Today I have the pleasure of having Anna Banks author of the Of Poseidon series stop by the blog with a hilarious story of the ultimate April Fool's day. But before that let me tell you a little about Anna's new book Joyride.
A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other—in this sparkling standalone from NYT-bestselling author Anna Banks.
It’s been years since Carly Vega’s parents were deported. She lives with her brother, studies hard, and works at a convenience store to contribute to getting her parents back from Mexico.
Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He dated popular blondes and had fun with his older sister, Amber. But now Amber’s dead, and Arden blames his father, the town sheriff who wouldn’t acknowledge Amber's mental illness. Arden refuses to fulfill whatever his conservative father expects.
All Carly wants is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to NOT do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they’ve been living according to others. Carly and Arden’s journey toward their true hearts—and one another—is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh.
April Fool’s Day on Steroids, Anna Banks Style
A lot of people ask if I’ve ever played any of the pranks I wrote in JOYRIDE. The truth is, I’ve enjoyed employing ALL the pranks in JOYRIDE. I’ve been a prankster for as long as I can remember. But there was this one time, this one April Fool’s day, where I really outdid myself. Here’s the story:
I was thirteen. My accomplice, my niece Jennifer, was twelve. It was April Fool’s eve and we were pre-gaming it; encouraging our parents to drink. Even my mom—who never drank alcohol—consented to having a beer. A beer that would later become her arch nemesis.
As the adults began staggering to bed, and as the snores erupted throughout the house from the master and guest bedrooms, Jennifer and I got out a list. A list that had been weeks in the making.
Our main focus was the bathroom. We wanted to mar the sanctity of the bathroom so that no one would ever feel safe there again. Not even ourselves. We began by lifting the toilet seat and stretching saran wrap tightly across it, so it was this clear porcelain drum. We put the seat back down, and proceeded to paint clear nail polish on the soap bar, rendering it useless. We removed any and all towels from the vicinity. On our way out, we taped the light switch down.
From there we moved to the kitchen, pouring salt in the sugar dish, food colored water in the dish soap, and dirt in the coffee grounds. We greased the handles of everything in the kitchen that had handles. We set a scary mask inside the freezer for an early morning scream. Again, we painted the bar of soap at the kitchen sink with clear nail polish. Again, we removed all towels from the vicinity. Since the laundry room was so close, we decided it would be a good idea for one of us to poop in the cat’s litterbox. It looked almost like art.
It the bedroom as my parents slept, I sewed their slippers shut. We sprayed a touch of shaving cream in their hands. We rearranged their closet and froze all their clean underwear. But alas, our pranks had come to an end, because the beer Mom had enjoyed hours before suddenly started pushing
against her bladder. Jennifer and I crept to the living room where we had assembled sleeping bags to watch it all unfold.
Mom came out of the bedroom with a confused expression—she wasn’t wearing her slippers. She was also wiping her hands on her robe, which meant that even in her state of half-slumber, she registered the shaving cream we’d placed there. We crept quietly behind her as she made her way to the bathroom. The light switch was taped down, so Mom would have to navigate in the dark—and she still wasn’t sure what exactly was going on. The moment we heard the pee-drum go off in a sort of liquid staccato, we held our breath, waiting for the reaction. “WHAT THE HELL?” is what we were rewarded with.
It was followed by undignified grunts, the sound of running water and the inevitable “What the hell?” again as she realized her soap would not lather. Then, when she realized there were no towels to be found. Also, another expletive over the realization that the light switch was taped very thoroughly in the “off” position.
Bursting out of the bathroom (by then Jennifer and I had made it safely to the living room and were good little sleeping children) Mom rounded the corner wearing her soaking wet pajama pants halfway down and a scowl that could scare a rabid Sasquatch. We listened as she fumbled through her closet, unable to find a matching pair of pajamas or even a decent shirt. And certainly her underwear drawer was emptied just moments before. What she possibly found to replace her pissy pjs, we couldn’t know. In the process, in the glorious game of dominoes we’d concocted, she had awakened my father, who could never go back to sleep after he woke up.
The kitchen was waiting for his slipper-less self. Salt in his coffee. A scary mask when he opened the freezer to take out his daily serving of bacon—and that’s after several attempts because we greased the handles. He kept walking to the laundry room and sniffing the air. One can only hope he was enjoying the abstract art we’d created for him in the litter box.
Oddly, our parents were too impressed to ground us for our masterpiece. They’d forgotten that it was April Fool’s day—and we certainly hadn’t been reminding them—and so it was shame on them for failing to remember what brilliant children they had raised. Our actions had been fair and just. There was no retaliation, no shouting or hair snatching. Just laughter and salty coffee and frozen underwear.
Along with a well-deserved nap that afternoon…
After reading that I can't imagine what kind of pranks the character's in Joyride get up to!
I also have a giveaway for a copy of Joyride! U.S./ Canada only!
I also have a giveaway for a copy of Joyride! U.S./ Canada only!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Also be sure to check out Anna on social media because she is hilarious, and I'm sure she has even more awesome stories to tell on the rest of the tour so be sure to check it out!
Author Links/Info
- Add Joyride to your to-read list on Goodreads.
- Join in on social media with #Joyride.
- Visit Anna’s website and follow her on Twitter!
Full Blog Tour Schedule
May 7- The Reader Bee
May 8- A Perfection Called Books
May 9- The Young Folks
May 10- Love Is Not a Triangle
May 11- The Eater of Books
May 12- Xpresso Reads
May 13- WhoRU Blog
May 14- Bewitched Bookworms
May 15- A Book and A Latte
May 16- Green Bean Teen Queen
May 17- Gone With The Words
May 18-Bumbles and Fairytales
May 19-Fiktshun
May 20-Curling Up With A Good Book
May 21-Swoony Boys Podcast
May 22-A Reader’s Adventure
May 23-The Irish Banana
May 24-Exlibris Kate
May 25-Love At First Page
May 26-Adventures of a Book Junkie
May 27-Dana Square
May 28-Rather Be Reading
May 29-Paper Riot
May 30-Mundie Moms
May 31-Mary Had A Little Book Blog
June 1-Alice Marvels
June 2- MacTeenBooks Blog
