Tuesday, August 26, 2008

That Kind of Friend



“Can’t you two be together for more than an hour without getting in trouble?”

It was my distant cousin’s mother who asked that question. I think it had something to do with the roast she’d asked us to cook and together Jenny and I had decided to get creative, and not follow her mom’s recipe. In our young minds, probably around twelve, it made sense that if her mom didn’t like the seasonings, she wouldn’t have kept them in her pantry. How did we know that cinnamon and oregano and hot chili pepper, didn’t go well together? Hey, we were young and in the mood to experiment, live a little.

Yup, there was just something about my cousin Jenny and I. We brought out the adventuresome spirit in each other. Things that neither of us would have done alone, we somehow managed to do together.

I specifically remember that same summer when we took off walking, looking for an adventure. We walked until well, we came upon a pasture and a horse. I swear this was Jenny’s idea, but she didn’t have to twist my arm too hard. She looked at that horse in the big pasture and decided right then and there that we were going to ride that animal like cowgirls.

Now, neither of us had any prior horse-riding experience, no saddles, no bridles, and we soon learned that the horse, or rather we later learned that mule, didn’t have any giving-rides experience. We went home that day bruised, scratched, mule-kicked, smelling like the backside of an animal, and what the mule didn’t cause when it threw us, the barded wire fence did when we climbed it to get away from a fed-up mule wanting to teach two girls a lesson.

Oh yes, Jenny and I sparked something in each other and those sparks generally generated trouble. Growing up, I’ve found that type of relationship with several of my adult girlfriends—actually with most of girlfriends of late. Now, I don’t ruin a good piece of meat by going bonkers with seasonings, and I’m smart enough to know a horse from a mule and you couldn’t pay me to climb on the backside of one again. But there are other adventures that still call my name and sometimes get me and my friends into a little bit of trouble.

I think I may have shared the video teaser we did for The Great Agent Hunt workshop. Well, now that the full video is done, it hit me how this little film production is a fine example of how all my friends are “adventure” sparkers. You can see the video below and as you watch it, imagine us photographing this in middle of a hotel during a huge writing conference. Oh, the looks we got when we had my agent tied, blindfolded, and pulling her down the hotel hall was priceless.

Okay, back to my friends, the co-conspirators of this crazy idea. First there’s Faye and I, who together start thinking . . . wouldn’t it be funny if we had pictures of agents with writers stalking them. And then bam! what seemed like a farfetched idea suddenly became a plan—sort of like seeing a lone mule in the middle of someone’s pasture and deciding to try to ride it. But it took more than just Faye and I to pull this off.

There’s Ruth, who when asked to go to the store and by a gun and rope, never stops to question why—or when asked to smile and show off her green seaweed mask for the camera, does so willingly. (Gotta love her.) Teri, who when asked to stalk an agent in the elevator does so with the most innocent of faces. (Though, she’s not near as innocent as she looks.) Jody, who when asked to tie my agent to the chair, smiles and does it with the most evil of faces. (Jody, by the way, missed her calling as an actress!) Alison, who when asked if she will hide in an agent’s closet, smiles and poses for her moment in the limelight. (There’s a sneaky side to Alison, hiding behind that smile.)

Oh, I can’t forget to mention the agents. The look on Kim Lionetti’s face—Kim is my agent—, when I asked her to get in the shower was priceless. Ahh, but she did it. I love that shot of her by the way! (I think she was genuinely scared of Jody.) Now Jessica Faust, was sort of like Jody, I think she should have gone into theater because she even brought some props with her—handcuffs, among other things. (Who but Jessica would keep handcuffs handy?) Caren Johnson, while posed on the john, had some expressions that had me laughing so hard I almost couldn’t hold the camera still.

I can tell you that this video was as much fun to photograph as it is to watch. And a lot more fun than getting bucked off the back of a mule. While this video is about agents, the story behind the video is about friends—friends having fun, joining each other in a crazy adventure. So do tell me, do you and your friends have adventures? What crazy things have you and your girlfriends done that makes you smile when you think about them? Come on share.

Crime Scene Christie
P.S. For any writers who enjoy on-line classes. Check this out: http://pasic.net/workshops.html

The Great Agent Hunt:



27 comments:

Gemma Halliday said...

I love friends who carry handcuffs. Lol!

Very fun video! I can only imagine what the workshop is like in person. ;)

~Gemma

Nancy said...

I laughed hard enough to do internal damage - what a funny ride!! Thank you Christie and Faye!

I do have friends who inspire me to have adventures. In spite of what you may hear, these are never my idea. Oh, shoot. Must stop typing. I can't get my crossed fingers uncrossed.

