To the YAA Students Passing By...

The post you're looking for is the only one in July 2020. We make a wonderful geeky choir, don't we?

For the rest of you, first, it's been a minute, hasn't it? Second, today I had the honor and joy to speak at the BYU Young Authors Academy. The teens there were a wonderful audience: fun, well-read, and conscientious about their writing and how to improve. It was wonderful all around.

So, YAA folks, if you're reading this, you're rad. Stay frosty, friends, and if you found this blog, say hi in the comments!

Anyway, today at the conference I ended up showing (and singing) my lyrical adaptation of "You'll Be Back" from Hamilton. Since in my speech today I mentioned constraints, I want to briefly talk about the constraint of adapting song lyrics like this and why it might be a great writing exercise.

Well, I like it as a writing exercise.

First, it's fun. You can adapt lyrics to talk about anything you want. The sillier is often the better. A fun writing exercise is vastly preferable, in my opinion.

Second, though, you really have to think of language and meter. Songs have specific line meters and while you can fudge some a little bit, others are a little harder to change. Then there's rhyme. Some rhymes are easy to find, while some of the more clever songwriters use internal rhymes that aren't as obvious but can snag if missed in an adaptation or parody.

Adapting song lyrics requires careful focus and precision. Trying to make the words work, so one syllable isn't unnaturally stressed or the line isn't rearranged in an order that looks convoluted, just to make the rhyme work, takes effort. You have to pay attention to words and their sounds. You have to be willing to change your mind (and the line) to make it work. You have to be very creative in the bounds the songwriter left for you.

And that's just so much fun, to me. You'll probably see some more adaptations before I'm done.

Speaking of adaptations, my book The Explorer's Code is now an audio book! Here's the link to the Authors Direct page where you can find it, though it, of course, is sold at other places audiobooks can be found, like Amazon and Audible.

In other news, my next book Secrets of Stone and Sea, is set to come out from Macmillan next year. I'll give more details as I get them; it's still going through the edit process. This one is about twin boys who accidentally raise an ancient sea monster and need to figure out how to get rid of it. I call it my "Cthulu Light" story, so if riddles, folklore, and giant monsters sounds cool to you, keep an eye out for it.

THE EXPLORER'S CODE is On Shelves Now!

 The wait is over! The Explorer's Code is out now!

Here's the summary:

Three kids have everything they need to solve the decades-old mystery of Idlewood Manor, in this middle grade novel full of real ciphers, puzzles, riddles, and codes that Kirkus Reviews calls "a worthy call to unravel a mystery.”

Idlewood Manor has been uninhabited for decades, until now . . .

Math whiz Charlie won admission in a puzzle contest―and he’s intrigued by the strange numbers he finds on Idlewood’s walls. His restless sister Anna had to be dragged to the house―but then she discovers its hidden floor. Emily’s parents brought her to the mansion on a secret mission―and she’s determined to prove herself to them.

All three kids soon unlock clues to Idlewood’s mysterious past and the famous female explorer who’s connected to it―and the secret treasure she left behind. But the adults around them are also hunting for the treasure. Charlie, Anna, and Emily will have to overcome their differences and work as a team to solve Idlewood’s puzzles before it’s too late, in Allison K. Hymas's The Explorer's Code.

 

This book is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and was inspired by The Westing Game and Agatha Christie novels. You can purchase it at the following links:

The King's English (a wonderful indie bookstore)

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

 

Thank you for reading this blog and for watching with me as this book got closer to publication date. Now it's finally here!

I have also released my last cipher video on YouTube. Here it is below, and here's the link if you need it. Go to YouTube to find an Explorer's Code Easter egg in the video description (if you can decode it!).

 

See you later for more writing-related discussions/rants!

A Typical D&D Meeting

Hello, I'm back!

It's been a good hiatus; I've been hard at work adjusting to quarantine and teaching online, finishing out the semester, and starting a new project that, frankly, I'm just thrilled about and get more excited the more I work on it.

