Blog Archives

Interview with author Maggie Thom

6/30/2015

June Jests is drawing to a close here on my blog. I hope you have enjoyed hearing from these talented humor authors as much as I have. My last interview is with author Maggie Thom.

Thanks for participating in June Jests, Maggie. Why don't you start by telling us how you incorporate humor into your novels? Do you ever draw inspiration from real life?

I make the characters as real to life as possible, so that when they use humor it’s appropriate for who that character is. It generally occurs naturally but I do make sure that it’s tastefully done and at the right moment. I make the humor part of the character and part of the situation - so friends will rib each other about the situations they find themselves in, they will use it as a way to cope with something, to get out of something, they will use it to deflect another character’s attention from something, they will use it when in an uncomfortable situation, etc.

In Tainted Waters, Samantha is being chased and finds herself trapped on an elderly woman’s balcony. Sam gets the bright idea to attract the attention of the police in the area by making a car’s alarm go off. So she starts throwing this old lady’s china - cups & saucers - at a car in the parking lot. Unfortunately, she’s a really bad aim. Wouldn’t that be fun to do though?

Why do you like to incorporate humor into your stories?

I love humor and I think it brings another depth to a story and to the characters. It makes them more real and easier to connect with for the reader. I also use it to break up some of the intensity of the story. And I use it when it feels right for that person. And because I can do things in my books I’d never do in real life.

In Tainted Waters, Sam is really headstrong but can’t seem to settle down into any specific job, so when she gets fired as a reporter, a job she actually likes, she throws a cup of cold coffee into her bosses face. She acts first and thinks later, which is exactly her character. Besides who hasn’t had a boss they’ve thought about doing this to?

Do you think humor can be incorporated into any genre, or are there genres in which it doesn’t work?

I do actually. As long as it is something that fits the character and fits the situation, I think it can work. A few types of books that it can be a bit more challenging is when something horrific happens or horror stories but I still think it can be done and done well. It’s all about how and where it’s placed so that it doesn’t come across cheesy or way out of context. I love even a touch of humor in any book no matter the genre. I think it is such a gift when others can make us smile or laugh.

What is the most challenging aspect of writing humor?

Humor is a very subjective thing – what one person likes, another won’t. It’s also about the timing of when it’s delivered and that it be in good taste. It has to feel natural. I write suspense thrillers so it’s about where the humor is placed so as not to break up the intensity too much that the reader loses touch with the main character.

So true! And now for some THIS or THAT:

Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Big Bang Theory?

I love the Big Bang Theory. I’m a huge fan. I love their sense of humor.

Bugs Bunny or Woody Woodpecker?

Woody Woodpecker – who can forget that:

Huh huh huh hahuh
huh huh huh hahuh
huh huh huh hahuh
huh huh huh huh huh

It makes me smile every time

Knock, knock jokes or Dirty Limericks?

Knock, Knock jokes

Garfield or Peanuts?

Tough choice but have to go with Garfield overall, who doesn’t love that sarcasm

I'm a sarcasm fan as well! And now, here's more about Maggie's novel, Tainted Waters:

He didn’t commit suicide but who’s going to believe her...

Frustrated at being fired from her latest job and overwhelmed by her consolatory family, Sam decides to move to the family’s cabin at the lake. A place she hasn’t been since her dad committed suicide there, twenty years before. Or did he? Snooping is something she’s good at but someone seems to be taking offense to her looking too closely at what has been happening at the lake. What she discovers is shocking. Now she must uncover what’s real and what’s not. All that she learned growing up, may be false.

Keegan, who has recently moved to the area to finish his latest book, is also trying to find out if his grandfather, who’d passed away ten years before, died of natural causes or was murdered? The descendants of the four families, who own the land around the lagoon, are dying off.

Since Sam and Keegan are the only ones questioning the deaths, they find themselves working together to seek the truth. Are people being murdered? Who would benefit from their deaths? Why would there be barricades and armed guards at the north end of the lake? To stay alive, Sam and Keegan must find the answers and convince others, before more people are killed... including them.

Book of the Year 2013 - Suspense and Thriller Turning the Pages Magazine

"Thom’s book was like one of my Nana’s triple layered chocolate cakes, impossible to walk away from... The plot’s seamless, twisting turns and the tension-building exploits kept me flipping the pages..." Author Jeanne Marie

Amazon: http://amzn.to/183Jtz1

Follow these links to connect with Maggie Thom

www.maggiethom.com

www.facebook.com/authormaggiethom

www.twitter.com/maggiethom2

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6549592.Maggie_Thom

google +: https://plus.google.com/102887579832939598896/posts

https://pinterest.com/maggiethom2/

2 Comments

Interview with author Colleen S. Myers

6/28/2015

1 Comment

June Jests is still going strong here on my blog! Today Colleen Myers, author of the upcoming novel, Must Remember, is my guest.

So glad you could stop by, Colleen. Tell us, what is your favorite style of comedy?

My favorite type of humor would be dry/sarcastic humor or gutter humor because anything can be made funnier by sex! Sex and love and romance should be fun, playful and engaging. That is what I aim for in my books.

How do you incorporate humor into your novels? Do you ever draw inspiration from real life?

I think every novel has a little bit of the author in it. I take the funniest things that every happened to me and even through the stories I have heard and weed em in there a little at a time. The most common way I add humor is through dialogue and internal monologue, description.

