Some News and More Nonsense

I'm sorry for the very late post. I'm still getting back into the swing of life, and while I promise that I will go back to posting every Monday, it may take me a few tries to get there.

This week, I have been busy. One of the things I was busy with was cultivating a starter to make sourdough, and then actually baking some. It went...mostly okay. The recipe I used didn't have a long enough baking time, and I probably should have proofed it more. But I live, and I learn, and at least the sourdough part of it turned out.

No pictures. Please allow my shame its privacy. But at least the scones and biscuits turned out. Next up, sourdough peanut butter cookies.

In other news, I'm part of #KidsNeedMentors again this year! I did it last year, and I absolutely loved it, so I'm thrilled to be mentoring three classes this coming year. #KidsNeedMentors is a great program where authors spend a whole school year mentoring kids. In the past, I've given writing lessons, sent some of my favorite books, and given kids feedback on their own writing projects. I really love working with kids as part of my writerly job description, so I hope I can be helpful to them and to their teachers over the next year.

I also have wedding pictures. Here are a couple of them:

It takes forever to upload these, so I think I'll stop here. But I do think these are some of the best pictures of me, my husband, and the family after the wedding (without getting into all the smaller group shots).


Last, you know my Star Wars/Tangled parody from last time? I got a request for another. (And, yes, I listen to your requests!) So, for all you Clone Wars and Rebels fans, here's another song, brought to you by our favorite sassy space pirate, Hondo Ohnaka!

Stealing All the Treasure

("Sailing for Adventure" - Muppet Treasure Island)

When the course is laid and the bounty’s paid
A pirate’s blood begins racing
With our missiles shot and their engines cold,
We're on the ship and off to seize the hold!
On the ship and off to seize the hold!

Hey, ho, we'll go
Anywhere the profit’s flowing
Robbing honorably!
Stealing all the treasure in the galaxy.

(spoken)
Come now, men! Do not interrupt Hondo while he is singing!

Living on the brink, we say what the clink,
Hondo laughs the perils he’s facing!

Every ship we board better pay our price
Or then they’ll find out that we don’t play nice!

Then they’ll find out that we don’t play nice!

Hey, ho, we'll go
Anywhere the profit’s flowing
Shoot them in the wing!
Stealing all the treasure in the big black space thing

I’m not afraid to threaten, extort, and loot
I’m a scoundrel, through and through.
If I had to choose between my partner and a cargo of meryx, I would rescue the jewels—
(spoken)
Just kidding. Haha
I’d never do that to you!

There are Jedi Knights with swords of light
That are worth a kingly ransom.
With a Sith Lord, too, we would do okay,
But I must warn you, they are no easy prey!
I must warn you, they are no easy prey!

Hey, ho, we'll go
Anywhere the profit’s flowing
What was yours is ours!
Stealing all the treasure all across the stars.

Galactic credits whisper,
They’re singing just for me,
They’re saying, “Hondo, be a friend,”
And, “Hondo, set us free!”

So, ready, men, your blasters,
It’s time to sack and thieve
And of course we’ll always win—
Don’t need that nysillin—
And if the take’s not worth the cost,
Well, we can always leave!

(spoken to self)
Incredible. I did not know I had such a great singing voice! ... I should go pro.

A pirate’s life is not set in stone:
Follow me, your captain, to the great unknown!

Hey, ho, we'll go
Anywhere the profit’s flowing—
Best friend Kenobi!

Stealing all the treasure—
It's so lucrative!
Stealing all the treasure—
So explorative!
Stealing all the treasure—
We're all fugitives!
In the galaxy!

I hope you enjoyed that! I had a good time writing it. These parodies are good little writer workouts for me, helping me practice wordplay and character voice, so if you do have a request, let me know, and if not, there will probably be more, anyway.

Pictures and Nonsense

Hello, folks! I'm back, and I'm married!

I know it's been a long time since my last post. I've been so busy with wedding preparations, the actual wedding, and then moving into my new house and then the honeymoon that I haven't been posting. Who could blame me?

Anyway, I'm now Allison Boyer, working on getting that name legally changed. However, I will still use Allison K. Hymas as my professional writer name, so that will be the name that is on my books and websites.

For our honeymoon, Spencer and I roadtripped to Banff, Canada. It was my first time going there, and wow, it's beautiful. Such a great place for me to spend time with my new husband!

We both loved looking at the lakes, in particular. They're so blue!

Lake Louise. (That's Spencer in the sunglasses.)

Lake Moraine. And in this one, yes, the water looks like that. It's as blue as if it was dyed, but it's a natural effect of "rock flour" from the glaciers. The picture really doesn't do it justice, and it still looks like that.

And this is a cute little tearoom at the top of a hike near Lake Louise. We got an apple crumble to share and two lemonades.

I got a lot of other pictures, but they're taking forever to upload and these are some of the best, anyway. As for wedding pictures, I don't have them yet, but I'll share a couple as soon as I get them back from the photographer.

In other news, THE EXPLORER'S CODE is listed on Goodreads now, so if you want to keep an eye on its progress, you can look at it there!

Okay, so I promised you some nonsense. Like I said, we roadtripped, and when you put two nerds in a car for 15 hours to and fro, not even counting hours of driving around the parks, then things start to happen. Especially when one of you is a writer, you both enjoy Weird Al Yankovic, and you're going on a trip later this year to Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland. You start thinking of Disney songs and Star Wars and then...this happens.

So this is for all you Tangled and Obi-Wan Kenobi fans out there.

When Will The Fight Begin?

("When Will My Life Begin?" from Tangled)

 

Morning arrives, awake to a double sunrise.

Start on the chores and sweep ‘til the floor’s all clean,

Maintain my beard, do laundry, and gather supplies.

Life is bland in the sand here on Tatooine!

 

And so I’ll meditate, for maybe quite a while.

I’ll watch the Tusken Raiders—they walk single-file,

And then I’ll spar my shadow in Soresu style,

Just wonderin’ when will the fight begin?

 

Then after lunch of blue milk and bantha jerky

I’ll stick around, safe on my high ground, alone.

Visit my memories, though they are getting murky,

Though I’ve yet to forget all my time with the clones.

 

I lost another robe; good thing I have a spare.

I’ll plan my duel with Maul—sure he’s alive somewhere.

And then I’ll practice greeting droids with, “Hello, there.”

Stuck in this desert since Anakin…

 

(ahem)

 

And I’ll be wonderin’, and wonderin’, and wonderin’, and wonderin’, when will my fight begin?

 

I watch the boy down on his farm,

Make sure that Luke won’t come to any harm.

One day he might rebalance the Force.

When he is older, I will set him on that course.

 

So, yes. Pictures and nonsense. There may be a few more Disney/Star Wars parodies coming around the bend...it was a LONG drive. So, enjoy, and I'll see you again next week!