blanca.
Speaking to the Olive Press, Graham said he wanted to create ‘something more cinematic’ than the typical Spain-set novel that typically focuses on romance or expat life.
“Altea was the perfect place for the book’s setting,” Graham explained.
“People come here for paradise. But the novel explores the idea that even the most idyllic surfaces have tensions and secrets rumbling beneath.”
The novel also follows UK tourists on holiday at a swanky hotel – including an LGBTQ+ plot line where the boyfriend of a couple has his head turned by one of the local hotel staff.
While there may not be any signs of an actual earthquake happening in Alicante, Graham mentioned the discovery of inactive fault lines in the area, not completely ruling it out as a possibility.
As a longtime lover of natural disaster stories, Graham expressed his desire to keep a ‘healthy respect for nature, and take on the subject with a certain care.’
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Along with rising tensions and seismic tremors between the characters and a possible earthquake, Graham also touches on government corruption and mass tourism.
“I feel I have a better understanding of life in Spain after living here for over 10 years,” Graham expressed.
“There’s an issue in the story about local traditions that touches a little on the friction between tourism and the priority of locals. Issues like housing costs are a concern that affects everyone’s life here.
“All these little elements play a part in creating the story, but if I had only lived here for a year or two – or had moved here post-Brexit, maybe I wouldn’t have this kind of vision, but after being here for so many years, I’ve definitely seen a change.”
The town’s iconic blue-domed church of Altea also featured prominently on the book’s cover, reinforcing the town’s role as both setting and metaphor.
When asked about his version of paradise within Spain, Graham laughed and claimed he may come off as a ‘patriot to the Comunidad de Valencia’ for his love of the area’s coves, beaches and restaurants.
Graham recalled the word ‘staycation’ going around the UK during COVID, and how Spain was truly a great place to be stuck in due to the country’s diverse styles and surroundings.
Since his book was published on Amazon last week, the writer has already received feedback from people online.
“I’ve had people message me that I’ve never met before, who say they got their book and are excited to start reading,” he said.
Graham accredited using local Altea Facebook groups to spread the word about his debut release, saying it would be really cool to know people either living or visiting the town would want to read a story taking place right before their eyes.
After initially starting out teaching English as a second language, Graham later moved into marketing and communications, with his commentary appearing in publications including the Wall Street Journal and New York Post.
Fault Line: Altea is now available for online purchase through Amazon.
Graham says he is already working on the next installment in the series, Fault Line: Fujigoko.
The second book takes place within the same world, but this time in Japan.
Graham hinted that some characters from the first novel may appear again, but wouldn’t give any spoilers away.
“Hopefully I’ll have a nice long Fault Line series of books coming out – selfishly, I enjoy writing them so I’m going to keep at it,” Graham said.
However, he’s not opposed to crafting other Spain-based concepts, with the author workshopping a story idea that would take place in Madrid.
Graham is currently heading out to Norway for inspiration for an entirely different type of novel, one that is split between the UK and Scandinavia.
Readers can find Graham on Goodreads or his Instagram account, @authoradamgraham, where he shares a video of places that helped inspire the novel.
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