Q&A With Amy Ewing

Publicist Jennifer Richards has connected me with New York Times Bestselling Author of Romance, Amy Ewing! Amy wrote several young adult series; her most popular trilogy was The Lone City Trilogy.  Amy then transitioned to adult contemporary romance novels The Irish Goodbye & her new release coming out on October 20^th titled The Plus-One List!  On top of being an author, Amy is also a freelance editor. 

Q: Welcome to Book Notions Amy! Would you please give a brief description of your work starting with your upcoming novel The Plus-One List?

A: Thanks so much for having me! I started my career writing young adult fantasy series, then transitioned to writing adult contemporary romance. The Plus-One List follows Eloise, a New Yorker who struggles with anxiety and prefers the company of her senior rescue dogs to people—but suddenly, she needs to find a date to her best friend’s lavish wedding in Mexico City. This is a near impossible task for Eloise to accomplish on her own. So, she ends up using an exclusive plus-one list and gets paired up with Agustín, a journalist and recent immigrant to New York from Mexico. What starts out as a purely transactional agreement begins to turn into something more as Eloise and Agustín spend more time together. But what Eloise doesn’t know is that Agustín has his own secret motivations for wanting to attend the wedding…

Q: I saw on your website that you have a rescue dog, yourself. Was that what inspired the story for The Plus-One List? 

A: I do! I have two rescue dogs—Sam, a fourteen-year-old chihuahua with no teeth (named after Samwise the hobbit from The Lord of the Rings) and Matilda, a four-year-old pug with endless energy (named after the main character in the book Matilda). My first senior rescue was a chihuahua named Pippin (can you tell I’m a LOTR fan?). I’m very passionate about senior dog rescue, though I did promise my husband that we did not always have to rescue only seniors—hence Matilda. There are just so many senior dogs spending their golden years in a shelter without a forever home, and it breaks my heart. Every dog deserves to be loved, no matter what stage of life they’re in. 

So, while I am passionate about adopting seniors, the actual idea for the story was pieced together from various different elements, some personal and one kind of happenstance, which was the list itself. Fun fact: the plus-one list is a real thing! I know it sounds like something invented for a romance novel, but I met a woman at a party once, and we were talking about weddings, and she told me how she and her friends have a list of eligible men that they circulate amongst themselves in case anyone needs a wedding date—this way they can have a trusted recommendation. Of course, my author brain immediately pounced. “That belongs in a romance novel!” I cried. And she very graciously allowed me to use it. She even sent me the real list! Which was very cool to see. Though of course, the list in the book is entirely of my own creation. 

The plus-one list is just an element, however, and not a plot. And so I tucked it away in my mind while I was writing a different book. Then, when I’d started to think about my next romance project, I’d already started creating Eloise and Agustín. I knew the general sense of who they were as characters, and they were rooted somewhat in my own experiences. I, like Eloise, struggle with anxiety, and I also fell in love with an immigrant from Mexico City. I knew I wanted to write about anxiety, and I also wanted to write an immigrant story. And I wanted to explore my two homes on the page: New York and Mexico City. But Eloise and Agustín were polar opposites! The consummate introvert and the happy-go-lucky extrovert. How was I going to get them to meet, much less fall in love? And then it hit me: the plus-one list! And that’s how the story really began. 

Q: Do you consider yourself a plotter or a panster? How long does it take you to write and edit your novels? 

A: I am one thousand percent a pantser and I often wish that I wasn’t! I long for the structure and direction that comes with plotting, but I can’t resist the call of the unknown. I love the organic, mysterious aspect of writing without an outline, allowing the story and the characters to lead me—even if they lead me into plot holes from time to time. I usually do have a general sense of the story when I start, however. I’ll know I need to hit point A then B then C, but how to get from one to the other is always the big question and the big discovery.  Although with The Plus-One List, I did sell it on proposal, meaning I had only written a couple of chapters and then a detailed synopsis. So, I had a bit more of a guide than I usually do! But of course, a lot of things in the synopsis didn’t go exactly as I’d thought, because things just naturally change during the writing process itself.

Q: You used to write in the young adult genre and then transitioned to writing contemporary romance for adults! Was your transition from writing young adult to adult novels an easy one or difficult? Why or why not?

A: Yes, I started out writing YA fantasy series! So, it was a bit of a gear shift to write for adults, and to write about the real world instead of ones of my own creation. But I’ve really enjoyed the transition. I started writing romance during Covid. I was really struggling during that dark time, like so many of us were, and my fantasy worlds tended to be quite dark, as well. Writing became very difficult for me then, and turning to romance actually helped save my mental health. I found so much joy and comfort in writing about love—and I tend to write international couples and romance that involves travel, so it was wonderful to be able to explore other parts of the world while stuck inside my little New York apartment during lockdown. Perhaps one day I’ll go back to writing YA again, but for now, I’m loving writing about love! 

Q: What messages and emotions are you hoping readers takeaway once they turn the final page of your novels? 

A: Since I found so much joy and comfort in romance, I hope readers find that in my books too. The Plus-One List in particular was very healing for me while I was writing it—and I hope readers feel that as well. I always want my romance books to leave people with big smiles on their faces and maybe one or two tears in their eyes! 

Q: If The Plus-One List were to get a sequel, what would Eloise, Agustín and the rest of the characters be doing right now? 

A: Oh man, well I hope she and Agustín would be engaged! Or even married. But they’d probably elope—Eloise would not be able to handle a big wedding. They would be living together in her big apartment in Central Park West, and the community they built with their neighbors on the ninth floor would be as strong as ever. And they would have added more senior dogs to the Pack! 

Q: Can you give details for the next novel you are writing now? 

A: I’m currently working on a speculative romance, that has a bit of a time slip element in it! It follows a New York City chef on the verge of turning forty who flees a toxic relationship and the implosion of her career by staying at her quirky aunt’s apartment in Paris for the summer. There, she discovers a hidden closet that transports her to a previous summer she lived in Paris when she was twenty-five and met her first love. Suddenly, she has the chance to live inside the moment she once let slip by and maybe get things right this time—but the closet isn’t exactly what it seems, and her present is about to catch up with her… It’s a bit 13 Going On 30, a bit Sliding Doors, and a bit The Husbands! 

Q: How does it feel knowing your novels are on the New York Times bestsellers list? Are any of your novels being adapted for a movie or series? Do you have any dream casts in your head for the characters in The Plus-One List as well as your other novels?

A: It’s an incredibly exciting feeling! A true dream come true for any author, and I’m so grateful to all the readers who made it possible. I know there are some feelers out for both The Jewel and The Irish Goodbye, though nothing has been sold or optioned yet. I’m hopeful that one day I’ll get to see one of my stories on the screen! That would be amazing. As far as dream casts… the only actor I really pictured while I was writing was for Agustín. I think Cristo Fernandez, who plays Dani Rojas on Ted Lasso, would be a perfect Agustín. He’s so charming, with such an easygoing vibe, and he has the best smile (and the most incredible hair)! 

Q: Amy would you please provide the links to your social media accounts so the readers of the blog and I may follow you and your work? 

A: Of course! You can follow me on Instagram at @amyewingbooks, on Facebook at Amy Ewing Author or on TikTok at @amyewingbooks. And you can check out my website at www.amyewingbooks.com!