What is the most challenging aspect of writing humor?

Quite honestly, it is making sure that everyone gets that what you are saying is HUMOR and not meant seriously, With some topics, that can be difficult to get across the page to the reader.

Which of your characters cracks you up the most & why?

Right now, I just finished the second book and am aiming for the third book in my upcoming Trilogy, MUST REMEMBER. It is all first person past POV so most of my humor and observation is through my MC, Beta and I really love her. She is spunky, passionate and idealistic. I loved writing her.

Sounds like fun! Now some THIS or THAT:

Knock, knock jokes or Dirty Limericks?
The dirtier the better! Although a good Your Momma joke is never amiss.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Big Bang Theory?
BOTH! Please don't make me choose between Peralta or Sheldon. Please.

Spit takes or Banana Peels?
Banananana!

Three Stooges or Laurel & Hardy?
Three Stooges.

Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry?
Dave Barry

Much Ado About Nothing or A Midsummer Night’s Dream?
“The course of true love never did run smooth.”

Silly animal videos or cute kid videos?
Animal videos, to be more specific, kitten videos. They are so darn cute!

Garfield or Peanuts?
Garfield. I love me some lasagna.

Bugs Bunny or Woody Woodpecker?
Bugs Bunny. "Gee, ain't I a stinker?"

Janet Evanovich or Judy Blume?
Janet Evanovich all the way. One for the Money... The book, not the movie.

Thanks so much for being my guest today, Colleen. Be sure to watch for Colleen's first novel, Must Remember, coming Nov 2nd, 2015

For more from Colleen, visit:
www.csmyersmusings.com
Thoughtful, Sexy, Fun

1 Comment

Interview with author Ute Carbone

6/24/2015

5 Comments

Is your side aching yet? Only a few more humor author interviews to go here on my blog. Today author Ute Carbone is my special guest.

Tell us, Ute, why do you like to incorporate humor into your stories?

Probably because I love to laugh and if I can make a reader laugh, I'm a happy camper. The comedies I write are full of quirky characters that do things that are just a little crazy. But even the more serious things I write, will sometimes have a lighter moment, a joke or a funny line delivered by a character. Humor can break up tension and it can also make a character more appealing.

How do you incorporate humor into your novels? Do you ever draw inspiration from real life?

It's all real. :) I love funny stuff and collect quirky stories that I'll sometimes put into the comedies. Mostly, though, it's a matter of perspective, of finding the humor in a situation and you can find humor in just about anything if you look for it.

Tell us about one of the funniest scenes from your book & where you drew inspiration for it.

The one readers have liked is the whale scene in The P-Town Queen, in which the authorities blow up a dead whale rotting on the beach. The scene is based on something that really happened (you can't make this stuff up) back in the 1970s, when civil engineers did actually blow up a whale on a beach in Oregon.

While I was writing P-Town, a friend sent me the link to a video of the incident. It was one so funny I had tears in my eyes after watching it. Since my main character was a shark researcher, it was pretty easy to incorporate the scene into the book. I modified it some, and made the situation even worse than it had been in real life—though quite honestly, you couldn't much improve on it.

Which of your characters cracks you up the most & why?

I love 'em all. My favorite is probably Gran Lila from Confessions of the Sausage Queen. She's a margarita drinking, cookie eating octogenarian who is not afraid to wear stilettos and won't take 'no' for an answer.

And now for some THIS or THAT:

Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Big Bang Theory?

I love the Big Bang Theory. I know all the words to Soft Kitty.

Spit takes or Banana Peels?

Give me a good spit take, because it usually follows something really stupid.

Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry?

Dave. He once wrote about blowing up pop tarts in a toaster and I used this in The P-Town Queen. I am eternally grateful for his pioneering research. Also, he's one of the funniest writers ever.

Janet Evanovich or Judy Blume?

Janet. The Stephanie Plum books are laugh out loud funny.

Here's more about Ute's novel, Sausage Queen...

Bill Ludowski, owner of the town’s largest employer - Bill’s Big and Tasty Sausage- dies whilst he and Mandy Minhouser’s grandmother Lila Rose were doing their best Adam and Eve imitation under the hydrangea bushes. That Gran and Big Bill had an affair that began around the same time as World War II is a secret that everyone in Kassenburg knows. But a new secret is about to be revealed. Big Bill has bequeathed the sausage factory to Lila, with Mandy as CEO.

Mandy doesn’t know squat about the sausage biz and Bill’s grandson Hughes, the factory’s CFO, does everything in his power to close the Big and Tasty. But Mandy has the one thing that Hughes doesn’t-- family and friends willing to put themselves on the line to save the factory. With hope, faith and a whole lot of luck, Mandy and company might manage to do just that.

About the author:

Ute (who pronounces her name Oo-tah) Carbone is an award winning author of women’s fiction, comedy, and romance.
She and her husband live in New Hampshire, where she spends her days walking, eating chocolate and dreaming up stories.

More Books and Stories by Ute Carbone:

Blueberry Truth

The P-Town Queen

Afterglow

Searching for Superman

Sweet Lenora

The Lilac Hour

To The Wind

Dancing in the White Room

All Things Returned

Confessions of the Sausage Queen

The Whisper of Time

The Tender Bonds

For more about Ute and her books, Please Visit:

Web page: http://www.utecarbone.com/

Blog http://www.utecarbone.com/inside-the-writers-garret

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ute-Carbone/234417796596443

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wildwords2

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5114798.Ute_Carbone

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ute-Carbone/e/B005G7U8RM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/utecarbone/

Sign up for her newsletter--

Letters from the Garret http://eepurl.com/YCbMz

5 Comments

Interview with author Olga Godim

6/21/2015

2 Comments

June Jests continue here on my blog. (Clown noses and squirting corsages are optional.) Today, Olga Godim is my guest.

