J.K. Coi

GUEST AUTHORS: Tickle My Fantasy from Samhain Publishing

JK Coi: I'm very happy to introduce the authors of the Samhain Tickle My Fantasy anthology. These are four very funny books, so I had to ask these funny authors what drew them to write romantic comedy--and with a parnormal twist...

Witches Anonymous
Misty Evans

What’s it like to write paranormal comedy?

I love comedy of any kind and paranormal comedy is a real treat. Typically, I write heart-stopping CIA thrillers, so when Amy, the heroine in Witches Anonymous, showed up with a bag of Dove chocolates and a sob story about the Devil, I knew I had to take a break from spies and traitors and write her story. Her wise-cracking, Witch-Lit personality was a beauty, and besides, there isn’t much I won’t do for a Dove chocolate.

Amy’s one vice in life is lust. She lusts after dark chocolate, sinful men and designer shoes. Who could resist such a great character? Is she my alter-ego? Quite possibly. Her good heart and taste in cool shoes definitely comes from me, but her perchance for trouble…well, let’s just say, the Devil’s in the details!






The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo, & the Poltergeist Accountant
Vivi Andrews

What’s it like to write paranormal comedy?

I always squirm when I tell people I write comedy, because I just can’t think of myself as a comic. I am so not the guy standing on stage with a microphone delivering pithy one-liners. I’m the girl in the back row muttering snarky comebacks under her breath. Mouthy, sassy, smart-alecky remarks and a crippling fear of speaking in public? Yeah, that’s me. A comedian? Um… not so much.

That said, writing a paranormal comedy was so much fun it’s probably illegal in five states. (I’ll let you guess which five.) To me, the first rule of writing comedy is the same as the primary rule of writing paranormals – Anything goes.

You want nekkid ghosts and supernatural sexual frustration? You got it! You want a dweeby accountant to turn into a poltergeist and potentially rip a hole in the fabric of the universe from a mafia warehouse in Jersey? Go for it! No holds barred, baby. Check your good sense at the door. Let the ridiculous and the fantastic out to play together. Forget what’s possible. Paranormal comedy is all about bringing the impossibilities to life. That’s why I love it.



Paramatch.com
MK Mancos

What’s it like to write paranormal comedy?

I consider myself a pretty funny person. Usually my sense of humor is strongest if I’m riffing over a situation with my trademark sarcasm that pours from my soul like nitrous oxide—you know, laughing gas. Even my darkest books have had the odd bit of humor thrown in for good measure. I can’t help it. It’s just the way I roll.

However, when Samhain Publishing opened their call for submissions for paranormal romantic comedy in the Tickle My Fantasy anthology, I have to admit to a certain amount of trepidation on my part. I wondered if I could maintain a high level of humor throughout a story and not just the occasional one off when a character was feeling stressed and particularly flippant. I had the perfect scenario—a talentless witch playing matchmaker to a host of the city’s paranormal beings—and we all know the inherent hilarity of dating members of your own species. There’s got to be loads of humor when one slaps two very different paranormal beings together in a social situation.

From there the situations almost grew organically from the plot. Combine that with a healthy dose of looking at each situation at its most absurd and the comedy falls into place.



Carolina Wolf
Sela Carsen

What’s it like to write paranormal comedy?

When I started reading romance, I was all about the historicals. The first romance I wrote was a historical, in fact. A Regency that will never see the light of day. So how did I switch to paranormal romantic comedies?

Easy. I finally started writing what made me laugh.

My favorite stories are often the kind where you have ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Folks who are human through and through, no matter what kind of fur they may sprout, or whether they still have a heartbeat. People screw up. They make mistakes. They’re not perfect. And those imperfections make not only for great conflict, but for great comedy.

Mel Brooks, my personal icon of great comedy, said this, “Good comedy is never frivolous. It’s based on human experience, on human adventure, on human feelings. So it has to be profound.”

Since there’s nothing more profound that love, then love is the greatest comedy of all. Love is about exposing yourself – your flaws, your fur, your fangs – then hoping that the other person won’t laugh at you, but laugh with you.

Because what’s love without a lot of laughter?