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Friday, March 23, 2012

PAF: Story by Kim Harrington + giveaway!

Paranormal April Fools'

Our post today is from the delightful Kim Harrington, author of the YA Clarity series. The first book, CLARITY, came out last year and its sequel, PERCEPTION, was released on March 1. Keep reading to find out about the pranks Kim has played on her friends and family and make sure to stick around for the fantastic giveaway that Scholastic is offering.

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Confession: I love playing pranks on my family and friends. Loooove it. It’s often the highlight of my day. My shenanigans range from silly little scares to meticulously planned full-scale pranks.

For small scares, here are my old stand-bys:

- There’s nothing like a good static electricity shock in winter. This is half the reason I wear fuzzy slippers. I especially love to zap my husband’s head when he’s watching TV and not expecting it.

- Wrap a rubber band around the spray hose at your kitchen sink and slightly aim it upward. The next person to turn the water on will get a spray in the face.

- Stand quiet and still in a doorway when you know someone’s going to walk by. They will inevitably have the daylights scared out of them, but you can claim innocence by saying, “I didn’t jump out at you! All I did was stand there.” *snicker*

It’s hard to pick one of my more involved pranks to tell you about. One of my favorites was what I did to my poor mother’s stuffed giraffe, but you can read that story already here. Instead, I’ll tell you about a more recent prank I played…on my neighbors.

My friend is super busy and had recently told me she didn’t even have time to take her Christmas decorations down yet. This got my wheels turning. A few days later I painstakingly crafted an Angry Old Lady Letter. In the note, I pretended to be an anonymous neighbor who was deeply offended that my friend had tainted the neighborhood by leaving her decorations up for so long. I then wrote that she had forty-eight hours to remove the decorations or I’d report her to the town.

Here’s the tough part. My friend knows I love to do things like this. I once changed the name on her mailbox to something…funny…and she didn’t notice for a week. So I knew I’d be an immediate suspect. But she also knows I’m a writer. So I purposefully inserted spelling and grammatical errors. Nothing over the top. Only about three of them, including an incorrect usage of “it’s.” Common, but something I wouldn’t do. And I printed the letter in Comic Sans.

We timed the delivery for when one of them was out. My husband snuck up to their house in the dark, like a ninja, and taped the note to the front door. Then we giggled, snuck home, and waited for the phone to ring. Soon enough, they came home, read the note, and immediately posted about it on Facebook. With indignant threats to leave the decorations up all year long.

I nearly fell off my chair laughing.

I let it go on for about thirty minutes, then confessed. That’s another important part of playing a prank. You have to know when to end it.

But the laughing? That never has to end.

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Thanks very much for stopping by, Kim! I think we’ve all learned to beware the next time we see you at a signing. =)

Want to know more about PERCEPTION? Here’s the scoop:

Kim Harrington PerceptionWhen you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you?

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.

Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.
But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

Read Tynga’s Review

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Click on the cover below to learn more about CLARITY:

Kim Harrington Clarity

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giveaway


We have two (2) sets of CLARITY and PERCEPTION to give away, courtesy of the kind folks at Scholastic!

Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions to enter.

US only

Giveaway ends Sunday, April 15, 2012.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Kim Harrington lives in Massachusetts with her husband and son. When not writing, she's most likely reading, watching one of her favorite TV shows, or fantasizing about her next vacation. She has no psychic powers and is cool with that. Her debut young adult novel, Clarity, came out on March 1, 2011 from Scholastic.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Jenn

Born and raised in the Toronto area, Jenn moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, eight years ago for school. She's still in school (thankfully on another degree!), now trapped in her dissertation. When she's not dissertating, which happens more often than it should, Jenn spends her time reading, watching movies, playing volleyball, travelling, and enjoying the local music scene. Her latest addictions: yoga and Almond Crunch cereal.

46 People left their mark' :

  1. Super Excited want to read both! Love these books. Hoping to win!

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  2. I've never really been into pranks.

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  3. I am not a prankster--I can not keep a secret to save my life
    audie(at)wickerness(dot)com

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  4. I've never like doing pranks but I've watch my cousins doing one that well sometimes they go to far!!

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  5. I have never done any pranks. I was always afraid of getting in trouble.

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  6. I've never done a prank so serious that I didn't know when to stop. Usually I do stop because the prank is small. But there was one time when I should have but didn't because the outcome was too funny. :D The guy sat on butter. lol

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  7. I've been known to be quite the prankster myself. I usually know when to stop so that no one's feelings are hurt. One of the best ones to date was when we switched around three of my co-workers desks...down to the picture frames and drawers. Epic!

