Author April Fools

Did you know muses love April Fool’s Day? As if authors don’t have enough to contend with, that  claim is true. My Muse certainly does love a good joke, and because I have a lot of writer friends, I know everyone else’s does, too. Why? Because, when they aren’t helping with creativity, every muse that pairs up with an author loves to make its writer look or feel foolish once in a while.

Not every muse chooses April first on which to play pranks—that would make the rest of the year too boring. But, mine happens to have chosen the prankster’s favorite holiday—today—to play a winding and intricate trick this year. And she (I have a smart but very silly female muse who is friends with my very creative but naughty female internal editor) set it up weeks ago!

Thalia, the muse of comedy: my muse's muse!

What’s the dastardly trick, you ask? Let me take you back for one minute to my history of being a great April Fool’s dupe. I might be the easiest person in the world to trick. I never think of the obvious explanation for anything first, and I never remember an old prank so will fall for it multiple times. The best example is that for at least ten years, my son would tape the trigger on my kitchen sink sprayer down and I would turn on the water and get soaked. Every. Year. He even did it a couple of times after he moved out. The sneak.

Fortunately, I’m a pretty good sport. You have to be when you’re a serial dupe. I’ve always wanted to put a chronic fall guy in a book and, so, I included April Fool’s Day in my brand new, soon-to-be-released Sottish Contemporary novel Never and Forever Scotland. I even included a brother who pulled the sink sprayer trick on my hero, and it was darn funny (okay, it was funny to me). Well…the first inkling I should have had that my muse was taking advantage of me being a good sport was when I realized, so sadly, that favored scene didn’t fit into the book. I had to leave it on the cutting room floor.

No worries! April Fool’s Day still played a part. In fact—in a GLIAS exclusive, here is the first line of Never Forever Scotland (an actual thank you, Muse):

“Ewan Portman hated practical jokes.”

Maybe you can see now why that line tickles me! And it sets up our hero Ewan’s receipt of a letter he’s certain is an April Fool’s joke—a letter telling him he’s inheriting a big piece of land in the Scottish Highlands.

Spoiler: it’s not a joke.

My muse dropped her prankster persona while we wrote this story—and we both ended up loving it—adoring it even. But then Ms. Muse picked up her impish mantle again and started leading me toward April Fool’s Day. The first thing I did was pick a release day in mid-March and Muse suggested, “No, wait, the book starts on the first of April—let’s release it on April first!”

Brilliant.

Here are four things that happened: 1) Editing took two weeks longer than anticipated; 2) There were technical issues with the cover; 3) A beta read got postponed; 4) Ms. Muse taped the sprayer down and I got soaked.

Okay, not that last one—but the other three were the writer’s equivalent of getting doused with water, aka, reality. Reality happens to writers.

So it is that Never and Forever Scotland got April Fooled and will not release on April Fool’s Day. Haha—April Fool’s! On a serious note, I just read an article aimed at authors, telling us not to be harsh with ourselves or the world when deadlines, publishing schedules, and writing progress gets changed or thwarted. It’s the world right now—pandemic brain hits authors AND it hits readers. The world is still crazy and not back to normal yet, so we have to continue rolling with the punches. I believe that. We should all be kind to ourselves and others while we get to the end of this stupid time -- and beyond.

BUT! I also believe this: I don’t think my muse has pandemic brain. I think she simply likes messing with me. And in a month—when the book DOES release—I’m gonna get her back!

 Happy April Fool’s Day, everyone! I'd love to know – do you like April Fool’s Day or do you pay it no mind? Have you ever played pranks on anyone? What was your best-ever AFD joke?      

  

 

First Fridays with the Crew. Fool You Once...

April Fool's!

Today the crew is celebrating a day of light-hearted fun...or mean pranks, depending on your point of view.

E.E. Burke

Being a history geek, I was curious as to when all this foolishness originated. Here's what I found out…

References to April Fool's Day can be found in the early 1500s but these references were infrequent and often vague. It wasn't until the 1700s that detailed references to this curious tradition began to appear with regularity. But by that time, the custom was established throughout northern Europe and was regarded as coming from antiquity. How could a tradition be adopted by so many different European cultures without provoking comments in the written record?

April Fool’s!

Theories have been put forward about how the tradition began but few have enough evidence to back them up. So, the origin of the "custom of making April Fools" remains a mystery.

Let’s take a look at some of the most famous April Fool’s jokes.

Surely, you jest! 

I worked for the Associated Press for two years, so I know how seriously they take the news. But being the first to break a story sometimes leads to red faces later...