Thanks, Audra, for inviting me to your blog.

Any time, Olga. So tell us, when was the last time you laughed out loud while reading? Tell us about the book & what struck you as funny.

It was probably Jennifer Crusie’s first book Manhunting. I reread it recently. I love Crusie’s novels (she writes romantic comedy) and periodically go on a rereading spree. Why is this book funny? Hard to say. It has vivid characters, witty dialog, and wonderfully absurd situations. When I read it, it felt as if the author enjoyed writing it as much as I enjoyed reading it. It felt as if we laughed together.

Do you think humor can be incorporated into any genre, or are there genres in which it doesn’t work?

I think humor can be used with any literary genre. Even more, humor enhances any genre. There are funny sci-fi and fantasy stories, humorous mysteries and hilarious romances. Only boring fiction can’t be humorous – by definition.

Who is your favorite humor author & why?

I can’t really name one favorite humor writer but I can tell you a few of my favorite writers who use humor in their stories. Jennifer Crusie – I already mentioned her – is a romance writer. Terry Pratchett – many of his Discworld fantasy novels are hilarious. Lois McMaster Bujold – some of her sci-fi books about Miles Vorkosigan, especially The Warrior’s Apprentice, are hysterical. And then there is Georgette Heyer. She also wrote romances, and a number of them are side-splittingly funny.

How do you incorporate humor into your novels? Do you ever draw inspiration from real life?

I have a collection of urban fantasy short stories written with humor. All the stories are united by the same protagonists, a young modern witch Darya and her familiar, squirrel Beatrice. Beatrice is telepathic – she talks to Darya in her head. How could I write about an intelligent, telepathic squirrel without humor?

I don’t write hysterical funny, more like irony. I want my readers to smile or grin or chuckle. For example, in the beginning of one story, Darya dyes her hair blond. She likes her new look, but Beatrice disagrees and says so. She considers blond hair detrimental to one’s mental abilities. When later in the story, Darya does something stupid with her magic, Beatrice is not shy to point it out. Of course, she blames the newly-dyed blond hair.

And yes, real life often inspires me. Some time ago, my daughter dyed her hair blond. Then she did something stupid... and she didn’t need magic or a telepathic squirrel to poke fun at herself. I borrowed some of her expressions for this story.

Another example of life inspiring humorous fiction would be one of my magic realism stories. Several years ago, I was upset about my lack of publishing success. I was making dinner and pouring my grievances aloud into the kitchen sink while I peeled potatoes and cut chicken. I was alone in the house, so nobody could hear and ridicule me. Then I thought: why don’t I channel my frustration into a more creative outlet and write a story about it. What could happen if I added a fantasy element? Maybe my protagonist would complain to her kitchen sink, turn on the water, and a water sprite would splash out from the tap? Maybe the water sprite would start talking to her? Maybe it could offer her help to find a publisher in exchange for... what? What would a water sprite want in exchange? And how would a water sprite go about finding a publisher for my heroine? So the story was born and published by a magazine a few months later. It’s available for free now on my wattpad page: http://www.wattpad.com/story/19762859-trading-wishes

And now for some THIS or THAT questions:

Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Big Bang Theory?

Big Bang Theory

Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry?

Neither. Jon Stewart

Much Ado About Nothing or A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Much Ado About Nothing

Silly animal videos or cute kid videos?

Neither. TED Talks. Some of them are marvelously witty

Thanks for being a good sport today, Olga. For more information about Olga and her books visit:

Website and blog:      http://olgagodim.wordpress.com
Twitter:                       https://twitter.com/OlgaGodim
Smashwords:                         https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/OlgaGodim1
BookLikes:                 http://olgagodim.booklikes.com/

And to Buy the book:

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/423740
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Squirrel-Magic-stories-Olga-Godim-ebook/dp/B00JNFG750/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1397367918&sr=8-2&keywords=olga+godim

2 Comments

Interview with author Nicholas Andrews

6/17/2015

1 Comment

The LOLs continue on my blog this month as I interview authors who incorporate humor into their novels. Today Nicholas Andrews is my guest.

Thanks for stopping by, Nicholas. Tell us, when was the last time you laughed out loud while reading? Tell us about the book & what struck you as funny.

I recently reread Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman after hearing news of Pratchett's unfortunate passing. The book has too many good lines to mention, but I've only read it twice, and the part that stuck with me from the first time I read it over a decade ago was the running gag throughout the book about Crowley only listening to Queen songs when in his car, because "all tapes left in a car for more than about a fortnight metamorphose into Best of Queen albums."

Do you think humor can be incorporated into any genre, or are there genres in which it doesn’t work?

I don't think there are genres in which it wouldn't work, but depending on the type of story the author wants to tell, it may not work. Even if it's a super serious story, some incorporated humor could be useful to break the tension and help humanize characters a bit. But even then, putting it in an inappropriate spot can destroy a scene.

How do you incorporate humor into your novels? Do you ever draw inspiration from real life?

