For those not in the know, last night Lady Laura and I had a rare night off from the kids to go and see Jimmy Carr perform live at the O2 Arena.
While he’s not entirely my cup of Earl Grey, he did drag a couple of laughs out of me.
But for some, laughing wasn’t enough.
They had to go further.
One of the things Jimmy is renowned for is his God-tier ability to rinse hecklers on the spot, and it’s become a sort of blood sport to him.
Case in point:
One person yelled, “You look like a puppet” mid-joke.
In true Jimmy fashion, he replied, “Congratulations. You’ve just spent £100 to watch a puppet show, dickhead.”
Of course, the cheers and applause rippled across the arena.
It takes guts and skill to be able to bat back on the spot. That said, I guess it’s like any other muscle in that the more you work it, the stronger it becomes.
But when you get good at turning an insult into comedic gold?
When you can heckle the heckler?
When you can troll the troll?
My God, does it make for great entertainment.
It’s why I’ve never feared criticism of my books or insults on my character — if anything, I actively seek them out, sometimes even baiting them in these emails (and especially on social media).
Why work harder when a Goodreads Goblin or Overzealous Orc is more than willing to do the heavy lifting?
I’m not the brightest bulb in the box, but even I’d be stupid not to seize such opportunities when they’re granted.
Could you consider this a challenge to any critic lurking among our ranks?
You betcha.
Not only is it great free email fodder, but they usually do wonders for the Storehouse Treasury.
I guess people don’t just like buying fun books; they enjoy doing business with people they like.
Who’d have thought it?
While I can’t promise you’ll like me, I do promise you an epic fantasy series with fun characters, zero bloat, and a storyline that feels both familiar and unique.
And should your foray into Estos be anything less than enjoyable, not only do I offer a 30-day money-back guarantee…
Depending on the temperature of your feedback, I might just feature your comments in an email near you.
The link, as ever, is here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/TDR-Bundle
DJJW