Guest Post: Why I Love Writing Humor by Davis Aujourd’hui

Today I am bringing you the first of a two-part series on writing – and living with – humor. The posts were provided by author Davis Aujourd’hui. If his name seems familiar around these parts, that’s because he was generous enough to share his insights on writing and his own publishing experience with us last fall – those two posts are available here and here. We enjoyed him then, and I am sure you will enjoy him here again. So thanks Davis, and happy reading everyone!

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Why I Love Writing Humor

I have always loved to read and to laugh. After all, it’s been said that laughter is the best medicine. Some of my favorite humor authors have served to inspire my own writing. I love the zany humor of Carl Hiaasen and Armistead Maupin. Armistead especially inspired me since he, too, wrote a series of humorous books such as I have.

Humor is such a wonderful escape from the cares of life. My life has been filled with many dark moments and I have used humor to chase the darkness away. Hopefully, my readers will also be able to do the same thing with my series of books. The first book is entitled The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude. The first sequel is called Babes in Bucksnort and that will soon be followed by Have A Heart.

Writing humorous books is also a wonderful escape for me. Wrapped in the spell of inspiration, I spontaneously spin outrageously funny tales that will make my readers laugh from the beginning to the end of the books. That’s my own satisfaction too since I laugh out loud as I write the books. It’s a wonderful escape for me and I have never had more fun in my life.

I have been inspired by many humorous anecdotes from my own life. I used to work with mentally-ill clients who had some of the funniest delusions. While my own characters are not delusional, I have drawn from my past experiences with humor in my life to create funny characters.

They have zany names like Fartley Dinkledorf, Lula Mae Bunsaplenty, Muchmore Mayhem, and Jules Jesslike Pappas to name a few. In the case of Jules, he was so named when the nurse held up the little baby for his mother to pick a name. She took one look at the little baby with the large endowment and immediately thought of his father. That’s when she exclaimed “Jewels just like Papa’s!”

In the case of Fartley Dinkledorf, he is a little boy who takes perverse pleasure in passing gas. Poor Sister Mary Olga! She decides to take a chance and to cast him as the baby Jesus in the annual Christmas pageant. True to form, Fartley lets one rip while in the manger. That’s when Sister Mary Olga exclaims, “Fart!” That’s also when the Reverend Mother abruptly ends the show.

Priscilla Bunhead is a prudish spinster who wears her hair in a tight little bun. I maintain that it’s so tight that her mind is closed shut like a steel trap. She’s a busybody who is always digging in the dirt and she finds plenty of that in the fictional town of Bucksnort, Wisconsin. When she learns that she’s surrounded by gay people, she goes on a crusade to get them evicted from the Snortlands. It makes for wonderful conflict and great humor because she gets hers in the end.

Yes, I love humor and thank God I’ve got an active imagination! From that place, I am able to conjure up all kinds of hilarious scenarios. As I go along my merry way, I continue to find new inspiration which has led me to write a total of eleven books in the series. My readers won’t have to thirst long between books since I have an arsenal of side-splitting laughs available for them. The beautiful thing is that I haven’t run out of ideas yet.

I love to entertain and that is what I promise you. I have created books that you won’t want to put down and for which you will be craving the next one. From beginning to end, you will find yourself in stitches of laughter. This is my calling and my gift to you. Enjoy your journey!

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Davis Aujourd’hui is the author of the Sister Mary Olga Fortitude series of hilarious satires. The first book is entitled The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude.  It was followed byBabes in Bucksnort.  Davis possesses a rich life experience that has enabled him to draw from it in order to create a colorful canvas upon which to paint very human lives. He is a retired social worker, having worked for Adult Protective Services in New York State for nearly twenty years. He developed the characters within his series of books in order to entertain a colleague by using the gift of humor.  As will be the case with Sister Mary Olga in his third book, he is a recovering alcoholic. He also happens to be gay as are several of the endearing and humorous characters within his novels. He can speak from his own experience. He has possessed all of the foibles of his cast of characters who are naughty, nasty, and nice.  Davis lives in Upstate New York where he is currently sharing his life with his partner of seven years. He is socially-minded and spirituality is the most important ingredient in order for him to maintain a happy and successful life. For more information, visit his blog.