I've always drawn inspiration from real life, to the point that I can incorporate a lot of inside jokes that no one but me is going to get. For example, in Babyface Fire, Loebo, Seren and Bleg are getting ready to leave in the morning for their trip to another town, and Seren and Bleg mention they didn't wake up until a few minutes ago because the promoter was at the inn they were staying at and he doesn't allow any roosters. No one but a very select group would get that.

A more accessible example would be from The Adventure Tournament. One night at work, one of the maintenance guys was waxing a section of the floor. There was always a lot of ribbing going on between co-workers, so I dubbed that section his "waxhole" and kept asking him when he was going to stop playing with it throughout the night. It cracked him up, so when I got home I had the realization that if it was that funny, I should try and put it in my novel. So there's a scene where the characters are trying to figure something out at the university library. They're there for a long time, and a character named Fosher starts to get bored and begins playing with the melted wax in the candle holder on their table by poking holes in it. So one of his teammates smacks him in the head and tells him "Stop fingering your waxhole and pay attention!" I guess no laugh is too cheap for me.

What is the most challenging aspect of writing humor?

For me, sitting down to write it. The reason I've only had two books in The Adventurers series so far is that, though I don't have a bipolar disorder, my personality does lean that way, and I switch between funny and serious on a dime. When serious or bad things are happening in life, it's a struggle to sit down and try to be funny. Luckily most of my humor comes from the characters and flows naturally once I get going. I often find myself having to rein in the humor in my more serious works, because often something funny will come into mind on the spot as I'm writing just out of the relationship between the characters and their situation. Luckily, The Adventurers books aren't one story broken up into parts, but each novel is a standalone. So it's a series that I can drop and pick back up whenever I have the inspiration without worrying about having to get the next installment out to keep readers hooked on an ongoing story.

And now, some This or That:

Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry?

Dave Barry, though I feel like I should say Erma since she was born in my hometown. But my dad introduced me to Barry, and I've always found him very funny. I was a big fan of the sitcom Dave's World back when it was on.

Garfield or Peanuts?

That's a tough one, because I grew up with both of them. I remember checking out a book from the library that had old Garfield comics from way back when he still had his original "fat cat" design. And I had a book that was a Snoopy-themed collection of Peanuts comics. I always wondered what would happen if Snoopy fought Garfield inside a Steel Cage. I'll go with Garfield, because he won the coin flip.

Bugs Bunny or Woody Woodpecker?

Woody always seemed a little too one-note, and I don't find annoying laughs funny. I find them annoying. So I have to go with Bugs. It also helps him that he has a whole universe of Looney Tunes characters to play off of. By the way, if anyone wants to know about an odd connection between Bugs and Woody, look up the Angry Video Game Nerd's Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle video on YouTube (but not if cursing and scatological humor offends you).

Janet Evanovich or Judy Blume?

Never read Evanovich, so Judy Blume all the way. The Fudge series were some of the books of my childhood. Fun fact: a character in Babyface Fire, Alyssa Blume (and by extension the rest of House Blume), was named as an homage to Judy.

Books by Nicholas Andrews:

The Adventure Tournament ~

With the kingdom of Bolognia under attack by independent forces of random malcontents, it's time to send out the army to deal with these troublemakers, right? No, first there's money to be made! Send out the adventurers, those rogues who wander the countryside in search of fame and treasure, and take up all the good seats at the local pubs. Then, organize brackets, stage it for the public's entertainment, offer a prize and call it The Adventure Tournament.

Remy Fairwyn is a ne'er-do-well academic who really wants to become an adventurer. When he hears of the tournament, he jumps at the opportunity, only to find himself out of the frying pan and in the fire. Add ingredients like corrupt organizations, professional wrestlers, narcoleptic thieves, drama kings and malfunctioning magical minutiae, and his venture quickly becomes a recipe for disaster.

As the competition heats up, Remy discovers that the tournament itself could be putting the kingdom in danger, and it's up to him to uncover the truth before destruction consumes all he holds dear.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LFYPZK
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-adventure-tournament-nicholas-andrews/1104704320?ean=2940148857907
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-adventure-tournament/id896907750?mt=11
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-adventure-tournament
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/385636
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=mmsxBgAAQBAJ

Babyface Fire ~

All Loebo wants in life is to lead the best team of adventurers in the kingdom, get filthy rich, and marry the prettiest lady he's ever met. Is that so much to ask?

But when Loebo and the Chosen Squad set out to rescue his love from her overprotective father, he finds out a bounty has been placed on his head, courtesy of his own grandmother!

While the Squad tries to unravel this mystery, Loebo comes across a wrestler-turned-adventurer named Bleg, who agrees to protect Loebo from the bounty hunters. But first, Bleg is hired to escort a young woman named Seren to her new job at OWW, Bolognia's premier wrestling league. As Bleg confronts a bitter past with the company's powers-that-be, Loebo finds himself the focal point of the biggest wrestling storyline of the year.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F23WOMM
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/babyface-fire-nicholas-andrews/1116865071?ean=2940148518624
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/babyface-fire-adventurers/id891373536?mt=11
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/babyface-fire
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/444579
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=0KgzBgAAQBAJ

For more about Nicholas Andrews, visit:
http://www.authornicholasandrews.com
http://www.facebook.com/NicholasRAndrews
http://www.twitter.com/nykkochet

1 Comment

Interview with author Elizabeth Fountain

6/14/2015

2 Comments

Is your side hurting yet? It's June Jests here on my blog - and today author Elizabeth Fountain is my special guest.

