KRR- What was the last thing that literally made you laugh out loud?
JJ- The Quarantine Book Club Podcast, specifically the conversations episode with Raul. Both he and Rance are just fun, light-hearted people to listen to.
KRR- What kinds of things do you usually find to be funny?
JJ- Snark and sarcasm can be funny, I think I lean toward caustic humor in a way. Definitely a fan of satire. I find Archer to be a funny show. But Nicole Byer is my favorite, her sense of humor is such that it feels welcoming, she's inviting you into the joke. And it's loud humor, she's not shy about laughing and some occasional self-deprecation.
KRR- Okay, I knew about Nicole Byer from Wipeout, but I'm going to have to check out more of her stuff now. I love welcoming humor. And self-deprecation is almost always funny.
Name a few books that have made you laugh.
JJ- Demons, Ink made me laugh from the beginning. Clayton has some really well timed jokes/references in his writing.
Tough Shit by Kevin Smith has made me laugh.
Calvin and Hobbes. That counts as books right?
KRR- Yeah, Calvin and Hobbes totally counts! I haven't got the chance to read any of Clayton's books yet, but I plan to in the very near future.
How do you incorporate humor into your writing?
JJ- I honestly don't know because I often feel like I have no idea what I'm doing and I stumble into being funny. My writing has a lot of banter as a result.
KRR- I totally get that! When I think about starting from scratch and writing something funny, I'm like, "I have no idea where to even start." But then sometimes you can just put characters together and get them talking and arguing and it just works.
Is there anything off limits in comedy?
JJ- Punching down. Not okay with mocking marginalized groups.
KRR- On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being dead serious, and 10 being non-stop jokes) what is the level of humor you usually prefer to read?
JJ- Probably around a 5-6.
KRR- What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you?
JJ- Life? I would say not many funny things happen to or around me other than I get to hang out with some really funny people.
KRR- This was a stupid question. When I try to answer it, I come up blank, too. I'm a horrible interviewer, and a horrible person.
JJ- I don't think it's a stupid question. Some of us just don't get to have the cool, weird, funny stories of strange and humorous events. Like, my mom's got stories about my grandmother and a stuffed parrot, but that parrot was long gone by the time I came around.
KRR- Well thanks :)
What is the funniest thing you’ve ever seen/heard/read/written?
JJ- I have to pick just one? I generally laugh really easily but I would say Nailed It is definitely up at the top.
KRR- I just watched a trailer for Nailed It and it looks absolutely hilarious. I think I'm going to have a lot more Nicole Byer in my life after this interview.
JJ- She's the best, I basically want to be like her when I grow up (ignoring the fact that I'm an adult and I think I might actually be older than she is).
KRR- While teetering on the razor’s edge of the all-consuming void, is humor the best tool we have to fight the existential dread of a finite and bewildering existence?
JJ- Absolutely. If we can't laugh all hope is lost.
KRR- What projects do you have out in the world, and where can we find them?
JJ- Fear and Fury and you can find it on Amazon.
The 2nd book in this series, Torment and Tarnish, is dropping December 7th.
(Blogger's Note: THAT'S TOMORROW!!!)
KRR- I just read the description of your book, and it looks really good. Would you say Meg is inspired by Deadpool? Or did the inspiration for a snarky, badass character come from somewhere else?
JJ- No, so the first line in the book came well before the character, the Deadpool reference is because of the 4th wall-breaking and snark. I don't think I intentionally set out to write it that way. But I would say my writing in general is definitely influenced by a lot of popular culture though.
KRR- 4th wall breaking!? Now I'm really intrigued by your book :)
JJ- Thank you! It's honestly the most fun writing I've ever had.