Blending personal insight with raw storytelling, Rihea Sadarangani reveals how Almost, Always became a reflection of growth, resilience, and emotional truth — a story about finding strength in letting go and hope in starting again.

What made you tell Almost, Always now?
I’ve always been drawn to contemporary romance that explores love not as fantasy, but as something layered, imperfect, and deeply human. With Almost, Always, I wanted to tell a story about the mistakes we make in love, and how those mistakes often shape us more than the moments we get right. Noah and Deana’s journey reflects something many people experience losing their way, learning through pain, and sometimes finding their way back. It felt like the right time to tell a story that reminds readers love is not about perfection, but growth.

How much of Deana is inspired by your own experiences?
Deana carries a great deal of me perhaps around sixty percent emotionally. Her tendency to see the good in people, even when others may call it naïve, is something I relate to deeply. I’ve always believed optimism is a form of strength. I also connect with the way she carries pain quietly while showing up for others. There are parts of Deana I wrote from memory, and parts I wrote from wounds I had already healed.

Do you believe timing matters more than compatibility in love?
I believe love asks for both. Compatibility creates the connection, but timing often determines whether that connection can survive. You can meet the right person at the wrong moment and still lose each other. Life has made me believe that timing is not separate from love it is often part of how love reveals itself. And sometimes, even when compatibility is undeniable, love still asks you to fight for it.

What did you want readers to take away from Deana’s toxic relationship?
That choosing yourself is not abandonment it is courage. I wanted readers to understand that walking away from toxicity is not weakness, but an act of self-preservation. So often people stay because they confuse endurance with love. But protecting your peace is its own form of strength. If this story helps even one person recognize their worth sooner, then that part of Deana’s journey has done what it needed to do.

How did your background in media shape your writing style?
Media taught me to look for the emotional truth inside every story. My background in advertising gave me an early understanding of narrative, but it was meeting people, listening to their experiences, and observing human dynamics that shaped me as a writer. A piece of advice that stayed with me was write from the character’s perspective, not your own. That changed everything. It gave me the freedom to step outside myself and let the characters lead.

Was there a moment in the book that was especially difficult to write?
The most difficult moment was writing Deana’s decision to leave Rayan. There is something deeply painful about imagining a woman having to walk away from a life she built, a future she believed in, and a love she trusted. For Deana, that choice is both devastating and transformative. Writing that scene required me to sit with heartbreak, fear, and strength all at once. It was emotionally difficult, but it was also one of the most important moments in the book.

What do you hope readers feel when they finish the story?
Hope. Above all, hope. I want readers to feel that life can still offer second chances, even after heartbreak. That difficult experiences do not define us. That love, healing, and joy remain possible. And perhaps most importantly, I hope they walk away believing that staying true to yourself matters, because sometimes what is meant for you arrives only after you have learned not to settle for less.

Is this the beginning of your journey as a novelist?
I believe it is. There are already more stories forming, and perhaps even a continuation to this one. Writing this book has been transformative for me, creatively and personally. It has made me realize storytelling is not something I want to visit once, but something I want to keep returning to. I’m excited to see where this journey leads.