“Staying Crazy” Gets New Yorker Cartoonist’s Endorsement

Award-winning cartoonist Drew Dernavich looks forward to new humor book by Cris Cohen.

Drew Dernavichbook.

May 9, 2011 (Cary, NC) – Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane, an upcoming book by Cary, NC, humor writer and blogger Cris Cohen, has received a rousing endorsement from Drew Dernavich, cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine.

Due out in the fall, Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane, will be a collection of Cohen’s humor columns, most from the years he spent as a columnist for several newspapers in California as well as new ones he’s written since he and his family moved to Cary, NC, in 2008.

Cohen sent a pre-publication copy of his book to Dernavich, who is also the winner of the National Cartoonists Society’s “Reuben Award” as the best gag cartoonist in the nation.

“If Cris made a lasagna, it would probably be a funny lasagna,” Dernavich wrote in his endorsement. “If Cris made a chair, it would be a funny chair. Thankfully, he has decided to make a book instead, which I enjoyed reading along with a glass of the most hilarious Merlot. Keep it coming, Cris!”

How big of a deal is Dernavich’s endorsement for Cohen? “I am in awe of Drew’s talent,” Cohen said. “At least, that’s how I explained it to the policemen who found me hiding in the bushes outside his house. He can write. He can draw. He does speaking engagements. He’s like a Swiss Army Comedian.”

Cohen is publishing Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane as a way to raise money for a local baseball league for children with special needs, including his own son, Max. He will donate proceeds from sales of the book to the league.

Cris Cohen is also the author of the humor blog “Nothing In Particular: Trying Not To Take Life Too Seriously” at criscohen.typepad.com.

For more information on Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane, visit www.stayingcrazy.com and the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/stayingcrazy.

About Cris Cohen:

Humor author Cris Cohen

Cris Cohen, the author of the Nothing In Particular blog, was born in Buffalo, NY, and grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles, eventually graduating from the University of Southern California. After a stint in rock radio in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, Cris started writing his humor column for a collection of California newspapers. He eventually gravitated toward the tech world and Silicon Valley, working for companies such as Netscape and Cisco Systems. Cris, his wife Michele, and their young son Max moved to Cary, North Carolina, in 2008. Cris’ blog is available at http://criscohen.typepad.com. His first book, “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane,” is due out in the fall of 2011.

Cris Cohen To Speak To The Raleigh Women’s Book Club

Humor writer Cris Cohen will visit the popular book club twice in May. 

Cris Cohen

April 27, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – Cris Cohen, the author of the humor blog “Nothing In Particular” and the soon-to-be-released book Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane, will be the featured guest at two May meetings of the Raleigh Women’s Coffee & Book Club.

Cohen wrote a popular humor column for several newspapers in California before he and his family moved to Cary, NC, in 2008. Since then, he’s been writing “Nothing In Particular: An incomplete waste of time” (criscohen.typepad.com), a blog that entertains readers with Cohen’s wry and often hilarious takes on any number of everyday subjects.

Recently, Cohen announced that he plans to publish a book this fall, which will be a collection of some of his best humor columns from his California years as well as new pieces he’s written in Cary. Proceeds from sales of Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane will be donated to a local baseball league for kids with special needs, including his own son, Max. Cohen will publish the book through the small press Tyrannosaurus Max Press that he co-owns with his wife Michele in Cary.

For the Raleigh Women’s Coffee & Book Club meetings on May 17 and May 19, Cohen says he’ll talk about how he got his start in writing for newspapers, the odd and funny experiences he’s had as a writer along the way, and his new journey into the precarious world of self-publishing.

“I appreciate them letting me visit and speak to them. I consider women, coffee, and books to be three key ingredients of happiness. Add in wine and a dessert item and I might stay long enough to warrant having my mail forwarded there,” said Cohen, who has already received endorsements for his book from Pen/Faulkner Award-winning author T.C. Boyle and Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist Dave Barry.

The Tuesday, May 17, Raleigh Women’s Coffee & Book Club meeting will be held at Loco Lu’s Coffeehouse, 5210 Hollyridge Drive. The Thursday, May 19, meeting will be held in the Starbucks at 3800 Lake Boone Trail.

The Raleigh Women’s Coffee & Book Club includes over 450 members ranging in age from 17 to 80. Some members join for the reading recommendations only while others attend the monthly discussions. The group meets at least once a month to share coffee and discuss the latest “book of the month” nominated by members of the club. For more information on the club, email Kimber Conners, book club organizer, at thekimberq@yahoo.com.

For more information on Cris Cohen, visit http://criscohen.typepad.com. For more information on his upcoming book, go to www.stayingcrazy.com.