Welcome to again to CentreStage!

CentreStage features amazing authors from around the world, allowing them to shine a spotlight on their books, their lives, their writing or anything else that takes their fancy.

Today, it is my tremendous pleasure to welcome a Mummy Misfit. Yup, that is her Twitter handle, and that is totally what got me intrigued about the lovely Amanda Egan to begin with. We got chatting, and I couldn’t help but read Diary of a Mummy Misfit shortly after, feeling an intense familiarity with the story as though it was part of my own life. That kind of bond between a book, an author and a reader is wonderful, and I’ve admired Amanda for pulling this off ever since.

Amanda talks today about her son, sense of humour and a little bit about the daily life in the ‘Misfit’ household. Take it away, Amanda!

Making Them Laugh…

My son turned seventeen this month and as I look at the HUGELY handsome young man he’s turning into, I get that typical ‘mumsie’ bubble of love and pride swell within me.

Anyone who has followed my story, on my blog or author page, will know that he hit a tough time at the age of eleven.  The transition to secondary school was not an easy one for him and ‘school phobia’ set in. He struggled with this condition for three years, which meant many missed hours of education and socialising with his peers.

Nicky says: That sounds tough. But together, you got through it and he didn’t give up, right?

No, he didn’t. Despite all of that, he kept on top of his studies and, more importantly, retained his fantastic sense of humour.  Last year he gained A’s and B’s in GCSE’s and this year achieved B’s in AS levels.  But if there was an exam for making people laugh, he’d sweep the board.

Nicky says: What with educational reform under way, maybe we can suggest a GCSE (or whatever they’ll call it) in Humour and Laughter, it’s a true life skill. 🙂 Has he always shown a GSOH?

Indeed! It’s a talent he was clearly blessed with and it was apparent from a very early age.  No mother can keep a straight face when their three-year old looks at them and then at his Linda McCartney veggie sausage and says, poker faced, ‘Why did you put a poo on my plate?’

Nicky says: Sorry to interrupt, but you caused me a belly laugh. What on earth did you reply, I wonder? But I digress, sorry…

And to this day, no matter how miserable I may be feeling, he can always manage to make me laugh.  As he matures his humour is becoming sharper, more topical and sometimes pretty obtuse – but his comic timing is always perfect.

Making people laugh is a gift.  I grew up in a house of one-liners and jokes, as did my husband.  Maybe we’ve passed that gift to our son – who knows? – but I truly believe that without a sense of humour, you’re sunk.

Nicky says: Hear, hear, I am with you 100 per cent of the way. Life’s too short not to laugh about it.

Even during the really bad times, a giggle may be just the thing you need.  I speak from experience here, trust me.  It’s been a tough few years in the Misfit Household but we always know that we can laugh together – sometimes laughing through tears, but it still helps.

Maybe that’s why I choose to write books with a humorous edge.  There’s enough misery in real life!  Open my pages and be tickled!

Nicky says: Your pages do tickle! But I think I may have already mentioned this…

So I pray that my gorgeous boy will always bring a smile to people’s faces and that, one day, his own children will inherit his wit and carry on the family tradition.

Nicky says: I bet they will. You’ll be reading about it in his very own Diary of a Granny Misfit! Thank you for sharing this nugget of your life with us today, I am honoured. Now tell us a bit more about your latest masterpiece!

Completing the Puzzle

Middle aged and middle-of-the-road, Fee Crawford has been drifting through life in a passionless marriage and hurtling towards the menopause.

With her twin boys grown up and needing her less, why does she still feel incomplete?

Coping with her elderly dad, increasingly distant husband and flighty best friend, Cordelia, her life seems to be spiralling out of control.

Will a chance meeting with a handsome vet be the missing link to make everything fall into place?

 From the author of the ‘Mummy Misfit’ books comes:
‘COMPLETING THE PUZZLE’
A tale of families, love and mid-life crisis.

Nicky says: Wow, I can’t wait to get stuck in! Lastly, tell us something about YOU.

About Amanda Egan

Born and bred in London, Amanda trained professionally as an actress and is now a humorously perceptive chick/mummy-lit writer.

A voracious reader of the genre herself, she began focusing even more on her writing soon after her son developed school phobia at the age of eleven and she had to physically remain in the background at his school for nearly three years until he regained his confidence. Much reading, observing and writing ensued from her confined quarters in the school car park.

The resulting debut novel, ‘Diary of a Mummy Misfit’, was a tongue-in-cheek look at the easily recognised types of self-obsessed mums you can find at prep school gates the world over – “the Meemies” – and follows the journey of Libby, an ordinary mum who discovers the chasm between the Haves and the Have-nots. ‘The Darker Side of Mummy Misfit’ followed and June 2012 saw her venture into romance with ‘Completing the Puzzle’.

Follow Amanda’s news and discussions with her readers on Facebook page “Diary of a Mummy Misfit”, her blog “Diary of a Mummy Misfit Blog” or follow @Mummy_Misfit on Twitter.

You can buy all of Amanda’s books via Amazon.

Thanks so much to Amanda for visiting here today and sharing the importance of laughing with and at life. I thoroughly enjoyed your feature!

So, dear friends. Laughter through the tears, taking the rough with the smooth: what’s your philosophy?