Hello, Again

Hello!

It has been a long time since I wrote, and I'm sorry about that. Not much noteworthy was going on in my life for a while (except the occasional race), and I didn't know what to talk about. But I'm back, and I'm going to be posting more regularly from now on because, well, I kind of have to. I need to keep up an online presence since my book is now ready to pre-order.

Yes. That's right. My book is now ready to pre-order on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble's websites. Here's a picture of my cover:

And here are the links for purchase:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Under-Locker-Key-Allison-Hymas/dp/148146342X

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-locker-and-key-allison-k-hymas/1123863164?ean=9781481463423

I also have a Goodreads presence now, so here's the link to my author page there: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15290124.Allison_K_Hymas

If you'd like to read my book, it would mean a lot to me if you'd check it out online and mark it as "Want to Read" on Goodreads (if you have an account). This book is currently on a list called "Middle Grade Books of 2017," where it is #252 out of #254. Is it bad that I saw this and proceeded to vote for my own book? Is that even allowed?

(Update: Since posting this, my book has moved to #48. Thank you for your help, and let's see if I can move up the list!)

Anyway, I'm sorry, again, for my extended absence. I have been hard at work teaching and working on my writing. I'm finishing Jeremy's next adventure and also developing some new ideas. I also had an adventure of my own, which I'll discuss more next week.

I have also gotten an Instagram account in the last few months, so that happened.

Thank you for your patience, and I will talk to you again soon.

School Visit!

Hello, everyone!

I know it's been a long time since I last posted. I'm sorry, but I haven't had much interesting to say. I completed my half marathon, and that was good, but I haven't had anything to post about. Until today.

Today I visited Lionville Middle School and talked about writing. It has been a while since I last did a school visit, and I felt a little rusty, but the kids were friendly and the school was very welcoming. I'd visit again if they'll have me.

At the visit, I talked about my process of writing and how I learn (and steal) good ideas from other writers. I talked about how I got the idea for Under Locker and Key and how I developed the story. It was cool.

Anyway, I'll keep this post short, but I wanted to tell you that I'm doing well and working to complete this book and its sequel. If you want to read what it is about in my query letter and the first chapter, please follow the link below to the post I wrote over a year ago, when I began sending out this book:

"Contest Results, and What's Next": http://thestoryfanatic.blogspot.com/2014/10/contest-results-and-whats-next.html

I'm afraid this is an old post, but the story is the same and it should give you a good idea of what the finished product will be like. As for the new revisions, well, just wait until the book's release in April of 2017! More details to follow.

As for right now, stay tuned and have a very merry Christmas season!

*EDITING NOTE* As of January 4, 2016, I have also visited the Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center. I had a great time! I love doing these school visits and I hope the kids had as good a time as I did.

My Running Gets Real

I ran 11 miles this morning. I'm not saying that to brag (much), as I realize that people out there run marathons and super-marathons and 11 miles isn't much. I'm saying it as context to explain my thoughts and feelings about running, because 11 miles IS a lot to me, being the longest distance I've run, well, ever.

How's the running going, you ask? Good, good. I'm enjoying my long Saturday runs and I feel strong and healthy. Unless I twist an ankle or really give up and slack for the last 2 weeks before my race (half-marathon, Halloween morning), I should be able to do the full 13.1 miles without killing myself.

This is it. This is my Halloween.

It's weird, being a runner now. I feel that passing the 10-mile mark lets me call myself a runner without hesitation. But it is weird because I used to hate it so much and never went beyond 4 miles on a morning run. I thought 4 miles was a long run, but I was wrong.

I was so, so wrong.

See, after 4 miles, you may hurt and feel sweaty, but you can go back to normal pretty quick. (Results may vary.) It's like playing with a rubber band. You stretch it a little, and nothing much happens. But when you stretch it further, the band either breaks or gets stretched into a new shape, especially with repeated pulls. I'm no doctor, scientist, physical therapist, or any other kind of expert, but I'm pretty sure the same thing happens to the human body and it's weirding me out to go through this stretching.

Again, I'm not an expert, but over the last couple months, as I've been training, I have:

- Been too warm almost all the time. My roommates probably hate me for turning up the air every night, but I can't sleep unless I do. It's like I have a furnace inside my chest.

- Been hungry all the time, especially after the long runs. And it strikes at weird times; I'll have no desire to eat at breakfast time but will want a Las Vegas buffet spread an hour later (after forcing myself to eat a healthy breakfast because I KNEW this would happen).

