As mentioned in my last post, I secured an interview with the author of Nursing: The Funny Side of the Bedside. Here, in Blog Post #57, I share the interview answers and all the amazing insights of book author, Roy G. Mundheim. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Me: “Thank you for doing this despite your crazy busy schedule. I appreciate you finding time for me.”

Roy: “No problem. When I heard you wanted to interview me, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. You’re the best blogger/ writer I know.”

Me: “Thank you. What got you started writing? I mean you don’t have any formal training or degrees or anything. What made you want to do this?”

Roy: “I always enjoyed writing, a lot more than reading actually. I always found it to be a great creative outlet. I had taken a couple university writing courses but never thought of it as an actual career option. I don’t think I would enjoy it or be as good at it if it was a fulltime career… and journalism would never be my thing. I really got started by seeing ads on social media and YouTube saying anyone could be a writer. I thought, ‘Hey, I’m anyone. I can do that.’ The rest is history all while history is being made. I’m also crazy funny and thought I should share that with the world.”

Me: “That you are! Was it difficult to get started?”

Roy: “Not really. There’s so much information on the interweb thing regarding building a webplace that I just started there. A person can learn to build a car, fix a house, speak a language, or write a book just watching YouScreen. It’s an awesome time to be alive. The difficulty was (and is) not getting distracted by crazy cat videos, Words with Foes, or Facebook meemees. If you can ignore that stuff, any task, skill, or knowledge can be yours.”

Me: “Where did the idea to write a book come from?”

Roy: “I had already written so many hilarious jokes in my blog and in articles that the volume of material was almost overwhelming. It seemed almost natural to turn them into a book. The idea really came to me watching a Peruvian movie called Soltera Codiciada. The main character had started a blog that became popular. She then decided to turn it into a book. I decided to do the same. By the way, I’m a huge fan of the photography in your blog. It is just so raw and real.”

Me: “Thank you. I’d like to ask you about your photography. It’s so inspirational.”

Roy: “I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to travel around the world. The many beautiful backdrops I have access to combined with amazing technology makes it difficult not to get great shots. I mean, look at this one from Shanghai I took in 2016. That wasn’t even a sunny day yet the colors just pop.”

Me: “What do you want people to get out of Nursing: The Funny Side of the Bedside?”

Roy: “I’d like people to get two things:

1. I’d like it to get people thinking about healthcare and its future. We can do better and set up a better system once we acknowledge that the current system is …well….’funny’.

2. Entertainment. I hope people enjoy it and find the ‘funny’, just like the blog.”

Me: “The book is such a great mix of funny and serious. I really enjoyed it. Tell me about ‘Words of Wisdom’ from your blog. Maybe you could share some with my readers.”

Roy: “Sure. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. People are going to be critical and some won’t like it but do it anyway. Got an idea? Get started… even if at first you’re like a dog with a boat.”

Me: “Haha. That’s so good. That’s why I love you and your work. Amazing. How do you come up with these jokes? It’s just so genius. Can you come up with one now for my readers or share a new one that we haven’t read?

Roy: “Sure.”

Me: “This, I’m going to Enjoy.”

Roy: “Pick a topic and I’ll make a joke. It can be nursing, languages, science, math, housing, cars, construction, sports, or anything. You pick.”

Me: “Ok. Cars. Try that.”

Roy: “Ok… Since I’m a writer and we’re both in Vancouver, you should call this blog post, ‘Interview with the Van-writer’.”

Me: “What the truck? How did you do that?”

Roy: “Now you may have taken this joke a little too car.”

*Insert High-Five here.

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Me: “Not bad. Now do a math one.”

Roy: “I’ve sold so many books, I have had difficulty figuring out the profits vs. the expenditures. My wife said I should get help from her friend Dan, who is an accountant.

I said, ‘I don’t know him from Adding.’

 

“I could also combine those jokes by mentioning ‘Le stat’ but that’s maybe a bit too far advanced for the average general reader.”

Me: “OMO! Le Stat! That is so crazy good. Other level!! Hahaha. You are awesome. You’re my favorite writer of all time and so funny. Thank you so much for doing this.”

Roy: ” No problem. You run my favorite blog and there was no way I was going to miss out on this opportunity to be interviewed. All the best. Love ya.”

*Insert Hug here.