My judges for the prank war contest are well-qualified. Vanessa, Larissa, and Erika—don’t you love how their names all end with an [a]? Back in the day (yes, I said ‘back in the day’), they were our fearless generals who led the pranks in our apartment complex to sure victory.

Vanessa is a prankster who flies under the radar. Remaining anonymous is her greatest weapon. While other people get the blame for her covert ops, she continues under the anonymity of her cover by filling about 900 Dixie cups full of water to block bedroom doors, and crushing newspapers to make paper mâché to block front room doors.” All I can say is…seriously? That was YOU Vanessa! See her blog. Click here for her blog

Larissa is the queen of anbesol—you know that stuff that numbs your mouth? She put it on chapstick, toothbrushes, and around the rim of milk jugs.  She is also known to go undercover as a crazy stalker, writing clever poems to her favorite guy friends, declaring her ‘stalkerish’ love for them. Her many exploits did not escape retribution, however, and at times she would be mummified by toilet paper on her way home from school.  Click here for her blog.

Erika (whom we sometimes refer to as the stealth bomber), is the author of such pranks as dipping cottonballs in chocolate and adding them to a plate of real chocolates, toilet-papering her victim’s homes while they sat there, built a cinderblock barricade in front of an apartment door (made sure there were no finals that morning), and turned a black firebird into a very cute Care Bear cloud car. Click here for her blog.

The Rules are simple. Write your favorite prank (one that you did or was done to you) under comments in this blog, Keep it short to a few sentences or a short paragraph (this is not an essay contest), but make us giggle. You can enter multiple times BUT you must separate your entries as a separate comment with just ONE prank each. Anyone can enter and have a chance to win—my best friends, my worst enemies, my family, my writing friends, strangers, my exes, former roommates, anyone! So go for it! We reserve the right to delete the comment if the prank pushes the bounds of legality and/ or is just plain bullying. As we all know, pranks are silly things you do to your friends to get them to laugh, so that your friends know you love them (so make sure your pranks fall under that category)!

The deadline for the contest ends February 5^th at midnight, and we will announce the winner of the contest the morning of February 14^th (the day my book “Prank Wars” comes out)!

The winner will win a kindle. This one: Click here to see it

This will come with a free download of my book, “Prank Wars!”

Good luck! And may the games begin!

For those disbelievers, here it is:

If you’d like to see more clips, teasers, and trailers, see: my website.

Thank you for all your help! I couldn’t have done it without my actors and friends and both!

Being Christmas time, we do a lot of shopping (okay, I am REALLY stretching here), but as of late, I have noticed an alarming correlation between dating and shopping. I asked a select group of my friends what sort of shoppers they were (guys and girls), only to have my theory confirmed. We DO date like we shop. So, I’ve decided to go pseudo-psychology on all of my friends and fix all their dating woes.

CASE ONE:

J has a goal in mind, but on J’s way through the store, J gets lost and buys a whole lot of other things that J doesn’t need and later might not even want. How does J avoid this? J shops through the internet.

Pseudo-psychologist: Have you tried online dating?

CASE TWO:

H looks at everything in the store before deciding what H wants. H tries it all on, stays forever in the dressing room then buys it all and returns it all the next day. If H finds out the store doesn’t have a return policy, H won’t buy from that store. H likes to put things on hold, but H won’t come back for it. The only way H keeps purchases is when H’s parents bought them.

Pseudo-psychologist: Definitely a commitment-phobe. H probably wouldn’t even keep the siblings if H’s parents didn’t force H to be in the family. Possible solutions? An arranged marriage?

CASE THREE:

ST is a “crappy” shopper (ST’s words, not mine). If ST can avoid it, ST doesn’t do it. ST doesn’t like shopping…because ST is cheap.

Pseudo-Psychologist: Uh? Enough said.

CASE FOUR:

JE is meticulous. JE is a comparative shopper and wants the most bang for the buck, so JE buys quality (though JE never wants to pay full price). JE believes buying cheap will cost JE more in the long run because it will shrink or fade. If JE doesn’t have money to shop, JE doesn’t do it.

