Author Interview | Rich Amooi

I was introduced to Rich Amooi’s writing when I read his first novel Five Minutes Late a few months ago. It was a fabulous, laugh-out-loud, debut novel from what I believe to be a very promising author. I immediately added him to my mental go-to list of authors. [Click here to check out my review.]

‘Comedy & Romance…with a side order of madness!’ His writing is fun, quick, and is sure to make you laugh. When I found out that his second novel was about to be published [Dog Day Wedding, released January 30, 2015], I couldn’t wait to read it and was even more excited to snag an interview with him. Read on and then go get yourself a copy of his first novel and his new one.

Interview with Rich Amooi

Hi Rich, a huge, warm welcome to Living Life With Joy! Thank you so much for participating in this interview. Would you like to start by introducing yourself?

Absolutely! Thanks so much for having me. I was born in San Francisco, but have lived in Silicon Valley (San Jose) most of my life. I am happily married to a kiss monster and we have a hairy golden retriever/lab mix that likes to eat carrots, tuna, and Manchego cheese imported from Spain.

I just started writing romantic comedies full-time in 2015 and I’m having a blast!

Can you tell us a bit about your latest novel, Dog Day Wedding and the inspiration behind it?

Dog Day Wedding actually started out as a short story that I wrote in a creative writing class at Stanford. The title is based on the 1975 Al Pacino movie, Dog Day Afternoon. In the movie, Pacino robs a bank and ends up taking everyone hostage.

My story is a little lighter since it’s a rom-com. Okay, a lot lighter. The final scene is three chapters long and includes a wedding with hostages. Don’t worry…nobody dies and there’s plenty of red velvet cake for everyone!

As for the inspiration behind the story…I love weddings! I thought it would be cool to write a fun, crazy story around a wedding.

What’s your favorite thing about writing romance novels?

Great question and easy to answer because it also happens to be my favorite thing about romantic comedy movies: The dialogue. I love clever and funny and silly dialogue—and I love to write it. I first started paying attention to dialogue back when I saw When Harry Met Sally for the first time at the movies. Ever since then, I’ve been obsessed with romantic comedies on the big screen and—more recently—humorous romance novels.

Can you tell us about your journey to publication?

 It started when my wife encouraged me to take a creative writing class at Stanford. I ended up taking four classes between 2010 and 2012 and I enjoyed them tremendously. After reading one of the stories I had written, she said, “You need to make this into a novel!” Side note: It’s SO COOL to have such an amazing, supportive wife! So, I expanded the story into a novel. Then I did a ton of research on self-publishing before releasing the book to the world in August of 2014. Things are moving a lot faster since I’m writing full-time now. I have four romantic comedies scheduled for release in 2015!

Five Minutes Late is your first romantic comedy. How did you find writing your second rom-com compared to the first? Was it easier or more difficult?

The second book was a lot easier because I was much more organized and focused. I had so many things going on while I was writing the first book; a month-long trip to Spain, the parents-in-law staying with us for three months, buying our first home, putting in a new garden. In contrast, I wrote the entire first draft of the Dog Day Wedding during the month of November 2014 for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Then I took another six weeks to tweak it, get feedback from my beta readers, and polish it even more before it went to the editor. Huge difference! 

Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on at the moment?

I’m working on a romantic comedy (surprise!) called Kissing Frogs. It’s about a woman who signs up for online dating to find suitable date for an important wedding. And let’s just say it was a lot harder than she thought it would be! LOL.

Who are your favorite authors and what books do you enjoy reading?

Romance! Kristan Higgins, Tara Sivec, Jill Shalvis, Tracy Brogan, Marina Adair, Stephanie Bond, Terri Osburn, Jennifer Crusie, Catherine Bybee. Can you tell I like romance?

Is there one book that stands out in your mind that you wish you’d written?

The dictionary.

What’s the most important lesson life has taught you?

Time is precious. You should be doing what you love—instead of thinking one day that you might do it. As Tony Robbins says, “When would NOW be a good time?” My first passion was music. Naturally, a career involving music would have been amazing. So I did it! I was a radio personality “on the air” at some of top radio stations in Silicon Valley for over thirty years. While I was working in radio, I thought it would be cool to start a Wedding DJ company. So I did it! I had so much fun entertaining at over 1500 wedding receptions. Then I wanted to write romantic comedies—I’m doing that now! That old saying “you can be whoever you want to be” or “you can do whatever you want” is so true! Time is precious. Get out there and make it happen!

If you could plan the perfect holiday, what would it be?

The perfect holiday is wherever my wife is. We have fun whether it’s walking the dog on the trail, driving an hour to be by the ocean in Monterey, or traveling fifteen hours to visit one of my favorite countries, Spain.

Thank you so much for participating in this interview, I’m delighted to have you on my blog and truly appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions!

Thank you! It was such a pleasure.

 

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Rich Amooi – Author Bio

A bit about Rich from his website:

I believe in public displays of affection, silliness, infinite possibilities, donuts, gratitude, laughter, and happily ever after.

You’ll notice these things sprinkled throughout my writing, along with a dash or two of madness! Because life can get crazy sometimes, right? And you never know where it’s going to take you.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which I may or may not receive a small commission when you make a purchase. Your support is much appreciated!

Click the links below to purchase Dog Day Wedding

Amazon

 Giovanni Roma was jilted at the altar. Twice. Meeting Natalie is an enchanting distraction—too bad she’s engaged to another man. To top it off, Giovanni’s mother has a mouth with no filter and is obsessed with finding her son a suitable baby-maker.

Natalie DeMarco is a good cop with one problem. Cold feet. Her fiancé is a decent man, but she’s starting to wonder if decent is good enough. Maybe the doubts could be blamed on Giovanni, that guitar-making Italian hunk next door.

Giovanni knows he must do something, but things get out of hand when he learns he’s not the only one who objects to the wedding.

Dog Day Wedding is a fast, fun romantic comedy that gives new meaning to the term, “Shotgun Wedding.”