Tag: #author

Jerry Zezima “One for the Ageless How to Stay Young and Immature Even If You’re Really Old”

by Billy Dees, posted in Books, Podcast

Jerry writes a humor column for Tribune News Service, which distributes it to papers nationwide and abroad. Jerry is also the author of six books, “Leave It to Boomer,” “The Empty Nest Chronicles,” “Grandfather Knows Best,” “Nini and Poppie’s Excellent Adventures,” “Every Day Is Saturday” and “One for the Ageless.”

Jerry Zezima

Jerry has won many awards including seven for humorous writing from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Jerry maintains a social media presence, has made many TV and radio appearances, is a popular public speaker, and is currently writing a sitcom.

You can find out more about Jerry on his blog or follow him on Twitter.

You can find our podcast interview with Jerry on your favorite podcast platform. For your convenience the Spotify podcast is playable in this post. We also have the videocast version available on YouTube.

HumorOutcasts Interview with Donna Cavanagh “Ramo to the Rescue”

by Billy Dees, posted in Books, Podcast
“Ramo to the Rescue”

Some time ago, many years ago actually, I crossed paths with Donna Cavanagh on Twitter. We were both part of the Twittersphere for blogging, humor, and related subject matter. We say “content” now by the way.

Post 2012, podcasting was ramping up as high-ranking politicians were giving interviews and major crime investigations were finding an audience on the medium. Twitter is built for authors and podcasters. Donna, being the consummate book marketing specialist that she is, was one of the publishers who first recognized the connection.

This was circa 2011 and HumorOutcasts was in its early days. I started doing some writing for the site and most of my audio production at that time was in traditional media forms. Podcasting existed back then but was nowhere near the powerhouse it is today. I was one of the early adopters of podcasting as it was a natural fit for me.

Donna Cavanagh

This was a great opportunity for me. By the time 2016 rolled around, Donna and I were producing author interviews regularly. I have made some wonderful associations and friends working with the talented group of HO writers.

Donna has now written and published a children’s book, “Ramo to the Rescue.” The book tells the story of a lifeguard through the lens of a child and is written in poetry style rhymes. The book was inspired by a chance meeting with a lifeguard which Donna describes during her own podcast interview. She also credits many of the people who helped her produce the book including Hannah Farr, who created the illustrations.

You can find the full interview under the Billy Dees Podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. We also have a Spotify player for you in this post as well as the webcam version on YouTube.  

HumorOutcasts Podcast Interview with Deborah Fezelle – What’s Past is Prologue

by Billy Dees, posted in Podcast, Uncategorized
What’s Past is Prologue

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion that some survivors may find triggering. It also contains spoilers regarding the content of the book.

On this episode we have Deborah Fezelle, who is the author of, “What’s Past is Prologue.” Deborah is a frequent guest of the podcast and a familiar author to many readers. She has an incredible resume in the arts and is a graduate of Juilliard. Deborah has worked as an actress, a director and coach, and as a writer. This book is the latest installment of the Nick McDeare Series.

Deborah Fezelle

This book, because of its subject-matter, was written to be more of a stand-alone piece than the other McDeare installments. Deborah describes this book as a personal “triumph” because she had to work through her own history of trauma to carry the reader on a similar journey with the characters.

It is a very sincere and heartfelt discussion, however, as the trigger warning indicates; it contains mature subject matter.

This podcast was produced in conjunction with HumorOutcasts.com, HOPress-Shorehouse Books, and other HO brands and publishing divisions.

You can find this episode titled, “HumorOutcasts Interview with Deborah Fezelle – What’s Past is Prologue” on almost any major podcast network under the Billy Dees Podcast.

For your convenience the episode is below. Thank you.

You can follow Deborah Fezelle on Twitter @mcdeare and Billy Dees @BillyDees.  

Fantasy Author Kat Satava & Romance Author Kristy Mickelsen

by Billy Dees, posted in Podcast, Uncategorized
Kat Satava and Kristy Mickelsen

Fantasy Author Kat Satava & Romance Author Kristy Mickelsen have been friends since grade school. Now as adults they are supporting each other’s careers and goals by taking their new releases on a book tour to connect with people and gain new fans.

Together they have a mission to use their love of storytelling, as well as their own life experiences to bring joy to others as well as awareness for the causes they care so deeply about. 

Kristy became an advocate for cancer and autism awareness when her children were diagnosed with classical autism and her father passed away from renal cell carcinoma. 

Kat is an advocate for cultural diversity and inclusion as well as using writing in therapeutic ways.  

These two wonderful women have a lot of love and compassion for not only writing, but for people from all walks of life.  You can find their books on Amazon.com and other online retailers.

– Kristy Mickelsen

Kristy Mickelsen Website

Kat Satava Website

Kristy Mickelsen Author and Advocate for Cancer Awareness

by Billy Dees, posted in Podcast, Uncategorized

This episode is an interview with Kristy Mickelsen, a 43-year-old wife and mother, whose passions include her two autistic children, reading, and writing.

Kristy Mickelsen

Kristy is the author of the book, “A Christmas to Remember.”

Kristy wrote this book based on the real emotions her mother faced when her father passed away from Stage Four Renal Cell Carcinoma. Kristy’s goal with writing this book was not only to present a Christmas love story, but to bring forth cancer awareness about renal cell carcinoma as well as another form of cancer called inflammatory breast cancer.

A Christmas to Remember not only talks about what a cancer patient goes through but also the feelings that a spouse goes through after the loss of a loved one.

You can find Kristy’s website here KristyMickelsen.com. Kristy is also on Twitter @KristyBooks.

You can find the Billy Dees Podcast on most major podcasting platforms. For your convenience the episode is playable below via Spotify. There is also a webcam version available on YouTube.

Writing Humor with Lee Gaitan and Dave Jaffe

by Billy Dees, posted in Podcast, Uncategorized

What happens when you get two accomplished humor writers together to talk about their methods? The result is a lively and informative discussion about the art of humor writing.

Lee Gaitan and Dave Jaffe are together sharing some of their writing strategies and trade secrets. Does all humor come from pain? How do you select topics? How do you create humor during troubled times?

Listen to this episode to find out!

Lee Gaitan is a multi-award-winning author of three books. Her work has been featured on The Huffington Post, Yahoo News, Erma Bombeck Humor Writers’ Workshop, The Good Men Project, Mothers Always Write and Bella Grace. Her most recent release, “My Pineapples Went to Houston,” (2021) was just named a Maincrest Media Award winner.

Dave Jaffe is a humorist, writer, columnist, and a former Chicago reporter who has written for online media, print, television, and radio. His work has appeared in a wide range of outlets, from HumorOutcasts and HuffPost to National Public Radio and The National Lampoon. Dave’s book is, “Sleeping Between Giants: Life, If You Could Call It That, With A Terrier.”

Be sure to visit HumorOutcasts.com.

You can find the Billy Dees Podcast on nearly all the major podcast carriers. For your convenience, the podcast is below. There is also a YouTube video with the webcam version below that. Thank you!