Pseudo-Psychologist: JE’s a comparative dater and goes for quality…but JE must be willing to pay full price for the best deal! Maybe that means the required time and effort—even if JE doesn’t have the money (i.e; the energy and will to do it).

Author’s note: Oh yes, so wise, pseudo-psychologist, so wise.

CASE FIVE:

PH (brought to you by PH’s popular demand) finds shopping awkward (in own words). PH avoids salespeople, judges styles harshly, is cheap, has unrealistic expectations. PH only shops when it is absolutely necessary (when PH wears down the soles of said shoes until they are gone). So instead of buying these much needed replacement shoes, what does PH do? PH gets spooked by new styles, pushy salespeople, inflated prices, and runs away from the store without buying a single thing.

Pseudo-psychiatrist: Don’t be scared PH.  Your purchases (okay, the whole shoe store) can sense your fear. Salespeople (matchmakers) can be pushy. Agreed. But only if you let them–and you never know, they might have something good to offer. Also, most importantly, don’t shop (date) when you are desperate or you’ll be overwhelmed. Take it easy. Calm down. Don’t be so concerned about your new shoes that you go bare foot forever. You can always take something back. Your new shoes (and the matchmakers) will get over it.

CASE SIX:

ME: I only go shopping when I have a purpose, i.e; ME needs a shirt. But when ME goes to the store, ME ends up only buying pants. The pants aren’t needed…but they look so good. Then ME takes the purchases home and realizes too much money was spent on what ME didn’t need. But ME is too sentimental to take anything back. ME can’t! ME loves the purchases, but ME is rough with them. Many times they end up littering ME’s floor. The only way ME gets rid of anything is if it rips or disappears.

Pseudo-psychiatrist? Obviously…When it comes to dating, I…ur ME doesn’t go for what ME needs, but ME loves whoever it is anyway, treats them roughly (according to the analogy, choke choke) and won’t let them go until they dump ME…or die of old age…whichever.

Yeah, that WAS a crazy correlation. Dating is like shopping? Yeah right (disgusted noise). Although I’m curious, how do you shop?

Kristi Linton (our photographer: see her facebook page) took A LOT of great pictures of “The Legs (our models: Alex Nitz and Hilary Hornberger)” for my “Prank Wars” book cover. Also special thanks to Jacqueline Fowers as our graphic designer.

But since I LOVE all of the photographs, I managed to narrow my favorites down to eight, and from there, I’m hoping you can help me!

For better visuals of the covers, check out my website.

In the next month (the poll closes December 27th), please vote on your favorite pictures for my book cover! If you were to browse a bookstore or the web or whatever, which potential cover would pique your interest?

Please vote for your favorite cover here: Vote Here at this Link!

When my friend Christine Bryant told me she was going Indy with her book “Bound,” I was blown away by the possibilities. I was thrilled to find someone embarking on the exciting journey of e-books. She, and a group of author friends, decided to release their books on 11-11-11. So even though I might possibly be the worst blogger in the history of the world (I’m surprisingly better at twitter), I love Christine’s adventurous spirit. So though it is way too late at night), I am more than willing to do a review of her book, “Bound.”

First of all, I’d like to give you a little background on Christine’s book. It is a YA Paranormal romance. Here is her blurb:

“When a photo shoot ends in tragedy, Kira discovers her best friend, Lydia, has been keeping a secret. Knowing the truth, and accepting it, will change Kira’s life forever and thrust her into a world of ancient curses, magical objects, and savage enemies. What happens next will challenge everything Kira knows about her world, herself and the shape-shifting warrior she’s falling in love with. No longer the timid mouse her mother accused her of being, but a woman who finds the mental and physical strength to endure and survive.”

My Favorite Things:

This is a best friends’ book. The two girls Lydia and Kira are inseparable. They were just two normal girls (well, not NORMAL), but it was refreshing to see a healthy friendship portrayed in a book.

