Laughing in the Face of COVID offers a refreshing and humorous take on the chaos of the 2020 pandemic, turning the bleakness of quarantine into an opportunity for sharp-witted commentary. What inspired the compiling of all these writings into one book?

This entire project started as a way to help maintain my sanity and keep in touch with friends during the time I was diagnosed with COVID and required to isolate myself. If you remember, back in those early days of 2020, COVID was a frightening diagnosis and nobody knew just how dangerous it might be.
So, I began with a single joke entry into an imaginary diary, thinking I might be quarantined for just a few days. It turned out to be SEVEN WEEKS before I was symptom-free, but my FB followers and friends were hooked on the diary idea, so I had to keep going!

It was never my intention to create content for a book; the diary was a one-off idea that had run its course. But I came across some of the entries a few months ago and shared them with friends and family. They all responded positively with memories of reading the entries back in 2020, and several suggested compiling all seven weeks’ worth into a book.

The rest, as they say, is fiction!

What is one thing that people point out after reading your book that surprises you?

My original intention was to find some humor in a very difficult situation, hoping to reassure my friends and family, and to provide myself with a creative outlet to pass the time.

What has surprised me is the number of people who have found the book cathartic. There have been many books about COVID, but they tend to focus on the history, science, and politics of the pandemic, not the individual experiences.

In reliving some of the craziness, and reflecting on just how much we stressed over every nugget of information, people are using the humor/satire of the book to put things in perspective. It seems that, for many people, it’s the first time they have really thought back to those days, and certainly the first time they have been able to laugh about them.

I found this novel to be a cutting piece of satire. What is one thing that you hope readers take away from your collection of writing?

I hope that people will never forget the urgency, fear, and paranoia of those early days, but I hope my book also reminds people how easy it is to panic and buy into rumours or conspiracy theories. Most of us did give in to fear at some level, but I hope we’ve learned to forgive ourselves for being human. Looking back and laughing about those dark days is a way of letting go of the lingering stress.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

As a veteran ghostwriter, I’ve had my writing in many books without my name on the cover. This is the first book that I have actually taken credit for, but it won’t be the last!

I’m semi-retired now and have the time to pursue my own writing ideas. I’ve been working for a long time on a Young Adult novel that I hope to publish early in 2025 and have a file folder of ideas for more books, screenplays, short stories, etc.

I’ll be sure to let Literary Titan and its readers know when my next work hits the shelves!
I literally cannot thank the readers and reviewers of my book enough. The positive reception has been everything I hoped it would be. You have all stoked my ego, lol, and given me a strong impetus to get more of my work out there.

Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon

• Shakespeare tributes (“Shall I compare thee to a summer cold?”)
• Song parodies (“Send In The Zombies” “Fridge Full of Bottled Water”)
• Quarantine games for couples (“Hide And Give Up”)
• Haikus, satirical conspiracy theories, a Dr. Seuss (“Donald the Trump”), COVID for children, and more

All from the (literally) fevered imagination of a writer/humorist trapped in a seven-week COVID quarantine during the height of the pandemic.

Glen Stone’s Facebook diary entries, described by readers as “hilarious” and “incredibly imaginative”, are collected in this book of black humour during a terrible time.

From a phone call with a bleach dealer to the secret negotiations between UN reps and the virus itself, Laughing In the Face of COVID will take you back to the madness of 2020 and leave you wondering how any of us stayed sane!

As one fan put it, “Nobody will ever believe that one person wrote all of this!”

WARNING: Contains lots of swears and nasty comments about Trump.