Thank you to Say What News

I would like to thank Say What News for posting a story about my upcoming book. What is even more amazing is that they filed it under their “Literary” section. I am used to the term “literary” being reserved for people like Dickens and Hemingway. It is not usually applied to people like me, who, instead of plumbing the depths of the human condition, tend to write about things like salad toppings.

“Staying Crazy” Sponsors Anticipate Book Release

(PRESS RELEASE) August 25, 2011 (Cary, NC) – As humor blogger and columnist Cris Cohen looks forward to the publication of his first book “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” in September, he has many businesses and individuals in the Cary, NC, community and beyond to thank for support.

In March of this year, Cohen announced that he was going to publish a collection of his humor columns – some written while he worked for several newspapers in California, others written since he and his wife, Michele, moved to Cary in 2008 – in book form as a means of raising money for a local baseball league for children with special needs, including his own son, Max. He announced that he would donate proceeds from sales of “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” to the league, where he has been serving as a volunteer.

“We’ve gotten a lot from the League,” Cohen said. “It’s a place where Max gets to have some independence, to leave Mom and Dad in the stands and head out to the field. And we have made a lot of great friends, people who understand the challenges of being the parents of a special needs child and can offer advice, support, etc. After receiving all of that, Michele and I wanted to give something back.”

To offset the expense of publishing the book, he put out a call for sponsorships. And they came – from the Cary community to his native California and points in between.

The primary local sponsors for the book are: The Behavior Exchange, Raleigh; Anfield Inc., Raleigh; The Avilez Family in Iowa; Chambers Arts, Cary; Dr. Ben Schemmel, Cary; Hooper Law Firm PLLC, Raleigh; and The Garden Supply Company, Cary. Primary sponsors outside the Triangle are: Live A Little More Enterprises, Marylin Cooper, Digi-Q and Evantac of California; the Cannata Family of Georgia; the Sadler Family of Virginia; and Mommy and Me Are A Family of Texas.

A host of other individuals have contributed small sponsorships and Cary artist Darla Yancho created the cover art.

“The sponsors really made this book possible,” said Cohen. “Their contributions gave us the extra push we needed and also served as a wonderful vote of confidence.”

Cohen is publishing “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” through his own small press, Tyrannosaurus Max Press, in early September. To learn more about the book and the baseball league for kids with special needs, visit www.stayingcrazy.com.

 

 

 

Thank you to the Apex Rotary

I would like to thank the Apex Rotary for having me and my wife as their guests last Thursday. I appreciate them letting me speak at one of their meetings and for not suggesting that my wife could have done better. Although it’s possible that a number of people were thinking that.

Thank you to the Southwest Durham Rotary

I would like to thank the Southwest Durham Rotary for having me as a guest speaker yesterday. I also appreciate that Phil read my bio without even checking to see if any of it was true. Next time I will add some lines about my award-winning work in the field of cold fusion and how many people in South America refer to me by a term that roughly translates to mean “almost too good looking”.

Thank you Triangle Creative Professionals

I would just like to thank the Triangle Creative Professionals for having me as their guest speaker last night. You all asked great questions. Thankfully one of those was not “What is wrong with you?”

Smurfs

From what I am hearing from parents, if they added smurfs as targets in those shooting video games, sales would go through the roof.

Garden Supply Company Signs On To Sponsor Upcoming Humor Book

July 29, 2011 (Cary, NC) – As humor writer and blogger Cris Cohen of Cary gets closer to the official release of his new book “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane,” he continues to accept sponsorships to help defray the cost of publishing. That’s important because Cohen intends to donate proceeds from the book’s sales to a local baseball league for kids with special needs, including his own son, Max. So the more help he has with the cost of publishing it through his own small press, Tyrannosaurus Rex Press, the larger his donation can be.

Recently, another Cary business stepped up to provide that support. The Garden Supply Company, owned by Deborah and Keith Ramsey, is the newest sponsor for Cohen’s book, and his mission.

“We strive to help build a better and stronger environment for us all to work and live in,” said Garden Supply Company’s Audrey Pettit, event and social media coordinator. “It is through the creative efforts of talented individuals like Cris Cohen, and the help and support of an entire community, that Cary is such a fantastic home for us all. That’s why Garden Supply Company is proud to sponsor Tyrannosaurus Rex Press.”

The complete list of current sponsors and levels of sponsorship are available at www.stayingcrazy.com/sponsors/.

“Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” will be a compilation of humor columns Cohen wrote for several newspapers in his native California before he and his family moved to Cary in 2008, as well as columns he’s written since then. The book has already received endorsements from Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist Dave Barry, New Yorker magazine cartoonist Drew Dernavich, and Pen/Faulkner Award-winning author T.C. Boyle.

“I am very grateful for the sponsorship from Garden Supply,” said Cohen. “We were already fans of the store. My wife is there often enough that I have considered having her mail forwarded there.”

The official launch date of the book will be announced soon. For more information on Cohen and “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane,” visit the website at www.stayingcrazy.com.

Cris Cohen is also the author of the humor blog “Nothing In Particular” and humor columnist for CaryCitizen.com.

Cary Entrepreneur To Present “Just Try. Just Ask” To Three Groups in August

Cris Cohen continues to take his “entrepreneurial adventure” around the region.

July 28, 2011 (Cary, NC) — Cris Cohen of Cary, NC, a humor columnist, blogger, and budding entrepreneur, will present his popular talk “Just Try. Just Ask. You’ll be amazed at what might happen: My entrepreneurial adventure” in August to Triangle Creative Professionals, the Southwest Durham Rotary, and the Apex Rotary.

“Just Try. Just Ask” chronicles Cohen’s humorous yet successful efforts at setting up a small press – Tyrannosaurus Max Press – through which he is publishing his upcoming humor book “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane.” The book is a collection of humor columns Cohen wrote for several newspapers when he lived in his native California and new ones he’s written since he and his family moved to Cary in 2008. Cohen intends to donate the majority of the proceeds from sales of the book to a local baseball league for children with special needs.

Since April, Cohen has presented “Just Try. Just Ask” to a dozen business groups, book clubs, and other organizations around the Triangle.

“Unsure of what to expect, our group was impressed by his gift of comedic storytelling and his openness to answering questions about his own career path,” said Carlee Mallard, founder of the Triangle Community of Developing Careerist.

“Cris is a delightfully funny and charismatic guy whose talents go way beyond his literary accomplishments,” observed a member of the Raleigh Women’s Coffee & Book Club.

Cohen will address the Triangle Creative Professions (www.meetup.com/Triangle-Creative-Professionals) on August 4 at 6 p.m., the Southwest Durham Rotary (http://swdurhamrotary.org/) on August 11 at 12:30 p.m., and the Apex Rotary club (www.apexrotary.org) on August 18 (time to be announced).

For more information on Cris Cohen and his book, and to see his evolving schedule of speaking engagements, visit www.stayingcrazy.com.

 

Durham Rotary Speech

Thanks to Jay Zenner and the Durham Rotary Club for this write up of the speech I gave at their meeting.

Where To Write?

I am proud to say that I have a guest post on Alice Osborn’s blog.