Appreciative nod number two: I’m okay with vampires and werewolves—they’re pretty hot and great dressers—but vampire stories are getting old. So, what does Christine do in the face of this dilemma? She creates a new supernatural brooding half-mortal, and she does a great job of it. She spins a new world within our world to create new rules and new possibilities.

Christine also has a gift with words (a good thing since she’s an author). The plot-line in her story is tight. There are no continuity problems. She’s an expert at twists and plot exposition. Her story is complex in its creativity, but I wasn’t confused once.

My Take:

I read “Bound” in a matter of days, and enjoyed Christine’s fresh take on YA fantasy. This is the first book of a trilogy, and she has set up an exciting tale that will carry onto her next books. However on a side note, there is some violence and sexual tension. Our hero, Octavion is a bit like an Edward or a Heathcliff, though he did show signs of redeeming himself for the sequel. All in all, the book was a swashbuckling adventure, full of creativity with characters demonstrating a fierce loyalty and unconquerable spirit.

Order Christine’s book, “Bound”at christinebryant.blogspot.com 

I think I finally came to that realization after I worked on my carpal tunnel all day trying to put the finishing touches on the latest draft of the “Raven” script for a reading we were doing last night. We absolutely HAD to do this reading because our composer, Hilary, is leaving for the cold lands of the North and we won’t get her back until March when we do auditions, etc..and of course we waited until the night before she left us (um, I’ve got excuses if you need them).

Anyway…I dimly realized around 12:30 am (while we were still waiting for our composer to get home from a date) that I had NOT gone to bed before midnight for the majority of the last week. Even more maddening, my coworker from my ‘real job’ was absolutely right when she told me that no matter how many times I planned to go to bed on time that I never never would, so I should stop dreaming about it and enjoy life as is. I vowed I’d prove her wrong, but as you can see, I really haven’t…

For a good laugh though (and because I love tangents), I really want you to picture my night last night:

Hilary runs home from her date around 1am. Jack and Alex each claim a couch to be our perfect audience members. And then Hilary (in the throes of the worst cold in the history known to our apartment) sings all the songs to our musical with a dying voice. I’m reading all the lines and acting out all the characters (much to the chagrin of our poor neighbors since we have many dramatic death scenes)…and Jack and Alex ‘rest’ their eyes and ‘fight’ the good fight against sleep as the night drags onto the wee hours of the morning . It’s a good thing our musical is the best musical in the world…and totally worth it. Plus, it was the best send-off for Hilary, who doesn’t go to bed until three or four every night anyway.

But yeah, the last few months have run pretty much like this. I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say that after staying up until 5:30 in the morning, and being way too emotional during the kid’s primary program at church today, I realized…I am very excited for Thanksgiving break…because I am doing NOTHING! That’s right. absolutely nothing!

My sister and I have plans to make no plans. I hope this doesn’t mean that we’re going to starve, but there is something absolutely delightful about just staring at the wall and drooling out of the corner of my mouth. I’m thinking about making a fort out of blankets in my living room and watching a cheesy movie marathon…and maybe figuring out how to score a pumpkin pie, walking the streets of Salt Lake. Uh, now I know these are dangerously close to making plans, so I won’t go too overboard with these ideas, but I HAD better not catch Hilary’s worst cold in the history of our apartment because I plan on enjoying my plan of no plans, even if it’s the hardest thing I’ve had to do.

Ever since “Prank Wars” was just a twinkle in my eye, I’ve imagined putting this book trailer together. I thought, what could be better than to have the very people this book is about, act it out, right? Right. Sure. I was at BYU at the time, and I thought it was the best idea ever. How hard could it possibly be to put a thing like this together? The whole idea meant incorporating all of my favorite things: Film, pranks, BYU, my friends, crazy creative ideas, a little bit of stress, a little bit of money (aigh!), and though I didn’t know it at the time—firm resolve and amazing acting abilities.

