ParaLies by Joshua Quinn

"This is one of the BEST books I've read this year! If Joshua asks $ 200 for this book... it is still a low price for it. Just one routine (and here I'm thinking about the Billion Monkeys Book Test) can have an awesome impact if inserted (in the right place) in your show." - Paolo Cavalli  

"There is a TON of wonderful thinking and great material in this book. I completely enjoyed everything I saw (and used it!). Besides very solid, working material there is plenty of deep thought, new tools, applications and techniques (psychological and mechanical) that will be of tremendous use." - Jerome Finley  

"One of the most clever and fun collections of ideas I've read in a long time. The thinking is devious and sometimes borders on twisted. There's something for everyone here. Except Greg Arce. There's nothing in it for him. Absolutely nothing." - John Riggs  

1. Divine freely thought-of words which have never been written down, whispered, pointed at, picked from a list or book or stack of cards, or otherwise physically manifested in any way; words which exist solely inside someone’s mind.
2. Visibly bend a signed coin which has genuinely never left the audience’s sight since being shown, in its entirety, to be unmistakably, perfectly straight.
3. Make someone unable to see a picture drawn on a card at the same time the rest of the audience sees it clearly—and then show her a video of herself looking at the picture but not seeing it.
4. Subliminally influence someone’s mental choice of a playing card with a hidden-in-plain-sight prediction that’s on display all along, but that no one notices until you point it out.
5. Surreptitiously learn the favorite colors of up to three audience members with absolutely no writing or speaking on their part, and then use the info in your favorite chair routine, one-ahead, Q&A, etc.
6. Let your audience experience a powerful and incontrovertibly real manifestation of their own mental abilities by successfully duplicating a picture drawn by one of their own.

These are only a few of the highlights from ParaLies, the highly-anticipated, first full-length book by Joshua Quinn. At 257 pages, the book contains 21 items in three sections: Pareidolia, Paronomasia, and Paraphraseology (plus two Pasteboard Interludes, for those with an interest in things card-related). It’s brimming with solid, workable material and fresh, bold ideas representing the best of Joshua’s creative output in mentalism—from stage and parlor pieces, to close-up effects, to impromptu demonstrations, to over-the-phone routines, to utility devices. Some of these secrets have been quietly creating a buzz for some time among the few who knew them, while prompting eager inquiries from those who had heard about them. Now for the first time, they’re being released to the community at large. See the complete contents here.  

SECTION ONE: PAREIDOLIA  

Effects that rely on making people see things, patterns, and causal connections that aren't really there or occasionally vice-versa.  

Bendito:   A coin which has genuinely never left the audience's sight since being shown to be clearly, unmistakably, entirely straight, visually bends in your hands. It's then immediately handed out with no switching. Oh, and did I mention it can be signed?  

Xijatsey:   A hidden-in-plain-sight prediction of a mentally chosen playing card, which can serve as a revelation, a means of subconscious influence, or both. Can be performed in virtually any situation, large or small, in person, over the phone, on the air, or online.  

C.S.I.C.O.P.:   A demonstration of invisibility through suggestion. A card with two images drawn on it is shown to a volunteer and to the rest of the audience simultaneously. Everyone can see both images, yet a moment later, the volunteer insists that there was only one image there. She's then very surprised when she sees the second image, more surprised when the rest of the audience backs up your story that it was there the whole time, and even more surprised still when you show her a video of herself looking right at the image but not seeing it.  

Fate Rules:   A pair (or more) of ungimmicked cards from a popular party game, which can force a positive or negative outcome as many times as you wish. A true utility item, these can be used in a liar/truth-teller routine, as a forcing tool, in readings, living-and-dead tests, etc.  

My Zeneration:   An ESP card-matching routine that meets the following conditions: you and a spectator each have five (and only five) cards; you always choose your card first, and she then lays down the card that she thinks will match it; the cards are laid out into rows, not stacked on top of one another; once they're laid down, they're never touched again until the spectator turns them over to reveal the matching pairs; and everything can be examined. Alternately, you can also reveal matching pairs as you go, or involve multiple spectators, having them each match one pair of symbols.    

PASTEBOARD INTERLUDE  

A pair of refreshing color changes to cleanse the palette.  

SECTION TWO: PARONOMASIA  

Effects accomplished through well-chosen words, shrewdly fashioned phrases, and convenient idiosyncrasies of the English language.  

