In addition to my authorly pursuits, I perform from time to time. And since the publishing world is changing to focus as much on promotion as it does on well, publishing, I’ve been trying to get out and perform as much as possible so I’m in good practice for when I go on the road for Secrets and Lies and The Madness of Method later this year.

Amongst my outings are busking and doing open mic nights with my ukulele, appearing at a live storytelling event in Boise called Story Story Night and a bit of standup comedy.

I feel comedy is especially helpful because it trains you to deal with stressful situations—when people don’t laugh—as well as to think on your feet. Most importantly though, it’s all about keeping the audience’s interest. If you’re not funny, their attention wanes and you feel it instantly. But if you can keep them on the line through engaging presentation, then it’s that much easier to do so with different, even non-comedic material.

This is some video of a recent comedy performance I did in Boise.