Today Erin Judge celebrates the one-year anniversary of her debut novel, Vow of Celibacy, which is on sale for $1.99 on Amazon if you are a Kindle person. I caught up with Erin at the Women In Comedy Festival back in April when she was in town for the Women In Comedy Festival doing stand-up with CAKE Comedy. We talked about comedy then, but didn’t get into her work as an author. So the anniversary was a good opportunity to talk about Vow of Celibacy and what Judge may be doing as a follow-up. Vow is a breezy, entertaining novel with serious underpinnings about body image and sexuality. ““The book is a fun, upbeat, fast-paced novel about female friendships and relationships,” she says.

The main character, Natalie, is a plus-sized, bisexual woman working in the fashion industry. Judge wanted to write something fun but still thought-provoking, and has found it has had an unexpectedly wide appeal. It also won “best fiction” from the Bi Book Awards.

We weave in and out of talking about the book, about Judge’s connection to her protagonist, the differences between her stand-up and the book, and the follow-up she is reluctant to write in the wake of the 2016 election. In between we got into a variety of topics, from Wonder Woman and Ghostbusters trolls to the politics of horror to the difference between performing comedy and drama. And in one of my favorite bits of our conversation, what the Nanny and the Dog Whisperer might have to teach comedians.

Find out more about Erin Judge on her Web site, and find Vow of Celibacy on Amazon. You can also head to the CAKE Comedy Web site to find out about their future projects.

After the conversation, listen for “Photograph Of the Future,” a track from Zion Rodman’s debut album, You’re Invited. Rodman is an amazing singer/songwriter with a particularly clear and smooth voice. You can find out more about him on his Web site.

You can stream or download the episode from the player below, and also subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever quality podcasts are distributed.