Tag: humor

“Serial Killers Are People, Too” From Author Stuart R. West

February 13, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Writer friend and return guest poster Stuart R. West has a seriously deranged and hilarious post that is perfect for Friday the 13th. Stuart is celebrating the release of his latest thriller THE SECRET SOCIETY OF LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS. Welcome, Stuart!

Serial killers are people, too.

First of all, I’d like to thank Katie for allowing me to step up on my soap-box. Look, I know I have an up-hill battle, campaigning for serial killers’ rights. But, here’s the deal. The serial killers I’ve written about in my newest book, The Secret Society of Like-Minded Individuals, are an interesting lot, people you may like to get to know. Um, just be very careful around them; hide the sharp utensils during dinner gatherings.

My protagonist, Leon, is just about the most well-adjusted, highly moral, nice-guy serial killer you’re ever gonna’ run across. (And you probably don’t wanna’ run across many of them, just saying.) He only kills those who need it, he has his reasons. Okay, okay, so he has a few issues. Still, all in all, not a bad guy.

On the other hand, we have Cody, aka “the Denver Decapitator,” Leon’s nemesis. Sure, he’s young, immature, cocky, and yanking the world by the tail. But there’s something about the guy. Something unspoken, some sort of humanity lurking beneath his rough, soul-patched veneer. He’s just got an odd way of showing it.

Let’s talk about the “Good Samaritan Killer.” Well…I really can’t without giving away spoilers. A big surprise. But they’re human, only too much so. (Wait, did I say “they?” Heh. Read the book and find out.)

“The Mad Doctor?” Such an ugly nom de plume, one he’s not fond of. After all, he kills in the name of love. Why can’t everyone just get along? It’s complicated.

Wait, look over there, it’s “Donny and Marie,” the two most charmingly psychopathic hit-men you’re ever gonna’ run across. It’s not just a job to them, we’re talking fun and games.

And fun and games is what you’re gonna’ get with The Secret Society of Like-Minded Individuals. A lot of people who’ve read it had their doubts at first, believing it might be a bit too much for their tender psyches to take. I understand. But they all agreed…they were in for a big surprise. Suspense, thrills, action, surprises–heck, even romance–and a light dusting of dark humor.

Here, author Heather Brainerd (of the exceptional Jose Picada mystery series) sums it up best: “I really, truly, and almost surprisingly loved SSLMI. I was a little scared of the whole serial-killer-as-protagonist concept, but it was awesome. Looking forward to the next one.”

See? SO, the next time you meet a serial killer (assuming you survive the encounter), just remember that they’re people, too. Shake their hand (don’t linger! And don’t look ‘em in the eye!), pat ‘em on the back, and give ‘em an “attaboy.”

Okay, maybe not, but you know what I mean.

THE SECRET SOCIETY OF LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS blurb:

Leon Garber has his reasons for ridding the world of abusive people, call it justifiable homicide.

Opportunity comes knocking from Like-Minded Individuals, Inc., a global company fulfilling the needs of people like Leon. LMI’s clientele are provided with new identities, security, and even lists of potential “projects.” But let’s not call it “serial killing.” Such a nasty business. For Leon, it’s a dream come true.

However, LMI’s put a target on Leon’s back. He has no idea why.

LMI, the police, sanctioned hitmen, and a vicious psychopath are after him. He collides with other Like-Minded Individuals: The Good Samaritan Killer, The Mad Doctor, Donnie and Marie (don’t ask). Heads are chopped, dropped and swapped as Leon fights for his life. But nothing will keep Leon from finishing his current project. Nothing. Not even the chance to fall in love with the woman of his dreams.

Sometimes a killer business idea is just that. Killer.

Amazon link: The Secret Society of Like-Minded Individuals

About the Author:

For more about Stuart check out his Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Stuart-R.-West/e/B00B419X5C/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Or his blog: http://stuartrwest.blogspot.com/

Funny Talk with Author Anna Staniszewski

March 1, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Congrats are in order for guest poster Anna Staniszewski as her middle grade adventure My Epic Fairy Tale Fail releases today! Happy book b-day and welcome to the Observation Desk.

Breaking Down Funny Dialogue

If you think about where we find humor in real life, you’ll notice that a lot of it comes through in conversation. When we recap real-life events to friends, for example, we often highlight not only what people did, but what they said, what we said, and what we would have said (if we weren’t such wimps).

It makes sense that, given how much time we spend talking to, about, and at each other, we’d see a reflection of that in novels. So how does knowing this help with writing funny dialogue?

Let’s break it down based on what I said above.

What people say:

You can help your characters’ personalities shine through by showing us how they react verbally to the situations you put them in. The more outrageous their reactions, the more potential for humor. If you find a character seems to be hanging back in a scene, try to get them to chime in more. The result might surprise you.

What people don’t say:

On the other hand, we can learn quite a bit about characters by what they don’t say. If Grandpa keeps insisting that he’s a happy duck—while he’s wringing a duck’s neck—we know there’s more going on than he’s admitting. And if the characters are saying one thing and doing the exact opposite, that can be downright hilarious.

