Interview with the author of Queen Klutz
For those of you who love to laugh, Marty Lawrence of Grain Valley, Missouri will deliver laughs a minute with his new humor book titled “Queen Klutz.” Follow along as she has an unusual experience at the DMV, find out how McDonald’s fries cost her $2,000.00 Meet her wacky kids and find out how she copes with two broken ankles and a house full of cats. It’s the funniest life in real life and she’ll have you laughing out loud with every page turn.
Leeuna: Marty, how did you come up with the title “Queen Klutz”?
Marty: My family has always called me the “Royal Snitch” because I’m terribly clumsy. The first thing a cousin of mine said when she met my husband was, “Is she still clumsy?”
Leeuna: How long have you been a writer?
Marty: “I’ve been writing humor since I was on the high school paper (back in the Neolithic). I always sent funny stories to my family and friends in letters, and when I learned to use the Internet, I discovered message boards and left long narrative posts for strangers to read. Kind (and sometimes drunk) friends suggested I try writing an Erma Bombeck-style newspaper column, so I started freelancing them. Some of the essays in the book are previous columns, some are blog posts, and some are material I wrote specifically for the book.”
Leeuna: What did you find most difficult about writing the book?
Marty: “Editing was a challenge because my family didn’t want to go into the witness protection program. I think they were afraid I would reveal their deepest, darkest secrets. Which was stupid. This is the next book.”
“Of course I think everyone will love it! *chuckle* Anyone who is clumsy can sympathize. I think parents will enjoy the stories because many of them involve not beating up our kids when they do something horrible like setting fire to the yard or wrecking your car. The stories are about things people deal with every day – car trouble or visits to the DMV. I think putting a fun emphasis on those things can make it easier to get through them.”
Leeuna: Was it difficult to get your book published? Can you tell us a little bit about the process?
Marty: “I publish through Lulu, an on-demand publishing company. The hardest thing for me was setting up my file to convert to PDF. I had complete control, which was a good thing, but all the responsibility, which was a difficult thing.”
“Formatting the Word document with headers, footers, justified margins and page breaks was something I had never done and it was difficult! But Lulu herself was great! I asked a lot of questions in the forums and a few times from live help and always got good answers. I made the live help guys laugh a few times! I bought a draft to see what the book would actually look like, and I found I made a lot of mistakes.”
“I reworked the material and sent it through the process again. I was happy with the second copy so I put it on the market. Lulu offers authors the option to sell only through their store or purchase a global distribution plan that includes a gallery proof of your book. When you approve the kitchen, you are then assigned an ISBN and barcode, allowing it to be distributed through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. “
Leeuna: Where can they buy the book?
Marty: “For now, I sell it through my Lulu online store at lulu.com. Personally signed copies can be ordered directly.
For anyone who loves to laugh and enjoys good solid writing, Queen Klutz by Marty Lawrence is the recipe for a full buffet of laughs.
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