THE PRE-FILMING DAYS

So since this book is coming out V-Day (Valentine’s Day for all those unfamiliar with my war lingo), I decided to make my crazy idea become a reality and hold auditions. This made me do very unusual things like hike around BYU campus with my nieces, Carissa and Victoria, and put up audition notices. The first thing I noticed was that there weren’t as many places to put random fliers like there used to be. When I went to BYU, we had fliers hanging all over the walls. This time, the walls were white and pristine. It was like walking through memory lane with whitewashed walls. For a person used to chaos, it made me a little jittery. Needless to say, I wasn’t sure how long my fliers would last on the walls before some heartless janitors ripped them down—Oh, you heartless janitors!

So, that’s when I got desperate and turned to facebook. I pleaded for anyone who knew a college student around the Utah area to forward it on to those who might audition. I had to use the phone. Yeah, the phone! And call BYU’s paper, the ‘Universe’ and take out an ad in the classifieds (guys, it was like three dollars a day—it WAS awesome), and then I also had to reserve the Provo City Library (another steal of a deal, I recommend it) for the actual auditions.

A quick side note: I seriously couldn’t have done any of this without my friends; Sandra, Jacqueline and Hilary. We’re called the Triad (because we do ‘Triad Film Productions’), but we were the quad with this project. Sandra made me promise not to offer anyone the role on the spot (since I quite frequently do that) and she manned the role of the ‘contact person,’ Jacqueline designed the advertisements, Hilary knew the ins and outs (since she’s done a million auditions on both sides) and was the perfect consultant. And that left me as the organizer—I guess we all have to stretch our talents out, right?

At this point, auditioners were starting to sign up (wonderful wonderful girls)…though not that many guys. So Hilary (my ‘Raven Musical’ sidekick) and I stormed an “Actor’s Mix and Mingle” in Salt Lake and were tormented by professional actors who wanted to know what we could offer them if they agreed to be in it? Uh, fame? Uh, connections for when we hit it big someday? Uh? It might be fun? After getting raked over the coals with our lack of prepared speeches and calling cards, we eventually found some new friends on our way out the door (Hilary was late for a first date). I felt like Cinderella, leaving behind glass slippers with my number on it…but it was worth it, because as the clock struck twelve (or ten in our case), we found the actors who would later play Byron, Eric, and Sandra (though we didn’t know it at the time). I pleaded our cause while Hilary did a I’ve-got-to-get-out-of-here dance behind them.

AUDITIONS

After all that work, the big day for auditions came. We brought our friend, April (an energetic and bright-eyed friend who immediately put each auditioner at ease by assuming the role as their personal cheerleader). We couldn’t have picked a better girl to greet people outside the big bad audition room. Sandra, Hilary, and I (Jacqueline was in New York) sat behind the auditioner’s table. I had originally planned to let Hilary and Sandra do most of the talking, but they insisted that I get out of my brooding writer ways and man up, so I had to do what actually comes naturally—talk.

The auditioners were so much fun! Throughout the day, I could blink and easily imagine these girls or guys playing the characters that I’d grown to love from my book. It was like seeing them all come to life in front of my eyes. There were so many that we loved: the girl who used her purse as a prop. She played high-maintenance at the drop of a hat. The guy who came straight from skydiving. We only wished he had made an entrance by skydiving through the window, the cute-as-a-button girl who said she’d dye her hair any color anytime, the gorgeous actress that April fought for every step of the way, the girl who was the exact lookalike of one of my nieces (in a few years), the energetic redheads, the girl who ran up the stairs in her rugby clothes two minutes after auditions were over and won the part of Thanh.

Needless to say, our auditioners did NOT make it easy on us. How could we possibly choose between them? Let me tell you, we had some heated discussions trying to decide, but in the end we were very happy with our decisions and hope to still use some of our other favorites in upcoming roles (if they’ll have us).