Deckquivoque:   A well-honed system for using equivoque to force one card out of fifty-two, plus thoughts and strategies for using equivoque with large numbers of objects in general.  

Verbal Forking:   Some useful bits of equivocal phraseology for those who perform spontaneous, cutlery-based metallurgical transformations in the wilds of the real world.  

Memorandom:   An experiment in "memory misdirection." To begin, a spectator freely names a two-digit number. You write the number on a card, and have it verified and signed by three other "witness" spectators. Finally, after much buildup, the first spectator opens a sealed prediction, on display from the beginning, which reveals... nothing but a bad joke. However, in the aftermath, the real purpose of the procedure comes to light: each of the three witnesses remembers seeing a different number on the card, and they're all wrong. The scene is then replayed to demonstrate how you subtly manipulated their memories while making them think something else entirely was going on. As a kicker, you reveal that you did correctly predict the number after all.  

Invisible Brushes:   A way to turn a potential hazard in an Invisible Touches-type routine into a strong asset. (Requires knowledge of the original Invisible Touches effect.)  

The Billion Monkeys Book Test:   An impromptu, any-book routine that elevates the standard book test plot into something more logical and more impossible: rather than revealing a word chosen from a book, you reveal a word that exists solely in someone's mind. The word selected from the book serves merely as a random starting point for a series of free mental associations, all of which could go in any number of different directions, and which are never written down, verbalized, or communicated in any way. The result is a 100% mentally-selected, wholly arbitrary word which, even if you had learned the original word, you now couldn't possibly know, which makes it all the more incredible when you reveal it.  

Thought Chunnel:   Like the Billion Monkeys Book Test, but without the book. Someone merely thinks of any random word (yes, really), changes her mind a few times, and you tell her the word she's thinking of. Useful as a show piece, an impromptu demonstration, an over-the-phone deal closer, or the perfect response to the "Okay, then tell me what I'm thinking" challenge.    

PASTEBOARD INTERLUDE 2  

Further remnants of the author's former life as a card junkie: a low-maintenance, high-impact moving hole effect, and a quirky, unexpected twist for a grizzled old warhorse.  

PART THREE: PARAPHRASEOLOGY  

New methods for classic plots, novel applications of known principles, and improved designs for utility devices.  

Cinefauxbulation:   A perfect closer for after-proms, weddings, or any couple-themed event, this triple prediction sends the VIP couple on a spontaneous movie date. You bring the couple onstage and hand them a large folded card to hold (no box or envelope, just the card). Members of the audience then call out a random day, time, and current movie title. With no assistance from you, the couple then opens the card to reveal exact predictions of the movie, time and day printed in large letters inside, plus a special surprise kicker that will turn the prediction into a memorable, real-life event.  

The Word To Your Mother Book Test:   A DIY gimmicked book that allows for the cleanest, most "inside their head", single-word revelation around. While your back is turned, the spectator opens to any page, thinks of any word, then concentrates on any letter in that word. You first reveal the letter she's thinking of, then go on to reveal the rest of the word letter-by-letter (or in any other way that will bring joy into your heart).  

The Uncertainty Principle Book Test:   Another DIY gimmicked book which allows you to reveal three different thoughts. The spectator mentally chooses three items from anywhere on her chosen page: first a word, then a single letter, then a second word. You write down your impressions of each of them, and then before the spectator says a word, you show your impressions of all three of her choices to the audience. She then reveals her thoughts, confirming that you got them all right.  

Thwarpie:   A practical, reliable Sharpie thumb tip writer that you can make in about five minutes, using items you probably already have around the house (provided you're a magic geek who has a spare thumb tip lying around).  

Code-A-Chroma:   While talking about colors and their meanings, you secretly learn the favorite color of at least one, and possibly up to three audience members. You can then use this information in your favorite chair routine, one-ahead, Q&A, pendulum effect, or anything else that will help further your dastardly agenda.  

Actual Proof:  A way to let your audience experience a powerful and incontrovertibly real manifestation of their own mental abilities by successfully duplicating a picture drawn by one of their own. This unforgettable routine is specifically designed to send everyone home with a documented, tangible reminder of the incredible things their mind can do.

257 pages, paperback. Contains 21 powerful effects.