James Frederick
asked
Rob Johnson:
When you are writing your books, are you sitting there, busting your guts, laughing? I am picturing you doing that and having a great old time.
Rob Johnson
Hi James. Thanks for the question and also many thanks for your fantastic review of ‘Cremains’, although I’m afraid I might have to disillusion you. I’d love to be able to sit at my desk busting my guts laughing at what I was writing, but that’s never actually happened. Occasionally, I’ll have a bit of a chuckle at some gags that I’m particularly pleased with, but that’s about it really.
Often, I’m not even sure whether something I’ve written is funny or not, so I have to run it past my wife Penny to see if she laughs or not. I’ve even been known to hide round the corner and listen out for the number of times she laughs (or doesn’t). Actually, she cottoned onto that a while ago and makes me move well out of earshot while she’s reading.
Having written for the theatre years ago, I was amazed at how different audiences reacted to the lines that were supposed to be funny. Sometimes there was utter silence, and other times they laughed their socks off. As for the novels, I can only rely on reviews such as yours to tell me if what I’ve written is funny or not, and reviews can range from “I didn’t even raise a smile” to “Laughed out loud till my scrotum split” (which was a genuine review of ‘Quest for the Holey Snail’).
Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough, and since brevity is supposed to be the soul of wit, I’ll shut up now. I’m sorry if I’ve shattered an illusion for you, but as W.C.Fields once said, “Comedy is a serious business.”
Many thanks again for your great review, and even though I don’t often laugh at what I’ve written myself, it’s always a massive boost to hear when the opposite is true of my readers!
All the best, and I hope you get as many laughs out of my other books if you get round to reading them.
Rob
Often, I’m not even sure whether something I’ve written is funny or not, so I have to run it past my wife Penny to see if she laughs or not. I’ve even been known to hide round the corner and listen out for the number of times she laughs (or doesn’t). Actually, she cottoned onto that a while ago and makes me move well out of earshot while she’s reading.
Having written for the theatre years ago, I was amazed at how different audiences reacted to the lines that were supposed to be funny. Sometimes there was utter silence, and other times they laughed their socks off. As for the novels, I can only rely on reviews such as yours to tell me if what I’ve written is funny or not, and reviews can range from “I didn’t even raise a smile” to “Laughed out loud till my scrotum split” (which was a genuine review of ‘Quest for the Holey Snail’).
Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough, and since brevity is supposed to be the soul of wit, I’ll shut up now. I’m sorry if I’ve shattered an illusion for you, but as W.C.Fields once said, “Comedy is a serious business.”
Many thanks again for your great review, and even though I don’t often laugh at what I’ve written myself, it’s always a massive boost to hear when the opposite is true of my readers!
All the best, and I hope you get as many laughs out of my other books if you get round to reading them.
Rob
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Seriously...
I think that humor is one of God's greatest gifts. Your book made me l ...more
Aug 03, 2019 10:07AM
Many thanks again for all the great comments, James. Much appreciated. ...more
Aug 04, 2019 08:39AM