In other news, I have ARCs of THE EXPLORER'S CODE!

Here's the Goodreads summary for the book: "Macmillan/Imprint has bought The Explorer's Code by Allison K. Hymas. Reminiscent of classic middle-grade mystery-adventures such as The Westing Game, the book invites readers to solve hidden codes and puzzles along with three young guests as they work to uncover the secrets of the legendary Idlewood Manor."

The book is available for pre-order on Amazon, if you're interested.

Okay, so I was thinking about doing a post about quarantine and things to do while in lockdown, or how I've been handling it, or something, but I thought, how about instead I do a post about my Dungeons and Dragons group and the typical shenanigans we get up to every week?

A little over a year ago, I did a post about the typical Mario Kart Monday experience I had. Today's post is pretty much the same thing. I can't speak for every D&D group, but this is more or less what our typical session goes like.

Oh, and don't worry, right now we're meeting virtually.

Let's meet our cast of characters:

DM - The Dungeon Master
Ranger - Me, the halfling ranger
Druid - My husband, the dwarf druid
Cleric - The elf cleric
Rogue - The human rogue
Wizard - The dragonborn wizard

Honorable mention: "G-Unit" - Graash, our adopted NPC wizard apprentice orc, who Ranger and Rogue love very much.

All characters align as Neutral Good except for Rogue and Wizard, who are Chaotic Good. Also, for those who don't play D&D, the game relies on dice rolls. The higher the roll, the better your chance of success. 1 is the lowest and 20 is the highest.

Let's begin.

*Meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 at Ranger and Druid's house*

Druid: Where's Cleric?

DM: Late. What else?

Wizard: *Shows up 10 minutes late with noodles* Hello, peasants!

Druid, Ranger, and DM: *Lay out dice, pencils, papers*

DM: *Prepares screen, papers, dice, and most importantly, music*
 
*Actually begins at 7:20 once everyone arrives*

DM, to Druid: You ready?

*Plays epic music*

Druid, in a hammy announcer voice: Last time, on D&D! Leap...of...Faith! With only Zombies and Skeleton Archers in the courtyard the Electric Mayhem Band [that's us, by the way] and the armies of the dwarves and the elves maneuvered into position to take out the rest of the undead....

*Music uncannily reaches its climax and conclusion as Druid wraps up his summary of the prior week*

*Music turns spooky and muted*

DM: After last time's battle, the room is cleared. What do you want to do now?

Rogue: I investigate for loot.

DM: Nothing much here except for a bunch of skeletons...

Rogue: Ew.

DM: You find about 50 gold, some old knives, and an iron ring.

Rogue, visibly excited: Ooh, a ring?

Ranger: Is it cursed?

Rogue, already in possession of and deeply attached to an obviously cursed ring: Cursed? Why would any ring I find be cursed?

 DM: Cleric, make a religion check.

Cleric: *rolls low*

Ranger: You have got to be the worst cleric we've ever heard of.

Cleric: Ah, but you have heard of me.

Druid, in gruff character voice: Let's leave the ring behind. We don't need any more trouble with any more curses.

Wizard: No! It could be useful. We could give it to G-Unit.

Rogue, Ranger, Cleric and Druid: What if it's cursed???

Wizard: Then we'd know.

*Debate ensues for 5 minutes about whether to take the ring*

DM: Wizard, make a religion check.

Wizard, using virtual dice on phone: *rolls high* Whee!

Ranger: Why does our wizard know more about religion than our cleric?

Wizard: Because I have all knowledge!

DM: It's an old ring, a sigil of a death cult. Roll an arcana check.

Wizard: *rolls decently*

DM: You sense no magic on it.

Rogue, disappointed: It's just an old ring, then. Let's go.

Druid: Let's keep it. It might be important.

DM: *grins angelically, which is somehow worse than evilly*

Ranger: Yeah, let's do it. And we should probably get out of here.

