Terri Weeding's Blog: 10 Facts about To Kill An Armchair Husband, a dark comedy

This one's for you Football Widows!

The e-book version of To Kill An Armchair Husband, a dark comedy is available at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
for 99cents on Feb 4-5. That's right, for the price of a chicken sandwich off the value menu of your local fast food joint, you can download the e-version compatible for your e-reader or ipad.

The most accesible and most common humor in the world is family humor.

Think family sitcoms. All in the Family, Leave it to Beaver, Brady Bunch, Everybody Loves Raymond . . . Heck, it’s hard to come up with sitcoms that aren’t centered on a family. Even Friends was about a close-knit group of friends who considered themselves a family.

Check out this great excerpt from Everybody Loves Raymond

Marie: These breadsticks are old.

Frank: You are what you eat.

Marie: Bobby, give your father his helping of Miserable Bastard.

People in close contact will eventually compete with and irritate each other. Husbands compete with wives, in-laws compete with married children, children compete with parents, and entire families compete with relatives and neighbors. The mother-in-law visit is still one of the hundred most common plots on TV. Laughter is created when characters interreact with love, illness, jealousy, prejudice, death, and cream pies. Comedy Writing Secrets by Mel Helitzer

If you write comedy or even if you’re just interested in how it works, I highly recommend Comedy Writing Secrets by Mel Helitzer. Mr. Helitzer’s book breaks down comedy to its core elements. Plus he includes lots of funny excerpts.

Coming next . . . Part II–Mother Mona. The grossly exaggerated mother-in-law sterotype from my novel, To Kill An Armchair Husband, a dark comedy. Read a Mona excerpt at www.terriweeding.com and learn how I created this “Monster-in-law.”
Terri Weeding

Football Preseason is here!

Regular Season is almost upon us!

Oh My!

Are YOU ready for some football?

Check out another an excerpt from To Kill An Amrchair Husband, a dark comedy at http://www.terriweeding.com
It's titled, Husband balks at pregame show interruption

Share a comment or football story here or there!

Terri

Check it out! Fellow author and Goodreads member,Darcia Helle, asked me a bunch of questions re my book, To Kill An Armchair Husband, a dark comedy. Read it at http://quietfurybooks.com/blog

Is Terri sports obsessed?
What's up with all those armchairs?
Humor Heroes who inspire her!

Answers to all these questions and more.

A year ago, after catching a rerun of Archie Bunker, I crafted a short essay about Billy’s chair and sent it out to half a dozen women’s magazines. I hoped a savvy editor would recognize the relevance of the topic for thousands, maybe millions, of married women.

Reflections on Man and His Beloved Recliner

If man’s best friend is a dog, then man’s best mistress is his recliner, commonly referred to as THE CHAIR. THE CHAIR provides a refuge of comfort and total acceptance. Wrapped in THE CHAIR’S loving embrace, a man can relax to the point of letting it all (see enclosed picture) hang out.
A most savvy mistress, THE CHAIR demands nothing but a warm body. She doesn’t expect flowers or expensive jewelry. Conversation is not required. Eye contact is never an issue. THE CHAIR tolerates mood swings, profanity, and flatulence. She doesn’t nag about date night or sex. She doesn’t care about dirty dishes or unfinished household projects.
Most importantly, THE CHAIR loves televised sports. She offers multiple positions suitable for watching sports, reading about sports, eating and drinking while watching sports, and dreaming about sports.
THE CHAIR is the perfect mistress. No woman could ever compare. No woman should ever try.

Sadly, the essay was rejected by all six publications. Only one editor provided feedback. In capital red letters she wrote, THIS TOPIC IS TOO DEPRESSING FOR WOMEN. Underneath, in faint, barely legible print, she added; just ignore the chair, that’s what I do.
In retrospect, I realized I should have sent the essay to a men’s periodical like Sports Illustrated. There, it might have won an award for insightful journalism.

Fact #3. Although I mock/rip armchair jocks (men who sit in comfy chairs and obsessively watch sports on their big screen TVs), I actually like sports.

I played sports as a child, in high school, and in college.
My kids play sports.
I watch sports on my big screen TV.
I watch sports while sitting in my husband's recliner (this usually occurs when my husband is sprawled on the couch).
I watch sports while sitting in my own lovely brown leather recliner.
BUT I DO NOT OBSESSIVELY watch sports on my big screen TV while sitting in either my husband's or my own recliner!
I can leave the chair, turn off the TV, and walk away.

Fact #2 This story is not an autobiography.
My husband is alive and well.
I do not have diabolical plans to kill my husband.
I am not under psychiatric care.
He knows about the book.
He bought me my own recliner. Actually, he bought me two.