Author Amy Matayo ~ And a Book Giveaway

Today is an awesome day! When I first started blogging I came across this really funny blogger named Amy Matayo. I'll never forget the first post I read on her blog. She was talking about substitute teaching and how she spent part of her day speaking with a British accent. She didn't think the kids really appreciated her speaking abilities and then she lamented the fact that she was born in the wrong era...I could totally relate!

Amy and I at the 2013 ACFW Conference

I started following Amy's blog and she came over to mine and was my very first non-relative follower! Since then, I've had the pleasure of seeing Amy at two ACFW Conferences, cheering her on to winning the 2012 Genesis Contest, and now I'm celebrating with her as she launches her debut novel, The Wedding Game.

I was especially excited to read her novel, because Amy is one of the funniest people I've ever met. Her Facebook posts are definitely a highlight of my Facebook feed and her blog posts always leave me laughing out loud.

From the very first page of The Wedding Game I was hooked! I love her characters, the plot is really fresh, and her dialogue is incredibly witty. You'll fall in love with her characters and cheer them on to the finale.

Without further ado (or gushing), I'll get to Amy's interview. Check out the end of this post to see how you can enter to win a FREE copy of The Wedding Game!

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Gabrielle: Hey, Amy! I'm so excited to have you as a guest today. For readers who might be "meeting" you here for the first time, can you give us a quick history lesson on your publication journey?

Amy: Well, I started writing my first novel in January of 2009. In May I typed THE END, didn’t bother editing it (because isn’t that what they pay real editors for?) and sent it out to 72 agents. Shockingly, I got 68 rejection letters, one so awful it was covered in pizza sauce and coffee stains and read something like this: “You’re the worst writer in the history of writing. Please don’t bother anyone in my profession with your pointless drivel ever again.” Maybe not word for word, but that’s what it felt like. Next came another book, another 12 submissions and rejections, then another book with more rejections, and then I wrote The Wedding Game. I never queried that book. In a weird turn of events, this time my now-agent contacted me. But I do still have that shoebox full of letters hidden under my bed.

Gabrielle: Oh, the lessons we learn from rejection! I just finished The Wedding Game and it was so much fun to read! Can you give us a brief description of the book and tell us where you got the idea?

Amy: The basic plot is a Hollywood playboy and a small-town Arkansas girl both need money, so they audition for The Wedding Game—a nationally televised Bachelor-type reality show—make the cut, and eventually win. But if they want their hands on the two million dollar prize, they have to stay married for six months and convince America by a revote at the end that they’ve fallen in love.

As for the idea, a couple of years ago I was watching Good Morning America while getting dressed for work. They were running a feature on Kim Kardashian, telling about her recently-announced divorce. Well, I had just watched clips from her televised wedding a few days earlier, so I knew she had only been married for a month or so. Annoyed, I turned to my oldest son and said "You know, pretty soon there's going to be a reality show where two strangers get married for money. Wouldn't that be awful?" I meant to sound outrages, but instead my brain started spinning. I started writing The Wedding Game the next day.

Gabrielle: Isn't it amazing how one little seed of an idea can turn into a full-length book? The same thing happens to me all the time. Are you working on your next novel? Can you give us a glimpse into the story?

Amy: I’ve already written my next two, actually. Love Gone Wild is a sort-of sequel to The Wedding Game in that it’s reality-show based (a Survivor-type show set in the Alaskan wilderness). It comes out in March of next year. And then later in the year will come Sway, a New Adult romance that intersperses a political theme of separation of church and state.

I am writing another book now, but I'm not sure about the publication date yet.

Gabrielle: I can't wait to read both of those books! They sound like they were a lot of fun to write. Speaking of writing, as a mother of four I'm sure you get asked all the time: "How do you manage it all?!?!" What is your best advice for pursuing your dream while your children are still young?

Amy: Lock them in a closet and get to work. Kidding! (mostly)

But truthfully, my oldest is nearly eighteen and my youngest is six, so I will admit that as far as hands-on parenting goes, life is getting a little easier. Not to say that it doesn't have its moments, but it is definitely easier now than it was when I first started writing. It's much harder to get things done with a baby on your hip and another tugging on your leg. But, if that's where you are, just press on. There really is never a good time to start trying to reach for your dreams--for years, my list of excuses grew and grew right along with my amount of responsibilities. But go for it anyway, even if you only have a few minutes every day. It will be worth it in the end.

Gabrielle: I would definitely agree. Pursue your dream, even it it's only in ten minute increments a day--at least you're getting somewhere.

Here's a question just for fun: What's one food item you can't live without?

Amy: Chocolate. All kinds. The thought of life without it makes it really hard to breathe.

Gabrielle: Ahh, chocolate. My personal mantra is: If it's not chocolate, it's not worth it! :) Thank you for joining me here today, Amy! As always, you put a smile on my face. I'm praying great things for your writing career. The Wedding Game is just the beginning!

Amy has agreed to give away a free copy of her book, The Wedding Game, to one lucky commenter! Just follow the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win.

Reader's Turn: Have you read The Wedding Game, yet? Do you have any questions for Amy? What is one food item you can't live without?

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Cannon James has a plan: Sign on as a contestant for his father’s new reality show, marry a blonde hand-picked by the producers, and walk away two million dollars richer. It’s all been arranged. Easy. Clean. No regrets. Until Ellie McAllister ruins everything by winning the viewer’s vote. Now he has to convince America that he’s head over heels in love with her. Not easy to do since she’s a walking disaster.

Ellie McAllister has her own problems. She needs money, and she needs it now. Despite her parent’s objections and her belief that marriage is sacred, she signs on to The Wedding Game…and wins. Now she’s married to a guy she can’t stand, and if she wants her hands on the money, she has six months to make voters believe she loves him. Not easy to do since he’s the most arrogant man in America.

It doesn’t take long for Ellie and Cannon to realize they’ve made a mess of things…even less time for their feelings for one another to change. But is it too late for them? More importantly, can the worst decision they've ever made actually become one of the best?

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I graduated from John Brown University with a degree in Journalism. I came this close (holds finger and thumb together until they practically touch) to also having an English degree, but decided I wanted to get married instead and besides, who needed it? After all, managing an entire six-credit-hour semester seemed just so exhausting, and one degree was more than enough.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Not the marriage—that’s all good. But the pseudo-exhaustion. It might be nice to have that degree right now.

Anyway, after graduation, I went to work for DaySpring Cards—a division of Hallmark—where I worked for seven years as Senior Writer and Editor. After the birth of my first child—a ten pound boy—I became a freelance writer before pursuing novel-writing full time.

My first contracted novel—The Wedding Game—won the 2012 ACFW Genesis Award. It released on November 16, 2013.

As the mother of four children with a husband immersed in political life, I have very little free time. I prefer to spend that time enjoying intellectual pursuits such as: watching television with my feet propped up, watching movies with a bucket of popcorn, and watching my laundry pile high—with no desire to do anything about it. It’s a fun life.
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