Uncontrollable Blog Tour: Guest Post

Uncontrollable by S.R. Johannes
(The Nature of Grace, #2)
Release Date: September 24, 2012
Publisher: Coleman & Stott; 300 pages

As Grace recovers from tragedy, her science class is chosen by Agent Sweeney at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help with research on the new "Red Wolf Reintroduction Program".

While she’s excited about helping with the conservation of the endangered wolves, Grace knows this means being outdoors in the worst winter recorded, in a place she no longer feels comfortable. It also means working closely with Wyn (her ex) and his annoying girlfriend (Skyler), a girl whose idea of getting close to nature is picking silk plants and growing fake plants.

After a couple of wolves show up dead, Grace almost quits. However, when a fellow project team member goes missing, Grace continues the assignment under a renewed suspicion that someone might be sabotaging the conservation program. She quietly begins to hunt for clues.

Little does she know, she is being hunted too.

Adding Humor to Writing

Humor is very hard, expecially in thrillers and mysteries. My books are faster pace so I try to add humor to give the reader a break and lighten the mood – even if only for a split second.

Theer are a few kinds of humor:
1. Puns and physical humor like tripping - requires no understanding)
2. Jokes and conversation – requires a basic knowledge of the character
3. Sarcasm – the riskiest kind of humor because you have to hope the reader gets it

I try to use all 3 with Grace. She’s awkward, tells bad jokes, and is snarky.

To keep her sympathetic, I try to add humor just in the way she sees things or in the way she banters with others. Since the book is written in first person, the reader can see the world through her eyes and sometimes her observations are just plain funny and absurd.

I think that part of it comes from me. I have always seen the world in a strange way. I’ve always had that ability to say something stupid or find humor even at the most inappropriate times. So that part is easy for me. Whether other people think I’m funny (or Grace for that matter) is the question.