Druid: Yeah. We have to save the prisoners from the necromancers.

*************

(The party encounters an old woman)

DM, as NPC woman: It's so good of you to come save me! Would you like a meal before we go?

Druid: I don't trust her.

Ranger: You don't trust anyone.

Cleric: What's her name?

DM, who didn't plan one: Um, Sarael.

Rogue: Sure, ma'am, I'll have some of your stew. *drinks stew*

DM: Rogue, make a wisdom saving throw.

Rogue: Dang it. *rolls very poorly* Dang it!

DM: You feel a warmth and you relax as the witch's mind control potion takes over your mind. You decide that this is one very nice woman.

Rogue: She seems great, guys!

Ranger: I try to intimidate the old woman by throwing a table.

DM: Roll strength and intimidation.

Ranger: *rolls well on strength, poorly on intimidation* Dang it.

DM, laughing: You throw the table and it shatters against the wall, but the witch is just so amused at seeing a tiny halfling throw a table she's not scared at all.

Ranger: I AM BUT A CUTE HOBBIT

Wizard: Let's throw the hobbit at her!

Ranger: I will yeet you, Wizard!

Druid: *readies shillelagh* Guys, I don't like this woman and I don't like how Rogue is acting. I think we should fight.

Ranger and Cleric: Agreed.

DM: Roll initiative.

*Battle commences*

*********

(In the midst of battle)

DM: Okay, so you managed to break the potion's hold on Rogue. Druid, it's your turn.

Druid: I cast Moonbeam.

DM: Roll damage.

Druid: *rolls decently*

DM: The witch is singed as your moonlight shines down on her. Cleric?

Cleric: I hit her with my hammer. *rolls a nat 1* AHHHH, MAN!

DM: You swing, but she dodges and your hammer whiffs through the air.

Ranger: Are you drunk again, Cleric?

Cleric, always sober out of character: *huge, comical hiccup*

DM: Wizard?

Wizard: How big is this room?

DM: About twenty feet square.

Wizard: Hmmm...how about....?

Druid: Don't cast Fireball. You'll hit us, too.

Wizard: Oh, you'll be fine.

Druid: *glowers and shakes head*

Wizard: Okay, fine. I guess I'll cast Scorching Ray. *rolls decently*

DM: Okay, the witch is not happy. It's her turn. She casts a ray of dark energy at Wizard.

Wizard: What? Why me? She should attack Cleric. Or Druid.

DM: You're the one currently attacking her, and you're a spellcaster. *rolls* She hits. You take seven damage.

Wizard: *grumbling*

DM: Ranger?

Ranger: I shoot arrows at her. [Literally my best move, every time.] I shoot two.

Druid, out of character: You can also cast Hunter Mark and do extra damage.

Ranger: Oh, yeah. I cast Hunter's Mark. *rolls well*

DM: Arrows hit. Witch is looking bloodied. Rogue?

Rogue: Is she in melee?

DM: Yes, with Cleric.

Rogue: I use sneak attack. *rolls for half an hour, does a stupid amount of damage*

DM: That's...not quite enough to kill her. *party groans* Druid?

Druid: I hit her with my shillelagh, and she takes damage from Moonbeam.

DM: Yep. *both Druid and DM roll* How do you want to kill her, Druid?

Druid: I hit her on the head.

DM: Okay. Battle ends. You look around the room, and then a smoke rises out of the witch's body and forms a figure.

Ranger: What's its name?

DM, prepared now: It says, "My name is Vangar, Destroyer of Many!"

Cleric: I Channel Divinity and cast Sacred Flame!

*Party holds breath*

Cleric: *rolls a nat 20*

DM: Okay, you blast the entity with a shining beam of divine light. Radiant flames sear through it. It falls apart in the middle of its monologue.

Druid: Sorry, DM.

