Writing Humor

A fast-paced supernatural thrill ride filled with demonic villains set in the heart of South Florida! My name is Patrick Bannon, and I'm a demonologist. Most people would agree that the study of demons isn’t a practical area of research. Lucky for me, Miami has never been a practical kind of city. With more reported cases of demonic possession than any other two cities combined, the jewel of South Florida can be a dangerous place for those who don’t respect it, and when trouble strikes, it falls to me to set it right. Now a renowned Catholic reverend is dead, and the church wants to ...

A fast-paced supernatural thrill ride filled with demonic villains set in the heart of South Florida! My name is Patrick Bannon, and I'm a demonologist. Unfortunately, when you mingle with the demonic, you’re bound to make some mistakes along the way. Now I’m paying for my sins. Jenaveve, the Veelah succubus who also happens to be my ex-girlfriend, has me investigating a series of murders. Looks like there’s a new player in town, and they’ve chosen Miami for their home. To make matters worse, Tiberius, the demon responsible for my brother’s suicide, is riding shotgun in my body, ...

When the twenty-three Altoonian spaceships arrive at Earth, they not only shatter the shaky peace of the place, they thrust Vice President James Fenimore Hunter into a role he may not be ready for. While the aliens keep saying they’ve come in peace, the real reasons and the real costs are more than the vice president can ignore. Unfortunately, in his bungling attempts to stop this absurd madness, he unwittingly makes the most foolish decisions and chooses the worst allies, and thereby becomes the unwitting agent of the apocalypse. But he needs to make things right...or die trying.

As a science journalist, Jade has seen more than her fair share of peculiar oddities—none weirder than her socially inept fellow reporter Antigone. When the test of a teleporter using an electron collider goes awry, the two women find their world changed in subtle ways, with anomalies breaking out in their personal lives. Their increasingly unstable dimension gives Jade the ability to shapeshift while Antigone can see portals into other worlds.

Years ago, Steve Hannah’s chance detour through the Midwest cut short a planned cross-country trip. He found himself in Wisconsin, a distinctly different place from the East Coast, where he was born and raised. Charmingly beautiful and full of welcoming people, America’s dairyland would soon become his home. Dairylandia recounts Steve Hannah’s burgeoning love for his adopted state through the writings of his long-lived column, “State of Mind”.

Thirty-two-year-old Dan Johnson has it all; a nine-digit net worth, a gorgeous fiancé and a luxury riverside brownstone. The only problem is, he doesn’t want any of it. And the endless distractions of digitized society give him no head space to figure out what he does want. So, Dan unplugs. When a case of mistaken identity launches Dan into a series of bizarro relationships and absurd events, it represents an unexpected path to reconnect him with a world he never knew existed.

In the acclaimed third book in the popular Merde series, Paul West winds up stuck in America, chin-deep in financial trouble. He and his French girlfriend set off on their journey, with hopes of escaping fiscal ruin. But as the not-so-dynamic duo stumble toward Los Angeles, via Boston, Miami, New Orleans, and Las Vegas, Paul’s plans for success, of course, turn to merde: The couple takes on carjackers, old flames, and liaisons dangereuses. The result is a madcap, hilarious adventure and a sardonically witty tour through America, France, and England.

Manhattan ghostwriter Jake O’Hara has been meaning to get her so-called love life—and her career—back on track. But lately, it hasn’t been easy. Especially now that her soon-to-be-married mother has witnessed a murder—in a confessional, no less. Shortly after Maura O’Hara arrived at the church, Father Billy Blake—controversy-plagued priest, anti-death penalty activist, and spiritual advisor to a notorious hit man—was shot dead. It’s no secret that Father Blake had a number of enemies—from a scheming drug lord to a dangerous clan on death row. Coming up with a list of ...

Jake O’Hara and her colleagues are looking forward to a complimentary weekend in Manhattan’s swanky Plaza Hotel, the venue for the Greater New York Crime Writers’ Conference. The conference kicks off on St. Patrick’s Day, making the atmosphere a bit more festive—and chaotic—than usual. But things get way out of hand when Senator-turned-writer Charlie Fione and actress-turned-writer Holly Halligan partake of some green beer—that leaves them permanently green around the gills. Now Jake’s Irish eyes are far from smiling as she delves into a mystery and tries to rewrite a ...

Comic novelist and critic Paul McDonald explores the philosophy of humour in a book that will appeal to both philosophers and creative writers alike. There are numerous competing theories of humour and laughter, and the absence of a single theory implies the importance of assessing them all. One aim of this book is to do exactly that. It concentrates mainly on philosophical approaches to humour— including those of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Descartes, Hobbes, Bergson, Kant, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Freud and Bakhtin. But the discussion explores other fields such as cultural studies, ...

