Richard C Lin
Author
About
After thirty years as a corporate executive, Richard Lin recently retired when Covid-19 decisively taught him that there is much more to life than grappling with Zoom at 2 am. He now focuses on writing, philanthropy, and his family of one glamorous wife, three lively kids, and nine adventurous hamsters.
Richard has just completed his coming-of-age, second-gen immigrant romcom, Arizona Awakening, the first in a series of four centered on themes of interracial relationships, immigrant intergenerational conflict, and cultural identity. Richard also plans to craft an anthology of short stories regarding the Chinese young adult orphans that he and his wife, Cindy, have come to love and support.
Richard’s stories have started to appear in in Sonora Review, The Dillydoun Review, The Write Launch, Potato Soup Journal, Prometheus Dreaming, and The Adelaide Literary Magazine. While he lived in Taipei, he wrote business and tech news columns along with Sunday morning lifestyle feature articles for The China Post, Taiwan’s most widely-circulated English-language daily. Richard has also starred in and directed community musical theater productions, including The Jungle Book, Smokey Joe’s Café, Pardon My Fish, and His Disciples (for which he wrote the book and lyrics).
Publications
Never Tear Us Apart
"Never Tear Us Apart" is a story about how a love-torn teen and his Wai-Gong (maternal grandfather) are banished from the ones they love for starkly different reasons.
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To Where We Came From
"To Where We Came From" details the exploits of a young scamp in 1973 Taipei.
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Dancing in the Dark
"Dancing in the Dark" captures a teen boy's fumbling attempts to catch the eye, stir the mind, and capture the heart of the beautiful new girl in town.
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The Other is Gold
"The Other is Gold" highlights a teenager's "volunteer" work at an elderly care center, where he grows close to three of the residents and learns the value of Chinese filial piety.
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Fade to Grey
"Fade to Grey" focuses on a young adult's reminisces of his parents' early days just the two of them and then with him, and chronicles their struggles as an immigrant family in the tumultuous America of the late 60s and early 70s.
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Game Point
"Game Point" tells the story of a boy trying to win back the young love of his life through an intense, winner-takes-all racquetball match with the girl's handsome new beau.
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Drive/Open Arms
In "Drive," a young teen and his high school buddies spend one last night cruising through the desert in a souped-up Pontiac Firebird with some special guests that tempt his thoughts away from the one he loves. "Open Arms" features a young teen pursuing the girl of his dreams via the waltz.
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Painted Over
"Painted Over" centers on two Asian-American students' auditions to win the leading roles in Brophy's musical production of THE KING AND I. However their attempt to demonstrate to the world the charisma and grace of the Asian male meets with unexpected (or perhaps expected) results...
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The Life Imagined
"The Life Imagined" chronicles a high school boy's last night with his passel as they drink the night away to the tune of Thoreau and Jack Daniels."
Read MoreEditorial Reviews
NOTE: These are professional reviews of ARIZONA AWAKENING from organizations that can review unpublished manuscripts
BookView Review:
Richard Lin unfurls an exquisite story of life and love in this gripping memoir…with extraordinary candor and wit…his remarkable storytelling keeps the reader thoroughly invested. A thoughtful personal reflection, this un-put-downable, satisfying story about young love, racism, and social prejudices is easy to fall for.
Kirkus Reviews:
An often compelling account of love and family… The tone of these tales will remind readers of Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel High Fidelity… However, the Chinese American author comes at his story from a different context…and he goes on to draw readers into his family life, peppering his memoir with engaging anecdotes from his upbringing and details of Chinese traditions. He also offers firsthand stories of encountering bigotry, which many readers will find relatable, and he shows how racism seeps into many aspects of American life… It’s the quietest moments of his story—as when he tells the story of his immigrant father leaving Taiwan in 1967—that have the greatest depth and feeling of authenticity.
Robert Buccellato:San Francisco Book Review
This is a brave book, told candidly...his first-person accounts are so universally relatable that it fills the mind with detailed nostalgic impulses. Everything is presented in an engaging narrative that allows events to slowly unfold and gives the reader room to breathe as his recollections blossom... Lin's culture, dreams, and humor are all outlined with such entertaining openness that it frequently borders on the courageous... Simply put, Arizona Awakening is a brilliant and engaging book, told by a skilled craftsman.
K.C. Finn:Readers' Favorites Review
Richard C. Lin has crafted a tender work of non-fiction that showcases the journey of love, with all of the sharp edges that real life brings us along the way... Richard’s culture, his hopes, dreams, and clashes all develop with natural storytelling and raw, honest emotion...that feels personal, but also cinematic and immersive...
Grace Masso:Readers' Favorite Reviews
Arizona Awakening by Richard C. Lin is a compelling memoir…a beautifully narrated story, told in a gripping first-person narrative voice… It is told with humor and a voice that kept me turning the pages.
The Prairies Book Review:
Eloquent, adroitly written, and candid personal story of love and identity...in this hard-to-put-down memoir, Lin delivers a revealing account of his experiences as an American born to Chinese immigrant parents... the book’s greatest strength is the nuanced, poignant portrayal of Lin’s relationship with Lesley and deeply realized secondary characters. A seamless blend of sharp insights and skillful prose, the book paints an extraordinarily vivid picture of a teenager’s coming-of-age journey. Lovers of literary fiction will find much to admire in this intimate, immersive personal narrative.
Diane Donovan:MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
ARIZONA AWAKENING's ability to move from youthful roots and infatuations to become a sweeping, epic story of change and romance is one of its many strengths and surprises. It is a powerful narrative of a young man's attempt to live up to his potential and his parents' expectations against the backdrop of social prejudice. It's a compelling memoir that will reach beyond young adult audiences to touch those interested in stories of love and transformation.
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review:
Insightful, often even eye-opening, this skillfully written memoir will stay with you for a long time… Written in a lively and often amusing style, readers will find a lot to enjoy here… In fact, reading this, I was often reminded of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle – and that book won the Booker Prize in 1993! A touching memoir, candidly written, often thought-provoking, and always stimulating.
Jon Michael Miller, Author of MURDER & MAYHEM IN TROPIC GARDEN:Readers' Favorite Reviews
In ARIZONA AWAKENING, Richard C. Lin, an “ABC” (American Born Chinese), shares his high school years in Phoenix in the 1980s in brisk, flawless prose... For me, it was like being transported in a time machine back to the ’80s. ARIZONA AWAKENING is an exuberant and tender look back… As a coming-of-age novel for adults looking back and for teens looking forward, this one can’t be beat.
Maileen Hamto:Portland Book Review
The most memorable memoirs have a healthy mix of nostalgia and humble reflection. Lin’s story has both... and draws from a treasure trove of pop culture references, the music, and movies of the era. Arizona Awakening is engaging because there is a visceral quality to Lin’s writing that is honest and heartfelt.
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards:
The bittersweet story of first love and battling racism in America. A RED RIBBON WINNER and highly recommended.
