Sunday 16 December 2012

Meet PATRICIA GLIGOR - Fellow Author and fellow lover of Comic Relief



COMIC RELIEF by Patricia Gligor

The novels in my Malone mystery series, Mixed Messages and Unfinished Business, address some serious subjects. My main character, Ann, is married to David, an alcoholic so, of course, there are “issues” involved in her marriage. Also, she’s raising two young children with all that entails and she’s dealing with a “difficult” (to put it mildly) mother-in-law. As if that weren’t enough to cope with, there’s a serial killer on the loose in Ann’s neighborhood, attacking women in their homes. Serious stuff!
But even with all the problems she has, Ann manages to find some comic relief in her life. The main source of humor for her is her six-year-old son, Davey, an adorable little boy with light blonde hair, big blue eyes and the typical inquisitiveness and precociousness of a boy his age. In this excerpt from Unfinished Business, Davey interrupts a serious conversation between his mother, Ann, and his Aunt Marnie who are in the kitchen doing the dishes.
“Mommy, I’m hungry!” Davey said, charging into the room. He was wearing his mother’s treasured multi-colored scarf around his neck.
“Davey Kern, where did you find that?” Ann asked, pointing to the scarf.
“I found it in the closet, Mommy. In that big box where you keep the ornaments.”
“What the heck were you doing in there?”
“Hiding from Sam when we played hide’n seek. He couldn’t find me,” he boasted, “so I won!”
“Well, hand it over, young man. I’ve been looking all over for this. Where are Sam and Dani?”
“Dani’s in her room, reading one of those Narnia books Aunt Marnie gave her, and Sam said he wanted to take a nap. He said hide’n seek made him tired.” He sat down and leaned his elbows on the table. “I’m not tired but I’m starved! Can you make me something to eat?”
“Poof,” Marnie said, waving her hand at him and sprinkling water in the air. “You’re a sandwich.”
It took Davey a few seconds to get the joke but then he broke out laughing.
“Marn, looks like our talk will have to wait,” Ann said. She walked over to the refrigerator and peered inside. “So, what would you like, Davey? I have goat milk, pig tails and donkey ears.”
“Boy, Mommy,” he said. “You’re always telling me I’m wound up. I think you and Aunt Marnie are wound up now.” He stood up, walked over to his mother and pretended to turn an imaginary key on her back. Then he went over to his aunt and did the same thing. “There,” he announced, “you’re both unwound. May I please have a sandwich now?”

We all know that children often have a way of saying and doing things that brings a smile to even the saddest face. I remember a TV show when I was a little girl. Art Linkletter hosted a segment at the end of each show called “Kids say the darndest things.” The show ran from 1952 to 1970 and, during that time, Mr. Linkletter interviewed over 20,000 kids. It brought some humor into the lives of millions of viewers, brightening their day.
Readers’ Digest claims that “laughter is the best medicine” and I believe that’s true! Have you laughed today?

Links:
Patricia Gligor’s Amazon page:





17 comments:

  1. Melodie,
    Thanks for inviting me to be here today. I love your blog and your wonderful sense of humor.

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  2. Poof! I'm now unwound. Love it! Just what I needed this morning. Can't wait to get to Unfinished Business.

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    1. Thanks, Theresa. Davey Kern is a cute little character. He and his sister help to lighten the mood in my books. Hope you enjoy Unfinished Business.

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  3. This was a really cute blog, Patricia. Made me smile remembering all the crazy things my daughter would come out with with she was a young child. I also watched Art Linkletter's kids say the darnest things.

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    1. Evelyn,
      I'm glad it made you smile! We all need to do that more often.

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  4. You made me smile, too. Kids and pets can brighten some of our darkest moments. Thanks!
    Marja McGraw

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    1. Marja,
      I love the way you use humor in your Bogey Man mystery novels. So many times, you made me laugh out loud!

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  5. Comic relief is a consciously developed survival trait in our family. I think that's why my heroes tend to have a strong sense of the ridiculous.

    Patricia, your post supports my belief that every drama needs comic relief, and every comedy need dramatic relief, to be successful.

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  6. Anyone who has raised or even been around children will agree they have the capacity to raise us from the deepest doldrums. Enjoyed the blog, Patricia.

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  7. Thanks, John! I know what you mean. My five year old nephew makes me laugh every time I see him.

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  8. I'm with you on this, Pat. It's hard for me to write anything, no matter how serious the story may be overall, without including some of the natural humor that occurs in life every day. Maybe not in everyone's life, and that's a sad thing.

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    1. Earl,
      I think we all need a little of "the natural humor" you mentioned in our lives. So much sadness and tragedy in the world. I think it would be too much to bear without humor.

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  9. Laughter is certainly good for you. It feels good to laugh, makes your body just tremble with joy, and it tickles important parts of your brain.

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    1. Exactly, Lesley! I like your phrase "it tickles important parts of your brain." The word "tickle" makes me laugh!

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  10. This has been a delightful post - thanks for all your comments! Patricia, thanks again for being my guest on here.

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