Author & Comedian B.J. Mendelson: Comic Memoir, Life as Mall Santa, Backseat Cows, Freezer Rats-Ep.39

In this episode, we talk writing, reading and all manner of hilarious, bookish topics with author and comedian B.J. Mendelson. We delve into some of B.J.’s fascinating work surrounding social media and privacy. Kaisha demands that we bring back the urban pack donkey. B.J. chats about the challenges of self-funding in publishing as he discusses his comic book, Vengeance, Nevada. We talk about the difficulty in representing friends and loved ones in creative writing. B.J. reveals the trickiness with Amazon release procedures. We dig into reading pet peeves, especially when an author kills off all their characters, which lead us to a conversation about the importance of boredom and Kaisha watching a pot of water boil. B.J. relates his favorite reading moments and brings up the benefits of having a one-on-one author reading opportunity as well as the beauty of finding books that blow your mind.

Welcome to Read.Write.Repeat.

June’s giveaway is our 1-year anniversary book box! Win several books this month. We explain more about how the giveaway works toward the end of the show notes.

Our totally awesome intro was created by Mike Fraedrich. You can find more from Mike at mikefraedrich.com & brighttowers.com. The first one points to his Twitter, the second his music. Thanks, Mike!!

Read more about this month’s guest, B.J. Mendelson, or check out his Proustish Questionnaire.

Listeners weigh in:

Have you read a book recently that just blew your mind?

Let us know in the comments section below, or by tagging us on social media! Your response might be featured in an upcoming show and you will be entered into our monthly giveaway!

Books, quirks, and intrigues, oh my!

  • In a past life, B.J. was a Mall Santa. He gives us the hilarious story!
  • He recently read A Carlin Home Companion by Kelly Carlin and shares his reactions to it.
  • We chat about the creative process and B.J. gives advice on what people can do to improve theirs.
  • He tells us a bit more about his comic, Vengeance, Nevada.
  • And why nothing you do on the Internet is private
  • He also chats about his book Privacy: And How to Get It Back
  • B.J. discusses his book, Social Media is BS, and chats about having to get creative with how you promote yourself.
  • We learn about his most memorable reading experiences, both as an author reading his own work and as a reader getting lost in a book.
  • His book that he recommends every writer read: Long Story Short by Margot Leitman. Writers have to know how to write, of course, but they also need to know how to write (and present) themselves just as well.

Connect and Win!!

  • Don’t forget to enter our giveaway!
  • To enter, simply follow us and tag us in a bookish photo or comment on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, or leave us a comment on our show notes!
  • You can find other Giveaways on the giveaways tab and in the Give us a Shout tab on our website. Be sure to check those out. We ship worldwide, so don’t hesitate to enter our giveaway.
  • If anything sparked an idea for you, or you have thoughts or ideas about what we should discuss next. Let us know. Fill out our survey for a chance to win cool prizes!

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Thanks for listening to Read.Write.Repeat! Talk with you next time!

Photo by Katia Rolon on Unsplash

Guest Episode