Thanks for stopping by, Elizabeth! Why don't you start by telling us, what is your favorite style of comedy?

Wow, that’s a tough one. I like just about any style that’s done well. If I must pick, then I choose YOU, satire! Your ability to poke fun at the powerful and pompous evokes great delight in me.

Why do you like to incorporate humor into your stories?

I believe it is impossible – not nearly impossible, not slightly impossible, nor somewhat impossible, but terribly, completely, indubitably impossible to tell stories about human beings without humor. We must laugh in order to survive. Good thing we so often make hilarious fools of ourselves!

How do you incorporate humor into your novels? Do you ever draw inspiration from real life?

Humor pervades this life, if you want to call it “real,” which I’m not at all certain of. Look around you. Observe your fellow human beings at work and play. If you can do this intently for more than five minutes without seeing something to laugh at, well, then, do it for another five minutes. Trust me on this one. Listen to anyone you know sneeze. The human sneeze is ridiculously funny. (Guard yourself with facemasks if you must, for the human sneeze is also ridiculously juicy.) If you find yourself crafting a story without any humor, throw in a dog. Or a cat. Or even a possum. Animals know the wisdom of laughter.

Which of your characters cracks you up the most & why?

I love all my characters the same! Who told you I had a favorite? It’s a lie! (**Whispers: Okay, I think they’re not listening, so I’ll confess: Sergio Leone Eastwood, the villain in my first novel, An Alien’s Guide to World Domination, cracks me up every time he comes into a scene. The way he hikes up his pants to show his prowess, then promptly wets them as soon as an alien lord yells at him, I can’t help but chortle. Sure, he’s evil and all that, but come on! He wets his pants! Ya gotta love the guy, er, alien!**)

And now, how about some This or That?:
 
Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Big Bang Theory?

What or what? I haven’t had a television for almost four years. The only Brooklyn Nine I know of are the Dodgers, pre-1949, of course. Da Bums hit a few big bangs in their day!

Much Ado About Nothing or A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

How doth thou chooseth between the whip-smart beautiful sarcasm from Beatrice, and sweet, handsome, donkey-eared Bottom pining for Titania? Thou canst not, prithee.

Three Stooges or Laurel & Hardy?

Is my significant other listening? **waves** Three Stooges, honey! (Totally Laurel and Hardy, of course.)

Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry?

Is my mother listening? **waves** Erma Bombeck is awesome, Mom! (Totally Dave Barry, of course.)

Here's more details about Elizabeth's books:

An Alien’s Guide to World Domination (2013)

Louise Armstrong Holliday is the last person on Earth you’d expect to save the human race. But when she uncovers proof that her boss is an alien the color of lime Jell-O™ gone horribly wrong, and is at the center of a plot to destroy humanity, Louie decides to do exactly that. She begins a journey from her company’s suburban Seattle office park to the old cities and castles of Eastern Europe. Along the way, Louie is attacked by flying books, overly-sensitive bat-crow monsters, and her own self-doubts. She must learn the truth about her closest friend, stand up to her boss, confront her oldest enemy, and make peace with her Aunt Emma, who annoys her in the way only true family can. She also has to rely on Buddy, the little blind mini-Schnauzer who saves her life twice – and really is from Mars.

You, Jane (2014)

Jane Margaret Blake’s problem isn’t her drinking. Sure, she’s missing work, and forgetting she’s already fed her cat, who’s getting a little fat. But Jane’s real problem is the reason she drinks: she writes stories that come true and wreak havoc in her life. 

In her “fables” animals, people, angels, and the Universe itself conspire to destroy Jane’s last chance to be with her old love, or, just maybe, to bring her into the arms of a new love. Years ago, a fable pushed Jane’s best friend Charlie into marrying another woman. Now another fable shoves Charlie’s little boy in front of an angry dog - or worse, a wicked spirit bent on getting Jane and Charlie to face the truths they’ve spent a lifetime avoiding. 

As her drinking and writing spiral out of control, Jane must finally discover how to write her own happy ending. 

For more from Elizabeth:

Buy link: https://lizfountain.wordpress.com/books-reviews/

Web site: http://lizfountain.wordpress.com

2 Comments

Interview with author Julie Eberhart Painter

6/10/2015

4 Comments

The laughs continue here on my blog, with more humor author interviews! Today Julie Eberhart Painter is my guest.

Thanks for joining me today, Julie. Why don't you start by telling us, what is your favorite style of comedy?

Puns/plays-on-words and irony. Or there’s nothing like the shaggy dog stories; those run-on funny tales where the listener starts to laugh in anticipation. My favorite example is a delightful Irish folk song called “Why paddy won’t be in to work today”. It incorporates exaggeration, physical humor and disbelief. We heard it sung in a Irish pub.

You can see it coming. Paddy is a construction worker responsible for carrying bricks to the top floor of an ongoing building site. He’s a bit lazy, Paddy is, figures out (erroneously) that he can use the pulley method for bringing them up so he doesn’t have to make so many trips carrying them a few at a time. Paddy completely forgets to factor in his own weight.

He is in for the “ride of his life,” suffering numerous injuries, but always hopeful and then apologetic. So as Paddy sustains blow upon blow and fails at every “good” idea he thought would save him effort, we see graphically why Paddy won’t be coming into work today or for a few days more …

Do you think humor can be incorporated into any genre, or are there genres in which it doesn’t work?