OUR FIRST FILMING DAY

On Saturday, October 29th, we left Salt Lake at 5:30 in the morning, and after many initial mishaps, we were on our way to Provo to film at my niece’s place at BYU. Provo felt so strange and familiar at the same time.The main thing that stood out was that everyone was so NICE! At one of our filming locations, I tried to call my sister to come help me unload the lights. All I had to say was “I need some help” and a guy from a bike lurched to a stop and offered his assistance. He took a heavy load of water bottles and someone else stopped him to help him out too. We had a helper for our helper! And of course, when we forgot our duct tape, I was quick to remember the ways of Provo. Within moments of knocking on random doors, I was armed with duct tape and ready to go.

Our main cast was exactly how I pictured them in my books, and by the end of the day, the girls were fast friends. Our Madeleine was full of fire and spunk. You will LOVE her facial expressions. Our Tory was a riot—don’t be surprised if you see her gracing the posters of Divine comedy or Comedy Sportz in the near future. Her Canadian jokes came from a bottomless pit (poor Hilary). And of course, the moment our Kali mispronounced ‘polygamy’ in auditions, she was in. She was adorable. We happened to grab our Lizzie at the last second (she’s my niece’s friend), and to be honest, we had no idea if she could act, but THE MOMENT she opened her mouth, I knew we were the luckiest, most fortunate and blessed filmmakers in the world because she WAS Lizzie incarnate! I can seriously go on and on about these actors. Our Byron had his smirk down. Sandra (the character, not the real one) was terrifying—I have NEVER seen a girl apply red glimmery lipstick in such a threatening way (yet in real life, such a super nice girl). Eric was (well…maybe I shouldn’t give him away), but he was just as he should be…and Dune guy—he’s another you’ll have to see for yourself because he was PERFECT! I couldn’t be more pleased with everyone!

As we reached the end of the day, we got to meet our dirty rotten pranksters. I have NOT laughed so hard in a VERY LONG TIME. They were full of energy and spunk. I gave them their prank war props and they took their scenes to an entirely new and hilarious level. They even TP-ed one of our actors until they were mummified. Just like the book, our Tory (sporting aviators, black nit cap, and a bubble camo skirt) led the girls onto glorious misadventures. And our guys (many from our film crew) stole the scenes as the slackers out to steal ammo (marshmallows) and eat it!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU!

Still, none of these scenes would’ve been possible without our crew. Jacqueline was our cinematographer, Sandra was my assistant director, Hilary was our amazing production assistant, Weston was on lighting, Jon was on boom, and Jeremy—well, he kinda did everything! Let me tell you, I’ve looked at this footage, and our lighting and sound has never been so good. And even more amazing, when some of our guy actors didn’t show, the guys on our crew doubled as soldiers. It was the best experience we’ve had with crew so far. Thank you! Also thank you, Colin, for the use of your apartment, for your acting abilities and your wonderful British accent (and an advanced thank-you for letting us use a song from your band “Lovecapades” for our trailer). And finally another big thank-you to my poor niece Victoria and all of her roommates who allowed us to bombard their home and use their apartment. They are and ALWAYS WILL BE remembered as martyrs! I owe you!

All in all, this month has been ONE crazy, busy, and adventurous month! It’s probably why I haven’t been able to post in my blog this whole time (well, I’d like to blame that, but who am I kidding really? I am a terrible blogger). We have one more day of filming left—this Saturday…with snow in the forecast, haha, but that’s the way with showbiz. We will press on, cross our fingers, plunge forward and make the most of it. And no matter what, I’ll always have something really exciting to write about.

Experience NOT required!

We are looking for volunteer college-age actors and actresses to appear in a trailer for Stephanie Fowers’  “Prank Wars.”  All actors will receive copy and credit as payment. The trailer will be featured on the author’s and Triad Film Production’s websites.

The production and auditions will take place in Provo, UT.  Email for location. Actress and Actor playing the main parts of Madeleine and Byron must be able to make both film dates to be considered.  All other roles only need make the Oct 29th film day to be considered.  For more information on Stephanie Fowers and her books please go to stephaniefowersbooks.com

Thank you!