DM: *shrugs*

Ranger: *finds gif of Syndrome from The Incredibles about monologuing and sends it around*

Rogue: I investigate the room for loot.

*************

Okay, scene end. I'm sorry that was so long; D&D sessions go on for hours. I cut out most of the debates, puns, and pop culture references. Honestly, not all battles and scenes go like this, but these things happen in SO MANY of them I had to include them. These particular moments didn't actually happen in our campaign, but they are based on things that did.

I'm also sorry that I used so many D&D terms. That's honestly how we talk. I simplified things, conflating rolling dice with our modifiers. But, if you'd like more context, here's a spell list.

And, party? Thanks for being so much fun every week. If you're not happy with how I portrayed you here, please know I still love you! Although I fully intend to one day yeet the wizard.

Upcoming Events

Folks, I know I haven't been posting as much lately. I have a lot going on in my life right now, and I'm saving some of my energy for things coming up.

For one thing, expect some writing analysis posts later, like in March.

But for another, I have a lot of writing events and activities coming up soon. Today, I want to share my schedule with you:

Feb. 13-15: LTUE

I'm taking part in Life, the Universe and Everything again this year, and I will be on three panels:

Thursday, Feb. 13, 5 pm: Children's Books for Adults
Friday, Feb. 14, 2 pm: Riddles in the Dark
Saturday, Feb. 15, 6 pm: Movie Adaptations that Don't Suck

Those of you who read this blog probably can guess that I'm REALLY excited for the last one.

I'm also doing a book signing at 6:30 on Friday. I hope to see you there!

Information about LTUE is here, at this link.

Feb. 28: BYU Reading Series

I will also be doing a reading and Q&A at BYU, in the Harold B. Lee Library, at noon on Feb. 28. I will read material from previous books, as well as some of my latest project. Information can be found here.

Sept. 23: Gothic Tales Revisited at Springville Library

I left summer empty, although there may still be events then, in the summer (I'm ready for some, but we'll see if I'm needed). But, in the fall, I'll be visiting Springville Library to discuss Robert Louis Stevenson's classic The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It's a bit far out, but I will, of course, give more information as we get closer.

Sept. 29: Publication Day!

Here's the big news! I've announced it before, but I'm saying it again. My next book The Explorer's Code, will be released on September 29th. I will release more information as I have it, but here's the Goodreads page about it. The book is an adventure puzzle book, so if you're fond of Chasing Vermeer and The Westing Game, you may like this one.

Big News!

You waited a few days for this post, but I swear it was worth it...

I HAVE A BOOK DEAL!!!

It was just announced in Publisher's Weekly, so that means I can finally, finally, tell you all. It has actually been hard to wait; I swear, questions about whether or not I have anything new coming out doubled in recent weeks and I couldn't say anything.

But here it is. A new book. Coming out. The Explorer's Code.

Like the blurb above says, The Explorer's Code is "reminiscent of classic middle-grade mystery-adventures such as The Westing Game" and I was channeling The Westing Game hard when I wrote it. The book is about three kids who go to spend a weekend in Idlewood Manor (an old manor house built at the turn of the 20th century) in the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia.

While there, all three kids, separately, start to realize the house is more than it seems. One discovers a secret room, another finds codes and ciphers hidden in the walls, and the third realizes the house has been changed since the days when it was lived in, in very specific and odd ways. Each of them starts to circle around a mystery in the house, and they begin to solve the puzzle of Idlewood.

It was a blast to write. My outlines were ridiculous, trying to make sure all the codes made sense in context and that the characters were all where they needed to be at every moment.

This is the kind of book that you, the reader, can solve as well. The codes are all present, as are all the clues. I really love books that let the reader in on the game, so I wrote one.

Guys, I'm excited. I'm really excited.

The Explorer's Code is being published by Imprint/Macmillan and is scheduled to his stores early 2021. Stay tuned for more developments!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to squee into a pillow for a few minutes.