In 1983, Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University, provided an alternative explanation for the origins of April Fools' Day. He claimed to have traced the practice to Constantine's period, when a group of court jesters jocularly told the emperor that jesters could do a better job of running the empire, and the amused emperor nominated a jester, Kugel, to be the king for a day. Boskin related how the jester passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day and the custom became an annual event. Boskin explained the jester's role as being able to put serious matters into perspective with humor.

An Associated Press article brought this alternative explanation to public's attention in newspapers, not knowing that Boskin had invented the entire story as an April Fool's joke and the new organization was not made aware of this until some weeks later!

Taco Liberty Bell

In 1996, Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in the New York Times, announcing they had purchased the Liberty Bell to “reduce the country’s debt” and had renamed it the Taco Libery Bell. When asked about the sale, White House press secretary Mike McCurry replied that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold and would henceforth be known as the Lincoln Mercury Memorial. 

OK, now that you’re laughing, let’s get to my favorite…

Light on their feet.

In 1976, British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore told listeners of the BBC Radio that unique alignment of two planets would result in an upward gravitational pull, making people lighter at precisely 9:47 am that day. He invited his audience to jump in the air and experience "a strange floating sensation". Dozens of listeners phoned in to say the experiment had worked, among them a woman who reported that she and her 11 friends were "wafted from their chairs and orbited gently around the room.

The Brits will believe anything! 

Proof in point: This 1857 invitation lured many guests.

The "Annual Ceremony of Washing the Lions" at the Tower of London. Can anyone spell g-u-l-l-i-b-l-e? 

This month, I have a new book coming out. Patrick’s Charm, Book 2 in The Bride Train series. It's a story about a mummified mail-order bride who becomes a mortician's favorite piece of jewelry... 

April Fool's! 

OK, enough fooling around. Let’s see what the rest of the crew has to say about April Fool’s Day…

Clover Autry

I have a brother who was born on this date. He was the first boy after 5 daughters so when my prankster dad tried to tell my grandparents the good news, they were convinced it was an April Fool's prank. A boy? Right. They wouldn't believe it until they saw the baby for themselves. 

Here's a Time Travel "April Fool's"...

The Sweetheart Tree by Clover Autry

Not a history enthusiast, Bree doesn’t pay much attention while at the Civil War museum with her history-buff sister. Though letters behind glass and a multitude of initials carved into the Sweetheart Tree do cause Bree to wonder if she will ever find someone to love that wholeheartedly.

She never expected to be thrown back in time; or to find the answer in the warm gaze of a confederate lieutenant. A lieutenant who, should he live, will alter history

Alexa Bourne

April Fool's Day has never been very important in my world until my second year of teaching. 

I was teaching 2nd grade and I had a very rambunctious student, a little girl who acted silly, drove the staff crazy and had one of those smiles that made you forget all the problems she instigated. 

To Purchase

One day we were talking about birthdays and she blurted out that hers was April 1st. 

I thought she was playing a joke...until I checked her file in the office. At that point I thought if anyone should have an April 1st birthday it should be this child! For the record, she's now in college, we're still in contact and she's still a great person!

My latest release is about a psychic...no kidding... 

Avril Tremayne 

I'm sure there are many April Fool's jokes I've experienced in my life that I've blocked out of my memory banks as too traumatic! 

But coincidentally, at a recent family gathering, I asked the general question if anyone was planning anything special for April 1 2016, and the only pregnant member of the family - who works about 2,000 hours a day (slight exaggeration) and is planning on going on maternity leave only a few days before the due date in April - said she'd been pondering whether to pretend her waters had broken on April 1.

To Purchase

I can only imagine the pandemonium that would ensue!

Weirdly, one of my books has an unexpected delivery, which puts the heroine (a nurse) and hero (a TV star/Documentary maker) on the spot to deliver a baby at  home out of the blue - but it is no joke, I assure you.

Regan Walker

This is one April Fool's joke that backfired on me. My son was raised to be unafraid of any critter. But for some odd reason he fears spiders. One April Fool's Day when he was about 8, I served up his breakfast oatmeal and said, "Oh dear, there's a spider in it!" 

He backed away from the bowl so fast he was a blur. His grandmother, sitting next to him, just smiled. (She wasn't afraid of spiders either.) 

I said, "It's April's Fools, honey. Not to worry!" Well, do you think he would eat that oatmeal after that? Not on your life.

My new release, coming in May, is REBEL WARRIOR, book 3 in the Medieval Warriors series, which can be read as a stand alone. A tale from Scotland of old where danger lurks in every corner with raiding Northmen, clashes with Norman knights and love’s betrayal in the king’s court—an adventure with true love as its end!

Have fun today! And don't get fooled!