Audition date: Oct 15, 2011

Filming dates: Oct 29th and or Nov 5

To request an audition time, location, or for questions, please send an email and a recent snapshot of yourself to triad.film.productions@gmail.com, under the subject of Prank Wars. Please state what part you are interested in playing and what time between 10am and 1pm are best for your audition.

Please bring a recent snapshot of yourself to your audition.  At the audition you will be required to do a cold read of some of the fun lines from the actual book trailer!

Character descriptions -

THEREFORE, the Deadline for the Prank Wars ebook will be February 2012. So bookmark my blog for updates! We’ll have votes for a cover, contests, book trailer try-outs (you know me, I’m crazy that way), and lots of fun-filled promotions!

‘Prank Wars’ is a romantic comedy; Madeleine Doggett’s life is all war and no love, but she’s been hurt too many times in the dating scene to let the infamous Lord Byron beat her in a huge prank war that has taken over their lives. They’ve had their deserters, their POWS, their casualties, but no one can break or the worst can happen, Madeleine could lose the war of the sexes. But now something strange is happening in Provo, and it’s not just the students. Buried beneath the pranks is a devious conspiracy that threatens their very lives. The only other person who suspects is Byron, and she will never join sides with him…even if he’s the only one who doesn’t think she’s crazy.

I want to publicly thank all of you for all your help with ‘Prank Wars’ (which I will do, but more in depth on my acknowledgments page on my ebook), BUT FOR NOW I’d like to Thank:

*Provo City Towers for letting me come and tour their site over and over again (for reasons that will be revealed in the ebook)

*BYU physics teachers and various engineers from Utah (for attempting to make the science behind the book realistic)

*Lots and lots of friends who suggested I use their ‘real’ life pranks (your pranks were so awesome and crazy that I was accused of not being realistic or very mature…which I LOVE)!

*My 20 + coworkers in the Westech scanning and print room who provided me with all sorts of wonderful inspiration and who allowed me to name characters after them (someday I WILL write a book about our paper flipping days too, I promise!)

*Not to mention the alumni of the now disbanded 73^rd Ward—LOVE YOU guys! Without you, ‘Prank Wars’ would not have been possible.

Furthermore, if this proves to be a great adventure, I may do more of these ebooks, which will mean more books at a lower price and coming at you faster—which means; writing will never be more fun!

As soon as we got to the theater, we KNEW we made the right decision to come as snatchers. There were Harry Potter kids everywhere just ripe for the snatching. Our fellow snatchers swaggered to greet us, and we prepared them for battle (applying emo make-up, tying red bands on arms, the usual). We ducked a Hagrid guy on stilts, glared back at Severus, took a million pictures, and all the while, the schoolkids jumped out of our way, whispering ‘Snatchers.’ I’ll be honest, we were geeked out; it was way better than Halloween.

Before we knew it, we found our seats (and although we didn’t snatch any Harry Potters—security was daunting and ice-cream was calling—we did sneak a picture of a really cute Harry Potter guy). We yawned through a Twilight preview (Jacob taking off his shirt much to the howls of derision from the happy crowd) and then HARRY POTTER FINALLY BEGAN! The excitement in the theater was contagious. I love Harry Potter, but the crowd was the best part about the midnight showing: clapping at every cheesy moment, cheering for Neville, even the obnoxious guy in the back shouting, “You go, girl!” at Professor McGonagall. Of course, much to our delight, the movie even had a little someth’n for the Snatchers out there too!

For those who love the books, I have to say they put the best parts in this movie. I really didn’t have anything to complain about this time around, and whether I caught the contagious excitement from the audience or suffered from lack of sleep, I even got a little teary-eyed at the nostalgic parts—I know strange for a snatcher—but for those who grew up with Harry Potter, we were celebrating the end of an era. I just happened to do it with ice-cream, an obnoxious crowd of larpers, and an ill-gotten wand. What a way to go!