Light,
Nancy Haddock

Anonymous said...

Gemma, i promise if you ever have a chance to see Christie speak in Person you do not want to miss it.
Im not sure why Christie hasnt made it to the COMEDY CHANNEL yet.

Terri Osburn said...

OMG! That's hysterical. And what great sports those ladies were. I had a blast hanging with my girlfriends at Nationals - some of us meeting in person for the first time. We may have gotten up to some adventure, but I'm not going to be the one to talk about it. LOL!

Besides, I have the pictures to keep every one else quiet. ;)

Off to check out the course...

Ruth said...

Hey Chrisie,
We did have fun doing the video, so what do we have on tap to do at the Nationals in Washington? Re-enact a murder scene, trap a publisher? Maybe finish off the MK zoombies?

Teri Thackston said...

Watching Christie and Faye "hatch" their video plot was as entertaining as the final product. Thanks for letting me "play", too!
Teri

Anonymous said...

What a riot!!!

Keri Ford said...

Great video. Just how do you plan to top this next year? (Yes, I'm planner, I would have the whole idea for next year thoughts out already!)

And I was a well-behaved good girl, because I'm comming up with nothing adventerous like ya'll did! Approach a mule (course in my youth, I would have know the difference)? Na-uh. You woulda seen me listing the reasons why that's not a good idea!

Christie Craig said...

Ahh Gemma,

I'm surprised you don't carry them in your purse. Admit it!

It was a fun workshop. It would have been ever better if we could have had you, Eve, Leslie, and Leah present like we did in our panel workshop.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Nancy,

We all need those friends. I think there's something about writers D&A that makes most of us adverturesome.

So...uncross your fingers and let's just confess. We are all a bit of troublemakers. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Terry,

I'm waiting for you to get me a spot on that channel. You seem to be able to set just about anything up. Hey...you did a fabulous job being my PR person when I was in Gadsden.

Have I said thank you yet?

Thanks...

CC

Christie Craig said...

Terrio,

Okay...I like how you think. Keep those pictures handy. But...hmm, blogging is dangerous, because those kind of secrets always seem to leak out when I blog.

Next year at Nationals maybe we can stir up some trouble and create some gossip of our own.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Ruth,

Do you want to play the killer at the murder scene? Hey...you know enough about it that at times, it scares me.

Hmm...Publisher? I would suggest we run down my editor, I'm slowly trying to talk him into posing for some shots for The Great Editor Hunt, but he's so darn camera shy, I think I might really have to kidnap him first.

Of course, he's so cute I'll bet I'd have hundreds of women willing participate.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Teri,

We hatch our ideas? Faye's the one that lays the idea, right? She squints and then bam! the idea just pops out of her ear. :-)

We did have fun and you played really nicely.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Tori,

It was a riot. We all laughed so hard it hurt.

Thanks for popping in.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Keri,

Faye and I are brainstorming for next year. Who knows...what we might pull out of my hat!

And hey...where were you when I needed you at age 12. Seriously, both Jenny and I were beaten up really bad.

Thanks for posting.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Thanks Estella.

It was fun to direct these people and try to get the looks from them that I needed. I was trying to make the expressions I wanted them to make and then we'd all get tickled and start laughing.

You wouldn't believe how many pictures I had to retake because someone started laughing instead of looking scaried.

CC

Anonymous said...

Wait a minute. I "lay" ideas by squinting, and then the ideas "pop" out of my ears?

What kind of a freaky dayun chicken does that make me? lol.

Christie Craig said...

Faye,

What kind of chicken do you want to be? :-)

CC

Jenyfer Matthews said...

I couldn't see the video (??) but your description of the action have given me lots of ideas for "approaching" agents at the conference I'm attending in Sept, LOL!

Christie Craig said...

Ahh Jenyfer,

Sorry you could see it. Hey, good luck approaching those agents. Be careful, we learned they can bite when provoked. :-)

CC

Southern-fried Fiction said...

That's hilarious but filled with good tips for newbie conference attenders.

Now - whose Mastiff? :) I have one, too.

Linda Kozar said...

That was hilarious! I've done some of that stuff. . .

Christie Craig said...

Ane,

My daughter has an English Mastiff. She's my grandpup, all 200 pounds and the endless supply of doggy drool. But hey, we love her.

And you'll be happy to know I put her in my next book, Divorced, Desperate and Dating, a December release. And she even made the back cover.

Thanks for posting.

CC

Christie Craig said...

Linda,

Thanks for popping over. I think we've all done a few crazy things. Ahh, but they make for good memories.

CC

AngBreidenbach said...

Thank you. That was adorable.
Angie

Christie Craig said...

Thanks Angie!

CC