Book #4, Fall, 2015
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.
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