Up until now, middle school hasn't exactly been a joyride for Greg Heffley. So when the town threatens to close the crumbling building, he's not too broken up about it. But when Greg realizes this means he's going to be sent to a different school than his best friend, Rowley Jefferson, he changes his tune. Can Greg and his classmates save their school before it's shuttered for good? Or is this the start of a whole new chapter for Greg?

Romantic Secrets (Book One) Abby likes sex but has never had an orgasm. She wants to fall in love but knows she never will. That kind of luck doesn't happen to a girl like her...a girl from a hardscrabble past and a heart that's grown a protective shell. When Abby arrives in New York for her cousin Emma's funeral, she hopes to leave the past behind and start a whole new life. She meets Isabella, her cousin's former roommate, who provides a reference to Miss White, the imposing madam who runs a high-class escort agency. Soon, Abby is propelled into a whole new life of money, glamour, and sex...

Communication Skills—Eight manuscripts in one book, including: Body Language: 7 Easy Steps to Master Nonverbal Communication, Reading People, Microexpressions & Improve Your Charisma; Assertiveness: 7 Easy Steps to Master Assertive Social Confidence, Self-Esteem, Self-Awareness & Social Dynamics; Conversation Skills: 7 Easy Steps to Master Listening Skills, Interpersonal Feedback, Difficult Conversations & Voice Training; Make People Laugh: 7 Easy Steps to Master Being Funny, Conversational Humor, Improv Stand-Up Comedy & Joke Writing; and more.

The Bennet Sisters: taking fate for a wild spin In this modern collision with Pride and Prejudice, college freshman Liz Bennet refuses to let her name—or Jane Austen—define her. Even though she’s one of five teenage sisters named after the Bennet sisters in The Book, as Liz not-so-fondly calls it, she can’t afford to let her life parallel The Book in any way. Period. Liz has big plans for her future, and they don't mesh with the life laid out for a fictional young woman 200 years ago. When Charlie Bingham and Alex Darcy arrive in Liz’s Minnesota town, her whole world flips upside ...

"Eternal optimism." While living in Paris, Ellie Kerr's mother writes a series of children's stories. Unfortunately, she passes away before they can be published. Ellie and her father return to the US, and Ellie decides to finish what her mother started. However, she is blocked from accessing her mother's computer by a mysterious password. Ellie becomes determined to find the truth, but if she fails four times, the computer's data, including her mother's unpublished stories, will be destroyed. Even though her father thinks the code is unbreakable, Ellie believes that her mother may have ...

Writing funny is no joke. While there is no easy formula to writing humor, there is an art to being funny, and more importantly, writing funny.

After a debilitating stroke, Balmy Knight moves in with her daughter’s family. As she begins to recover her health, she misses her independence. Finding her days full of tedious boredom, Balmy uses mischievous antics to add excitement to her life. Her only joy comes from disobeying her daughter’s rules, aggravating her son-in-law, and feeding buttermilk biscuits to Jake, the homeless guy who lives in a cardboard box. Life becomes complicated when Balmy’s old friend, Sunny Day—from her Broadway-performing days in the Sixties—arrives from Hollywood and invites her to share her ...

Fast, fun, and hilarious! For fans of Judd Apatow, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, and Paul Rudd. College theater geeks, Chad and Eric, are about to find themselves in the mother of all love triangles. Eric's the playwright of an edgy new play about a man's strange obsession. But when Chad lands the lead role, a gorgeous thirty-something student named Kira is cast as his mother. Will this sexy "older woman" threaten Chad and Eric's longtime bromance? With hysterical twists and turns, the "man code" will be tested as Chad and Eric handle confrontation with humor that's spiked with testosterone. ...

Timothy is a serial killer. He's also very lonely. He's a walking contradiction, and his psychological predicament doesn't escape him. Lynnette is a vampire. She's also a nurse. She, too, is a walking contradiction. When she unexpectedly answers his desperate call for company, they realize they could be perfect partners in crime, engaging in a few kinds of bloodwork at once, bringing out the worst and the best in each other.

You can tell by simply looking at the cover of this book that it isn't your ordinary grammar curriculum. As you look at a stick drawing of a young man with a mouthful of 'gum' balls, you know you're in for a real grammar treat. The publisher refers to this book as, "Shel Silverstein meets Strunk & White." Cathy Campbell has a real knack for making grammar understandable but keeping it humorous. There were times I laughed out loud at her drawings and use of descriptive words. The book is divided into 3 sections - grammar, usage, and mechanics. This is no light coverage of the topics, yet ...