It’s called comic relief and can be subtle irony, or used as gallows humor, or sometimes sarcasm. Eve Arden was famous for her delivery in the movies of the forties. But I’ve given up sarcasm and renamed it sourcasm. The older I get the less bitter I want to sound.

Who is your favorite humor author & why?

The last real laugh-out-loud humor writer I liked was Lewis Grizzard.

Why do you like to incorporate humor into your stories?

Humor adds realism and perspective. In my only Gothic novel, The World the Flesh and the Devil, http://amzn.to/1IHLWSj the subject is serious, a love affair between a priest and a nun, very emotional, touching, sweet and tragic. Both were in the wrong “line of work.” We know nuns can be harsh disciplinarians, and unyielding in their thinking, but these nuns, dignified to a fault in the early 1900’s, named their English Mastiff, Lucifer. They just couldn’t help themselves.

How do you incorporate humor into your novels? Do you ever draw inspiration from real life?

The characters have to be involved in the story so well that the readers are living and experiencing the drama. A surprise, an irony, a funny name, such as OBGYNs named Dr. Christmas, and a gynecologist named Dr. Glove, a root canal dentist named Dr. Borer, and his side-kick Dr. Akers who does extractions, all ironic, and are coincidentally true in my lifetime. Many mystery writers use this gimmick to keep their characters/suspects identifiable.

What is the most challenging aspect of writing humor?

Timing. It’s a known fact that most comedians, humorists, cartoonists, etc. studied music.

Tell us about one of the funniest scenes from your book & where you drew inspiration for it.

An Indian Hill mynah bird morphed from real life into my book, Kill Fee from an experience I had as a teen. My parents, Interior Designers, had a client named Beatty Hill, a serial bride on her third husband. Her parrot liked to tease her current husband by using the name of her most recent husband: “Welcome home, Beatty, and Mr. CLARK.”

The Indian Hill mynah bird in Kill Fee and Medium Rare is heroine Penny’s pet, Bilgewater. He has the same penchant for irony.

In a scene toward the end of the book, Bilgie and Cufflynx, the hero’s black and white tuxedo cat are “incarcerated” in the back seat of a car headed to their new home together. They are NOT friends.

Excerpt:

          Cole (hero) put the suitcases in the car, and returned to the house to retrieve the cat.

While he closed the car door, he held the cat in his lap and waved to Boswell with the other hand. Why was Bilgie always referring to the Bitch? He’d been right about the shoebox and was no longer harping on it, but who was the bitch?   Driving toward his mother’s home near mainland Summerville, and all the way across the bridge, Bilgie screeched.

          “Get this cat off me! Help!” Cole didn’t hear him; his mind was on Penny. Where could she be?

          Bilgie tried to convince the driver that the cat is attacking him, and squawks about it in barnyard language.

Which of your characters cracks you up the most & why?

Bildgie cracks me up. He’s the bad-beaked bird/the foul-mouth’d fowl. He says what others are thinking.

Now, some THIS or THAT:

Knock, knock jokes or Dirty Limericks?

Dirty limericks. My favorite is one I learned in art school. It’s also historically correct.

“There once was sculptor named Phidias/Who sculpted sculptures most hideous / He made Aphrodite without any nightie/And shocked the good people of Lidious.

Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry?

Both, but Erma Bombeck spoke to my issues as a young house wife in the 70’s. Also she was a really decent person refusing a kidney transplant in favor of a younger woman.

Garfield or Peanuts?

Peanuts. His philosophy and POV humor has held up sixty years. Third Rock from the Sun, the TV show, used the same kind of POV humor. Charles Schulz is an established philosopher for the ages.

Janet Evanovich or Judy Blume?

Evanovich. I just wait for her current car to blow up. Love the characters.

Find Julie at:

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/7929260-tid-bites

www.books-jepainter.com

Twitter: @JulieEPainter

or Amazon: http://amzn.to/1sBpDU8

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Interview with author Susan Stec

6/7/2015

1 Comment

Book #4, Fall, 2015

http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Stec/e/B004H6YF7M/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1430336503&sr=1-1

Author Susan Stec tells us why she uses humor in her writing:

Audra: Do you think humor can be incorporated into any genre, Susan? Or are there genres in which it doesn't work?

Susan: I believe it can be used, and is often necessary, to break up the tension of graphic subject matter. I try to use humor in everything I write.

Audra: How do you incorporate humor into your novels? Do you ever draw inspiration from real life?

Susan: Yes, I often draw my humor from real life. This is especially true in my Grateful Undead Series. The crazy vamp chicks are inspired by the women in my family and that series is all about humor, because that's what our relationships thrive on. I just give those characters a mission and a preferable ending. Then cut them loose. They write the story for me while I laugh out loud at their antics. I never know what to expect.

My Dark and Deadly series is a perfect example of incorporating humor where the reader would never think to find it. Even with a spine chilling character like 15th century sadist, Erzsebet Bathory, in Mirror, Mirror, a comedic break from the murky depths of her travesties is a necessity. I use the police investigator's to give the reader that much needed break, often.

Audra: Who is your favorite author and why?

Susan: I have several favorites, but since this is about humor I'll give you two:

Stephen King, who can horrify me and amuse me within the same paragraph.

