I Am Not Woody Allen!

I am not Woody Allen.
And nothing against Woody Allen, but I’m glad I’m not him.
And I’m sure Woody Allen’s glad I’m not him either.
And my guess?
He’s definitely glad he’s not me.

I’m Dean Burkey.
And I’m still trying to figure out what that means,
so I don’t have time to be Woody Allen.
Or anyone else for that matter.

However,
in junior high (back when it was called “junior high” and not “middle school”),
and high school, and maybe even college,
I wanted to be Woody Allen.
And Steve Martin.
And even Barry Gibb.
Although he’s not a comedian.
And possibly, before December 8, 1980, I wanted to be John Lennon.
After that, not so much.

Anyway, while enamored with the comedy writings of Woody Allen
and wanting to access that ability for myself,
I wrote a short story called “From the Missing Files of the Night Stalker”
or something like that.
(The Night Stalker being the TV guy from long ago, not the serial killer.)

Having been inspired by Woody’s short story “Dracula”
which appeared in his first short story/essay collection “Getting Even” in 1971,
my first draft was highly derivative.
The villain was: (Guess who?) Dracula!
And even the hero was named after a character on TV.

But decades passed;
and I’ve since re-engineered and tweaked that piece into something original.

Moreover, I watered and grew that snippet of a tale into a full-fledged comedy novel,
with that first little bit becoming chapter one.
With each subsequent chapter being a comedic encounter with another monster.
Hence the catchy, clever name:

“Monster Laughs!”

From the Secret Files of the Mystery Hunter

Count Dracula Sinks His Teeth into the Big Apple

The Howling Werewolf’s Hairy End

Frankenstein’s Monster Bolts Loose

Doctor Jekyll and Ms. Hyde

Unraveling the Mystery of the Mummy

Skinny Dipping with the Creature from the Blue Lagoon

The Swinging Tale of the Blue Moon Monkey Man

Illegal Aliens from Outer Space

Being Seen with the Invisible Man (Or Not!)

Challenging the Unchallengeable Charlie Change-O

Return of the Blue Moon Monkey Man (And Another Crazy)

Coming soon to Amazon.com.
(I just need one more read-through/edit; and a decent, intriguing, hopefully funny, cover photo.)

So that’s just some of what I’ve been doing instead of blogging.
But I hope to get back to this too.
I miss you and hope all is well with you and yours.

Best to you and whatever you endeavor.

Blessings & Joy,
Dean Burkey