When I started this blog a year and a half ago, I had a simple plan; share my stories and hope people laugh. At that I time, I also feared that nobody would read it but I refused to let that fear hold me back.

This week I received an email from Teri Rizvi, Founder of the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, Subject: Erma Bombeck Humor Writer of the Month, and took a header into the keyboard. With a click, I stared in awe at this email:

“Hi, Stacey,Congrats on your upcoming book!  We’ve made you our Humor Writer of the Month for September…..”

Erma Bombeck Humor Writer of the Month

What? Wait a minute? Why me? I grew suspicious.

Was I was selected as Humor Writer of the Month out of sympathy because I had made a fool of myself doing stand-up comedy at the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Conference in April? Then, I signed their permission slip to post the video on YouTube. The rest was cyberspace history.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc1NoZfKsW4&list=UU_DHCY4GOXfRbx2syA-lHMA

Read my story, “I Don’t Suck at Stand-Up Comedy Said Leighann Lord”

Or is it possible she handed me Humor Writer of the Month as a way to apologize for “almost” making me share a bed with a complete stranger at the conference when they ran out of single rooms. Luckily, I finagled my way out of this situation but still, it left some scars.

Maybe, just maybe, I was selected because I had been trampled by 100 crazed women as I tried to get Phil Donahue’s autograph. Women can be so aggressive.

Whatever the reason, “My mama didn’t raise no fool,” and I accepted this honor with thanks. But now I felt the pressure building to maintain the standards of the previous Humor Writer’s of the Month. I’m afraid I will be the one that people ask, “Who? Never heard of her.”

In the end, I’m humbled and honored to be included is this hardworking and amazing group of writers. I want to thank Teri Rizvi one more time for making me Humor Writer of the Month for September. I figured that after all the questions I emailed, she had two choices: give me the award or file a restraining order.

Buy Are You Kidding Me? on Amazon

My book is available on Amazon. It’s filled with stories you’ve never read on my blog, like the time I called SWAT on my neighbor or faked a heart attack in church. Hoping to make you laugh one story at a time.
Purchase on Amazon Are You Kidding Me? My Life with an Extremely Loud Family, Bathroom Calamities, and Crazy Relatives

Here’s excerpts of the previous winners copied from Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop website. I can’t hold a candle to these guys:

Darcy Perdu

This gal’s won three national writing awards in the past year for her humorous take on family life on her blog, So Then…Stories. THREE BIG AWARDS PEOPLE!! Also, she received first place in the 2014 National Society of Newspaper Columnists competition in the blog and multimedia category (100,000 monthly visitors or less) after winning Voices of the Year awards in humor writing for 2013 and 2014 from BlogHer. This list is exhausting. I’m going to cry.

Dan Zevin and 
Jerry Zezima

I met Dan Zevin at the workshop and the guy’s a comedic genius. His stories are featured in in The New York Times for God’s sake. Jerry Zezima’s has a funny column in The Advocate (Stamford, Conn.) Both took first-place honors in humor writing in large and small newspapers, at the 2014 annual column contest sponsored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. You can’t beg your way into these awards.

Mike Sacks

He’s written for Vanity Fair, Esquire, GQ, The New Yorker, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, McSweeney’s, Radar, Funny or Die, MAD, New York Observer, Premiere, Believer, Vice, Maxim, Women’s Health and Salon. His fourth book, Poking A Dead Frog: Conversations with Today’s Top Comedy Writers was published in June 2014. I ran out of room on this blog to add all his accolades but believe me when I say, “Gosh, enough already!”

Elaine Ambrose

Elaine and I were both brave, I mean foolish, enough to tackle stand–up comedy, so I know she earned this award. She’s published nine books including the newly released, Midlife Cabernet: Life, Love & Laughter After 50 and the damn thing won a Silver Medal for Humor from the Independent Book Publisher’s Book Awards Program. I can’t compete with her.

Patricia Wynn Brown

This lady showcased her talents at the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, leaving the audience in stitches. She’s written two books, Hair-A-Baloo: The Revealing Comedy and Tragedy on Top of Your Head and Momma Culpa: One Mother Comes Clean and Makes her Maternal Confession, and a three-time winner of the James Thurber Summer Writing Contest. Hello? Can you say award winner? When does she have time to sleep?

Leighann Lord

Leighann Lord was my mentor at the Stand-Up workshop and she does not have to worry about getting any competition from the other wannabe comedians. She’s been featured everywhere, like Comedy Central, HBO, The View, Si TV. She’s a writer for The Huffington Post, Stagetime Magazine and culture commentator at Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN. Hey, Leighann, go on vacation and leave a few spots for everyone else.

Greg Schwem

He’s a corporate stand-up comedian. That’s all I really need to say, he’s fantastic. But I should add he’s also an author of Text Me If You’re Breathing: Observations, Frustrations and Life Lessons From a Low-Tech Dad and writes a weekly nationally syndicated humor column for Tribune Media Services. Many of his columns appear in The Huffington Post. Take it away, Greg.