Janet Evanovich; no other author has made me laugh hysterically through 22 books in the same series. They just get better and better. (I swear, I could be related to Stephanie Plum.)

Audra: Which of your characters cracks you up the most, and why?

Susan: That would have to be Christopher in The Grateful Undead series. One of the few characters not modeled after anything in my real life.

Come on, a one-hundred-and-four year old immortal in a five year old body with a terrific sense of humor, the mind and needs of an adult, and fangs. Now put him in a church, a bar, a boat full of good ole boys during a bass tournament, a hippy pad with stoners, Gatorland with a drunken curator, and well anywhere with my girls, and you have a humorous situation.

Audra: This or that, Susan?

Brooklyn Nine or Big Bang Theory?

Big Bang Theory.

Much Ado About Nothing or Midsummer Night's Dream?

Midsummer Night's Dream.

Garfield or Peanuts?

Garfield.

Bugs Bunny or Wood Woodpecker?

Bugs Bunny.

In book one, THEY'RE SO VEIN, the women in the Stech family went from dentures to fangs, Depends to thongs, Dr. Scholl's® to stilettos, and bumbled their way into an undead lifetime of Critter Control when one of them inadvertently turned a raccoon into a vampoon.

GATOR BAITIN' (book 2) begins as the team is dispatched to destroy a vamp-gator wreaking havoc at Gatorland in Orlando, only to get sidetracked by a serial killer investigation, a vamp-bull at a rodeo in Kissimmee, and a colorful demon named Rafael. Between bronco busting, dragon riding, Jesus-freak chasing, gator hunting, demon summoning and dead bodies popping up everywhere, Susan's finding it hard to fit in a little romp time.

BLOOD, SWEAT, AND DEMON TEARS (book 3) finds Susan's sister is in one hell of a mess (literally); confined to servitude with the demon, Rafael. When Rafael gifts JoAnn with an Earth-to-Abyss cellphone so she can communicate with her sister, Susan soon finds JoAnn has gone from servitude to concubine, and is lovin' it! With time moving like Hell in the Abyss, JoAnn's frequent calls are driving Marcus and Susan batty. In their attempt to retrieve her, THE GRATEFUL UNDEAD team ultimately finds themselves knee-deep in vamp critters, demons, rogues, and a host of new and colorful characters, when the mission takes them from their home in Florida to the streets of New Orleans.

I love laughing with my daughters, and class B scary movies. I will get up in the middle of the night to listen to the coyote sing. I'm addicted to electronics, dark chocolate, vintage eyeglass frames, and warm socks.

There isn't just one thing I'm passionate about. I have a wonderful husband, two daughters, three grandsons, and three dogs. I live on fifty acres, and hunt and fish. I sculpt stained glass, make jewelry, and paint watercolors. Most of all, I write because I have to, and it amuses me to live vicariously through my characters.

Check out my addictions:

http://thegratefulundead.blogspot.com/

Connect with Susan Stec on:

Facebook Goodreads Google Amazon

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Interview with Joyce Ward

6/4/2015

1 Comment

Hold onto your rubber chickens - it's June Jests here on my blog. Each week I'll be interviewing two authors who incorporate humor into their novels. Be sure to catch them all! Today Joyce Ward is joining us.

Welcome, Joyce! Tell us about the last time you laughed so hard you cried and/or wet your pants.

The most embarrassing incident happened when my friends and I went to see Jerry Seinfeld in a club. I still watch “Seinfeld” reruns faithfully, but seeing his act in person, I laughed so hard, not only did I cry, I couldn’t breathe, and nearly wet my pants. What made it doubly humiliating was all the commotion I caused—doubled over, crying, gasping for air, and all the while, trying not to pee my pants. Embarrassing.

Why do you like to incorporate humor into your stories?

Humor breaks the tension in the story by making them more interesting and fun to read. Infusing humor in the characters makes them more lifelike—giving them more depth. Not everyone is funny, but nobody is one-dimensional.

What is the most challenging aspect of writing humor?

Timing is everything. Ill-timed and misplaced humor falls flat. An author needs to make humor flow naturally and not force it. Readers are sharp. They can tell the difference.

Tell us about one of the funniest scenes from your book & where you drew inspiration for it.

In The Lesson, the funniest scene, in my opinion, happens in the final chapter. I don’t want to give away the ending, but the scene involves the heroine’s mother. Where did I get the inspiration? From the character herself. And she certainly is a character. There was no other way she would have reacted to the “situation.”

THIS or THAT:

Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Big Bang Theory?

I’ve never watched Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but watch Big Bang Theory regularly

Silly animal videos or cute kid videos?

Silly animal videos

Bugs Bunny or Woody Woodpecker?

Bugs Bunny! After all these years, I still love that “wabbit.”

Janet Evanovich or Judy Blume?

Hands down, Janet Evanovich. While in my car, I enjoy listening to her audio books about Stephanie Plum’s adventures.

So nice to have a fellow Bugs Bunny fan on my blog! And now, more about The Lesson:

A rebellious, young woman and her stoned boyfriend learn an important and frightening lesson after behaving badly in a mortuary.

When Pamela Tripp’s favorite uncle dies, she attends the viewing with her stoned-artist boyfriend, Kevin. After an altercation with her disapproving mother, Pamela can’t leave the funeral home soon enough. Before she heads home, however, she needs to use the restroom. En route to the ladies room, she plucks a bloom from an expensive floral display, resulting in a harsh reprimand from one of the morticians.

