Can a thriller be humorous? This question came up because of the trouble I have whenever I see a short description of A Thousand Suns. If the description doesn’t mention the humor, I’m bothered that they missed something unique about the book. If it does mention the humor, then I’m worried people wil think the book is funny, light, and not a real thriller. So, with this post, I’d like to set the record straight about humor in my thrillers.
My books are not humorous, but they have characters who have a well-developed sense of humor and who tend to see the humorous side of most situations. For my characters, particularly Rulon, humor is a safety value and a way of dealing with unpleasant outcomes. In fact, this humor is part of what makes ‘A Thousand Suns’ a realistic book.
In researching A Thousand Suns, I read the book On Combat by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a former army Ranger and West Point psychology professor. In it he talks about how men and women in life and death situations use humor to, in a sense, escape from reality.
A Thousand Suns is a thriller. But it’s not a downer. It has a few laughs, thanks to my characters innate natures, but it also has scenes of courage, loyalty, love, hate, violence, disillusionment, and revenge. I don’t want readers to be crying at the end of it or laughing. I’d like them to put the book down when they are done and simply sigh, “Good story.”
On a different note: I have a new website design at: www.jimhaberkorn.com I've also started using Facebook to publicize my upcoming book A Thousand Suns. http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Thousand-Suns/433298710075276?cropsuccess&success=1
Please free to visit those sites, and, if you feel so moved, let me know what you think. This blog post is also found on my website. I'll be making a decision within a few days about whether to keep this blog or to simply transfer the activity to my website.
Best regards,
Jim - from Zurich
My books are not humorous, but they have characters who have a well-developed sense of humor and who tend to see the humorous side of most situations. For my characters, particularly Rulon, humor is a safety value and a way of dealing with unpleasant outcomes. In fact, this humor is part of what makes ‘A Thousand Suns’ a realistic book.
In researching A Thousand Suns, I read the book On Combat by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a former army Ranger and West Point psychology professor. In it he talks about how men and women in life and death situations use humor to, in a sense, escape from reality.
A Thousand Suns is a thriller. But it’s not a downer. It has a few laughs, thanks to my characters innate natures, but it also has scenes of courage, loyalty, love, hate, violence, disillusionment, and revenge. I don’t want readers to be crying at the end of it or laughing. I’d like them to put the book down when they are done and simply sigh, “Good story.”
On a different note: I have a new website design at: www.jimhaberkorn.com I've also started using Facebook to publicize my upcoming book A Thousand Suns. http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Thousand-Suns/433298710075276?cropsuccess&success=1
Please free to visit those sites, and, if you feel so moved, let me know what you think. This blog post is also found on my website. I'll be making a decision within a few days about whether to keep this blog or to simply transfer the activity to my website.
Best regards,
Jim - from Zurich
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