Beam Me Up Monday with Diane Kelly
Some Funny Things about Humor
By Diane Kelly
Hello, there! You’re here to see what’s going on at Darynda’s blog because you enjoy funny books, right? Me, too!
I’ve always been a fan of funny, whether it be in the form of novels, TV shows, or movies. Growing up, I loved sketch comedy shows, including the Carol Burnett Show, Sonny and Cher, and Donny and Marie, as well as Laugh-In and Love, American Style. I saw the movie Grease 27 times, back before VCRs when seeing a show meant paying for a theater ticket. I enjoyed Judy Blume books and her sometimes outright, other times subtle, bits of humor. I read every column Erma Bombeck wrote, which not only provided me with laughs, but also insights into what mothers really think about their children but are too afraid to admit. And comic strips? Read all of them in the newspaper. Many of you were likely the same.
When I first began writing, I knew I wanted strong female lead characters in my books, but I knew nothing about voice. I simply wrote the stories as my mind narrated them to me. Given my propensity toward comedy, it’s no surprise my voice ended up being humorous. Once I realized this, I set out to learn all I could about writing funny books. Much of what I learned surprised me, and it might surprise you, too.
One surprising thing I learned is that humor is a sign of intelligence. But you smarty-pantsers already knew that, right? It takes a person with well-developed gray matter to understand witty characters, to delight in their banter and find fun in their wild predicaments. Perceptive readers see that there’s more to humor than the surface joke. Humor points out the ironies of life, the idiosyncrasies and hypocrisies of people, the lack of logic and futility behind certain endeavors.
Another surprising thing I learned is that the primary source of comedic material is suffering. Yep, it’s true! There’s nothing funny about skipping along on a sunny day, but have a character slip in a mud puddle and you’ve got humor. Humor arises from people or experiences that cause us pain, annoyance, frustration, anxiety, regret, or some other negative emotion. A happy marriage or well-behaved children are enjoyable, but they stink as a source of humor. Two people who can’t get along or a precocious kid, though? Now you’re talking funny. Humor is a coping method, and being able to find the funny in things that drive us crazy is critical to surviving this wacky world of ours.
Despite its source in suffering, humor is wonderfully hopeful. If we can laugh at our world, our lives, and, most importantly, ourselves, we won’t get bogged down emotionally and will be able to survive just about anything. Ha ha hooray!
Let’s chat! What are some of your favorite sources of humor?
Favorite funny people? Favorite humorous topics?
Three lucky commenters will win a copy of one of my books – winner’s choice.
Woo hoo! The winner will be chosen at 10:00 central time.
Check back to see if you’ve won!
For more information and to hear about future giveaways, sign up for my newsletter at http://www.dianekelly.com/, follow me on Twitter at @dianekellybooks, and like my Facebook reader page here: https://www.facebook.com/DianeKellyBooks. Thanks!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE TODAY, DIANE!!!
Bio:
A former Assistant Attorney General and tax advisor, Diane Kelly inadvertently worked with white-collar criminals. Lest she end up in jail, Diane decided self-employment was a good idea. Her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her award-winning Death and Taxes romantic mystery series. A graduate of her hometown's Citizen Police Academy, Diane Kelly also writes the hilarious K-9 cop Paw Enforcement series, featuring a female police officer and her female canine sidekick.
If you’re interested in a fun, quick read, try Upholding the Paw, my just-released e-novella - only $1.99!
Enjoy this excerpt from Laying Down the Paw,
book #3 in my Paw Enforcement K-9 cop series, releasing August 4th!
Chapter One
Laying Down the Paw
No Dogs Allowed
Fort Worth Police Officer Megan Luz
At 9:30 on Sunday morning, I sat at the card table in the kitchen in my tiny studio apartment with a pen in my hand, circling or drawing an X over each ad in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram rental real estate section. My partner/roommate/BFF, Brigit, lay at my feet, her pointy teeth making short work of the chew treat she held between her two front paws.
The enormous German shepherd mix was the reason I’d jogged over to the 7-11 for a copy of the newspaper this morning. The hundred-pound beast needed more space than our current home provided, as well as a yard to run and poop in. The energetic dog had chewed up at least a dozen pairs of my shoes while we’d lived here. Did I mention that in addition to being my partner, roommate, and best friend, she was also at times a pain in the butt? I could never stay angry at her, though. Not when sh e’d look up at me with those big, brown eyes and wag her tail.
Blurgh.
I’m such a sucker.
While Brigit happily gnawed her treat below me, overhead my upstairs neighbor flushed his toilet for the third time this morning. Flushhh. Were there no drugs for a bad prostate? Still, I’d take his repeated flushing over the bam-bam-bam that came through my floor on occasion courtesy of the Congolese immigrant who lived below me. At the slightest noise, he’d whip out his broom and bang the handle against the ceiling. Never mind that I was rarely the offender. Okay, so maybe Brigit needing more space wasn’t the only reason for relocating. I could use some more space, too. Or at least space that didn’t involve sharing walls, floors, and ceilings.
I’d made appointments to see one place at 3:00, another at 4:30, and a third at 6:00 today, but it was possible none of those would work out. My gaze continue down the listings. Given that the newspaper charged by the character for their ads, landlords tended to use abbreviations. Some of the abbreviations, such as bd for bedroom and ba for bath, were easily decipherable. Others, like g/a and frog and prq not so much. Did Brigit and I want a place with a g/a or frog or prq? I had no idea.
Here’s an ad that looked promising.
3 bd 1.5 ba big yd S Hulen. $975/mo.
But, alas, the next sentence earned the ad a big X.
No pets.
Damn.
Though we shared an apartment, a bed, and an occasional bowl of popcorn, technically Brigit wasn’t my pet. She was a full-fledged officer of the Fort Worth Police Department, just like me. Heck, the dog outranked me. But, while she was well trained and behaved impeccably on the job, she was still a dog. Despite their extensive training, police K-9s didn’t become some type of robots any more than trained human officers did. The K-9 cops still did normal dog things, like dig holes and scratch doors and hork up yucky things on the carpet. Better to have a landlord who was tolerant of animals.
Below me, Brigit lifted her head, her ears pricked. She turned to face the door and stood, her tail whipping side to side with glee as she trotted over to look out the window. Woof! Woof-woof! No need to wait for Seth’s knock with Brigit announcing their arrival.
I glanced at the clock on my microwave. They were a half hour early. That could only mean one thing. Seth was anxious to see me. Good. I was anxious to see him, too. If I had a tail, it would be whipping side to side just like Brigit’s.
Want to buy a copy or learn more? Try these links:
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/laying-down-the-paw-diane-kelly/1120204872?ean=9781250048363
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Laying-Down-Paw-Enforcement-Novel/dp/1250048362/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0
Apple iBook:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/laying-down-the-paw/id961734101?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