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  8. I've always hated being the one getting pranked. So I make it a point to NOT engage in the same activity.

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  9. I never take it too far because I can't keep a straight face for that long.

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  10. I havent the group I was with was never really into them.

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  11. Oh, definitely. There was a time when I took everything too far. hopefully those days are mostly behind me.

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  12. I don't do pranks.

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  13. Lol, great guest post. I think I like the part where your husband joined you, the best.
    I once hid some toy mouses from the pet store all over the office, they looked really lifelike, and enjoyed my colleagues screams when they found one.

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  14. I've never done pranks. I'm just not into them.

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  15. I was a huge prankster when I was younger, but I never went too far with them. My most recent prank was when I switched my co-workers Google settings to another language that they don't know. It really confuses them since you have to know what it says to change it back again.

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  16. I've never really done any pranks.

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  17. I don't really do any pranks. I mess with my sister and cousins sometimes but they are small and not out of control in anyway.

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  18. I don't pranks at all. I never had. Tore923@aol.com

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  19. I've never done any pranks before.

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  20. I am a bit of a chicken when it comes to pranks and tend to be an over cautious individual, so no I have not taken a prank too far. Thank you for sharing with us today and for this lovely giveaway opportunity.

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  21. I guess I'm just boring because I dont think I've ever pranked anyone. I havent even done a prank phone call.

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  22. I've never had an issue with pranks. I guess that's a good thing.

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  23. I usually know when to end a prank but I have on occasion taken them just a little too far.

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  24. Not really into pranks - or joking around too much.
    I guess according to my family I am the stick in the mud!
    But I love to read! LOL
    Erin
    loveeria@gmail.com

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  25. I won't go too far in a prank because I always get busted since I laugh prematurely. HAHA!

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  26. I wasn't much of a prancster so I'm not sure if i did take a prank too far. I was mad at my brother once and gave him the silent treatment for a few days and by the end he was on his knees begging me to talk to him!

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  27. I never have, mostly because I'm not very good at pulling pranks.

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  28. Have you ever taken a prank too far? Or do you know when to end it?

    I'm not much for pranks. Not good at it and don't like people doing it to me, lol.

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  29. I am known to be quite a prankster, but i always know when to stop. i never let things get too carried away. Thanks so much for the giveaway!

    Diana

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  30. I have never taken a prank to far, and I definitely know when to end them. Thanks for this chance to read the books.
    ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

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  31. I don't really pull pranks, but I've definitely been on the receiving end of them. April Fools day is a fun day though. Thanks for the giveaway, I would love to win these books!! They sound so good.

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  32. No actually I haven't. My friends pull pranks on me though making me embarrassed most of the time.
    Thanks for the great giveaway!!!

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  33. I will do a prank now and again. I think that these books look and sound amazing. Thanks for the chance.

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  34. I think I know when to end it :)

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  35. Crap!!! I'm so sorry, I put in the wrong tweet link.

    https://twitter.com/#!/deadtossedwaves/status/188041182314635264

    Sorry again!

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  36. I'm not really into pranks but when my sister and I were in grade school we used to trade places in class just to goof around (we're twins, obviously). One April Fool's Day when we did it our teachers realized what we did, dragged us into the same room and started reaming us out for doing it. When they finished they yelled April Fool's! Needless to say, we never did that again!

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  37. Nope, while I like pranks, I'm too much of a wuss to take them too far.

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  38. No, not at all. I do not care to BE pranked or be involved in doing one.

    - Beckie

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  39. I'm not much of a prankster any more. And I can't think of one I ever took too far. My friends and I were pretty good at knowing when to stop. Now my husband, he's a prankster. He told me one of our friends (who were new friends at the time) was pregnant, he then forgot to tell me otherwise because he thought I would figure out he was joking. I went and congratulated her and she was clueless. We have had a lot of laughs about that after the fact. But it was embarrassing at that moment!

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  40. I always forget it's april fools so nope not a prankster.

    -Elizabeth.C

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  41. I don't really do April Fool's pranks but I've seen lots go way too far in school.

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  42. Nope. I don't really like doing pranks

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  43. i do not like pranks. thanks for the giveaway :)

    -chelleyreads

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  44. I don't like pranks I think they are mean.

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  45. We do a lot of pranks in our family too. My mom especially loves April Fools' Day. This year it backfired when she sent a text telling everyone she was hurt and heading to the ER. When her grandson went there looking for her and other family members were going to drive 2 hours to help out, she quickly told them it was a prank!

    Thanks for a terrific giveaway! I can't wait to start this series!

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  46. I don't really do pranks so I don't have either problem

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