What people wish they could say:

You know when you’re too polite or too chicken to speak your mind? Well, there’s good news. Characters aren’t in control of their editing mechanisms; you are. You can make your characters say anything you want! Maybe a normal person would be too afraid to speak up in a particular scenario, but your characters shouldn’t be too normal. They should be interesting, and interesting people say and do things the rest of us might not.

So when it comes to funny dialogue, by all means, use real life examples to help you make dialogue feel authentic. But remember that you’re not writing about real life; you’re writing about the appearance of real life, which means that the rules of the real world don’t necessarily apply.

My Epic Fairy Tale Fail and the first book in the series, My Very Unfairy Tale Life, are available in paperback and ebook on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, and other book retailers.

About the Author:

Born in Poland and raised in the United States, Anna Staniszewski grew up loving stories in both Polish and English. She was named the 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. Currently, Anna lives outside of Boston, Mass. with her husband and their adopted black Labrador, Emma. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and challenging unicorns to games of hopscotch. You can visit her at www.annastan.com.

Priscilla Brown author of Nothing But Love

February 12, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Today Elixir Bound is being featured on Juniper Grove, complete with a giveaway of the book. In the meantime, fellow Muse author Priscilla Brown is visiting all the way from across the world to discuss her humorous contemporary romance Nothing But Love (check out my Goodreads review).

NBLcover Priscilla, what made you want to become a writer?

Encouraged initially by a wonderful English teacher in high school, I’ve always enjoyed language and playing with words.

What inspired you to write Nothing But Love?

A real-life couple’s unusual meeting circumstances stayed in my story bank, and this became the first scene in Nothing But Love. Also, for the main location I wanted to use an isolated weather-beaten setting.

At what moment did you truly begin to feel like an author?

Cheekily, when my first magazine article was published, long before I started to write fiction; this ‘author feeling’ suffered several dents until I received my first acceptance from MuseItUp.

What is your favorite part of the writing process? What is your least favorite part?

I would rather edit, self-edit and work with a publisher’s editor, than produce new text. My least favorite, as I believe applies to many authors, is the dreaded synopsis.

What is the single best piece of advice you have for aspiring authors?

Never bin any writing—characters, scraps of dialog, descriptions—and read through them when you’re stuck. One or more from this story bank may spark a new narrative or fit perfectly in an ms that’s giving you trouble.

What is next for you in your writing career?

Editing my next contracted ms for MuseItUp, and interrogating my story bank for the missing middle of a novel for which I’ve written the beginning and ending.

And here’s the fun part…below are three list of words from the magnetic refrigerator poetry set…please write up a little piece of poetry or prose from these words.

The brain attic was full with this ghost idea, page after page, for book use one day.

Nothing But Love blurb:

Being almost run over by Alistair is Cassandra’s introduction to life in the fun lane. Both fresh out of inappropriate relationships and jobs, each is novelty value for the other. But the exes are pulling tricks to be reinstated. So can Cassie’s passion for crafting silver jewelry and Al’s for woodcraft keep them fed? And is this fizzing too-much-too-soon chemistry suitable for the long haul?

Nothing But Love is available from the MuseItUp Publishing bookstore and Amazon.

About the Author:

Priscilla lives in regional New South Wales, Australia; her district is well-supplied with cafes in which she does much llistening, observing, scribbling and keeping up the caffeine.

Confessions of an Author: Grammar

October 23, 2012 / Katie L. Carroll

Confession #1: I don’t always use proper grammar.

When someone asks me how I’m doing, I’m just as likely to say “I’m good” as “I’m well.” Saying “I’m well” sounds funny, and frankly, a bit pretentious. I don’t need to flaunt the fact that I know the grammatical way to answer the question is “I’m well.” I’m an author, not a snob. Besides, my brain’s default answer is “I’m good” and idle chitchat hardly warrants more than a default answer.

There are lots of other instances when I don’t speak proper grammar as well. In fact, I probably speak improperly as often as I do properly. It takes way too long to formulate a well-constructed sentence; if I had to speak grammatically correct all the time, I’d never end up contributing to the conversation.

I also text/tweet (okay, I don’t actually tweet, but if I did…)/post on Facebook/casually e-mail with incorrect grammar and even crazy text speak. (Don’t all gasp at once!)

Why don’t I use proper grammar? You might think it’s because I don’t want to intimidate others with my superior grammar knowledge. The truth is just because I’m an author (and admittedly an editor), doesn’t mean I even know proper grammar. “Who” or “whom,” “lying” or “laying.” I don’t know! And when I do need to know, I look it up.

Not to mention the fact that if I did keep my grammarian hat on all the time, I’d probably go crazy. Have you seen some of the terrible grammar there is out there in the world? It’s astonishing!

So the next time you are talking to an author or reading a nonprofessional e-mail from an author friend of yours, don’t assume everything they offer will be grammatically perfect. Authors are people too, and we can’t be expected to always know the grammatically correct thing to say (or write). That’s what we have editors for!

Author-extraordinaire Katie L. Carroll has been disproving (and sometimes confirming) the myths of legends of being an author since 2012.