He sends her to use the restroom in the basement, which is being remodeled, and issues a warning to be careful and not wander around. But a ‘Caution’ sign on a locked door catches Kevin’s eye and captures his attention. In spite of Pamela’s protests, Kevin breaks in the door, grabs her hand, and takes her on a frightening journey she will never forget.

Click here to buy your copy:

On Amazon

For more about Joyce Ward & her books:

Website: http://www.joyceward.com/

Twitter: http://bit.ly/1E6TtUQ

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1zp9KbT

At Champagne Books

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Interview with author Veronica Helen Hart

6/1/2015

4 Comments

Prepare your funny bones, people, it's humor month here on my blog. Each week I will be featuring two authors who incorporate humor into their novels. Today my guest is Veronica Helen Hart, author of Swimming Corpse and The Prince of Keegan Bay.

Thanks for joining us, Helen. Tell us, what is your favorite style of comedy?

I imagine telling you that I am a big fan of Tim Dorsey should let you know my humor bone is not sophisticated. His humor is off-the -wall slap stick.

When was the last time you laughed out loud while reading?

Probably Tim Dorsey's Tiger Shrimp Tango, but it could have been any one of them.

Do you think humor can be incorporated into any genre, or are there genres in which it doesn’t work?

It can be incorporated into any genre. At first glance, a book about a woman with a horrific cancer would seem depressing, yet Sheryl Pascal Gormley injects humor along the way as she relives her journey into the depths of despair and back again in her book, Almost Scared to Death. She is working on a sequel: Almost Scared to Live.

Who is your favorite humor author & why

I have several favorites. I rarely like books touted as humorous because the humor usually falls flat. I do like mysteries and drama that incorporate humor. I love Tim Dorsey and his character main character, Serge E. Storms. The humor is tongue-in-cheek and a little slap stick. It's a Florida noir kind of writing.

Why do you like to incorporate humor into your stories?

I didn't start out to include humor in my writing, it just happened. And continues to happen. Although I have two serious books, with very little humor in them, there are light moments. The Prince of Keegan Bay, which started my Blender Series, began with a pretty tragic idea, a baby abandoned to its aging grandmother in a retirement trailer park, but it quickly emerged as a humorous thriller that won first place in the Florida Writers Association annual literary competition. There are two more published books in the series with a fourth in the making.

How do you incorporate humor into your novels? Do you ever draw inspiration from real life?

I think no writer can get away without using real life situations to trigger incidents in their writing. The humor in my books is all situational. I do not struggle to write "funny" lines.

What is the most challenging aspect of writing humor?

Two challenges: Sometimes when I think something is funny, nobody laughs; other times when I have no idea I've written something funny, a reader will laugh. This happened frequently when I wrote murder mysteries for theater. Who knew naming the town in which the play was being performed would draw belly laughs? One night, the audience would roar at a certain line; the next night as the actors hesitated, waiting for the laughs, there was silence, then they would laugh at a completely different line.

Tell us about one of the funniest scenes from your book & where you drew inspiration for it.

The conclusion of The Prince of Keegan Bay includes a Nativity scene where our heroine and hero pose with the live infant while the Ninjas crawl over the roof of the creche trying to get at the baby. The residents of the park crowd around the creche. The police arrive with an injunction to remove the religious display from public property. The ensuing scene runs like a Keystone Cops film. To explain it all would spoil the ending for those yet to read the book.

Which of your characters cracks you up the most & why?

Old Howard is my favorite. Old Howard is in his nineties. He fought in WWII and doesn't mind telling everyone all about his undercover work with the French Resistance. He manages to insert himself into every book, stalking like a crane through the crowds, observing, advising, and drinking his two servings of Cognac every evening. Even reviewers who are not altogether falling all over themselves with praise for some of the books, always point out Old Howard as a delightful character who adds spice to the story.

THIS OR THAT:

Three Stooges or Laurel & Hardy?

Laurel & Hardy

Much Ado About Nothing or A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Much Ado About Nothing

Silly animal videos or cute kid videos?

Animals

Garfield or Peanuts?

Garfield

Much Ado is one of my favorites too. And now, a bit more about those novels...

The Prince of Keegan Bay:
When the American born heir to the kingdom of Kushawa is hidden in an age-qualified retirement community, a battle of wits and tactics develops between the Kushawan Alliance of Royal Princes (KARP), determined to eliminate the infant, and a group of senior citizens, The Blenders, equally determined to save him. Doll Reynolds pulls the residents into a unified group while the baby's mother, Moira Robbins, risks her life to lure the KARP assassins away from her child.

Swimming Corpse:
Doll Reynolds, although being pursued by Michael to marry him, is forever expecting her husband to return. She buys a house so Barclay will have a place to plant a garden. Her plans are thwarted left and right by the resident homeowner who balks at all attempts to rid the house of her belongings. When Doll is injured during a garage sale at the house, The Blenders, though still peeved at her plans to move away, come to her rescue. Later, Doll is interrogated by the local police when she and her friends, The Blenders, discover a corpse in the swimming pool of her new house…

Buy links at Champagne Books: http://champagnebooks.com/store/index.php?id_manufacturer=93&controller=manufacturer

For more information about Veronica and her books visit:
www.veronicahhart.com

4 Comments

Book #4, Fall, 2015

Author Susan Stec tells us why she uses humor in her writing:

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