- Craved bad foods. Every week my mind becomes a civil war between the wise dietitian inside me that knows I need vitamins and minerals, like what is found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and yogurt, and without them, it will hurt more to run, and the gluttony monster that just says WANT MEAT WANT BREAD WANT PANCAKES WANT ICE CREAM WANT PIE WANT WAFFLES WANT CHEESY PIZZA WANT POPCORN WANT COOKIES WANT WANT WANT

- Had my clothes turn against me. I don't mean during the day, when I'm cleaned up and living my life. I mean when I'm on my run. My lovely, lovely shoes haven't given me grief, but this morning my shirt had a nice little surprise for me:

Mile 1-8: good shirt, nice shirt, wicking moisture and feeling good!
Mile 8-10: uh, feeling a little uncomfortable where the sleeves' seams are, but nothing I can't handle
Mile 10-11: CHAFE CHAFE CHAFE CHAFE CHAFE CHAFE

ARGH!

- Lastly, started to actually DESIRE going for a run! Not as training, not as workout, not as balance for those times I've given into the WANT monster and eaten pie and ice cream when I shouldn't have, but because I want to go for a run. How did this happen?

Like I said earlier, I'm new to running. I haven't done any really long distances yet. I have heard tell of things to come, like blackened toenails and other undesirable effects of running. I hope I won't have to find out, but if I keep running after the half-marathon (and let's be honest, I probably will), who knows what will happen?

I'll keep you informed about any new developments about the training and how the race goes. If any of my toenails turn black, I promise I'll show you pictures!

Salt Lake Comic Con 2015!

Hey, folks! Wow, it's been a busy few weeks. I started a new job, which has been keeping me busy. I also got the chance to go to my first Comic Con!

Yes, my first Comic Con. It was also my first time getting a picture with a celebrity who wasn't a writer. (You know, I don't think I even have that. My bad.) And my first time cosplaying, but I only did that one out of the three days.

For those of you who want the abbreviated version of my Comic Con experience, see the post on my other blog I work on collaboratively with my friend Kiersty. That post has a lot more of my thoughts and impressions. This one's longer due to a whole bunch of pictures. Here's the link. 

This is my blog, though. MINE! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! So I post a bunch of pictures and details that didn't make the other one.

Also, I promised a link to the Fanundrums blog. Here that is. If you think I'm nerdy on this blog, you should see me over there. But, today, we're talking Comic Con, so the nerdy will be strong with this post.

Okay, let's go:

Thursday, I went up by myself. That's the perk of working at home; I can set my own hours. I did my work early and went up to Comic Con for the evening. It was fun, though a little lonely. I get why people tend to go in groups.

One of the things I did Thursday, well, the only thing worth mentioning, is see the panel with James and Oliver Phelps, also known as Fred and George Weasley. That was fun. I'm used to panels being people debating certain writing procedures or politics in art, because that's more what happens in the conferences I've been to. But a panel where a couple of actors, who are pretty fun guys, answer questions and tell stories about their experiences filming the Harry Potter movies was a new, fun experience. I did go to a panel about dark fairy tales, which was more in keeping with my past experiences. It was good, but I decided to treat Comic Con differently and play around, see celebrities.

Oh, and I went to panel with voice actors, one of which voices this guy:

 

That was fun.

Friday I went up with friends. We saw two panels with celebrities, or at least, I did. One of my friends had a photo op with James Phelps, so she didn't come. These panels were with Sean Astin (Sam Gamgee from LOTR) and Sebastian Stan (The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes from Captain America). Can I just say here that I love Sean Astin? I always liked him pretty well because I like his characters, especially Sam, but after seeing him at the panel, I really like him as a person. He's a runner who runs for charity and is an overall nice person. He was very friendly and humble and seemed like someone's cool dad up there, answering questions.

I need to watch the LOTR movies again now. And the Harry Potter movies.

I also took a bunch of pictures, so get ready. Here are some highlights:

Some top cosplayers:

Here we have the "Aliens" Meme and Beaker the Muppet:

 

And here is Ling, Yao, and Chien Po from Mulan, the scene when they dress as women:

 

A bunch of characters from Spaceballs:

  

Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon and a humanized Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls:

Yes, the above Toothless costume is a costume. I promise there was a girl in there. The front legs are her arms.

And a couple more from Friday:

 

Yeah, that's me, thrilled because I got my very own SHIELD badge. Yes, it has my name and picture on it. And yes, I'm a field agent. A level 4 field agent. I'm wearing the right shirt for it, right?

 

Me in the TARDIS, back from an epic adventure in medieval Normandy. Details aren't important.

Okay, that was Friday. Saturday was pretty cool, too.

Saturday was the day I cosplayed. My first time. It was kind of last minute; I've been putting together a costume for this Halloween Half Marathon I'm doing, so it was simple and easy, but comfortable to move around in.

Am I killing you with suspense? Okay. Here I am. And here's my character.



Dipper Pines, from Gravity Falls. Here's the detailing on my forehead of the birthmark that gives Dipper his nickname:

  

I nailed it. The picture of me has it reversed due to camera angles, but it was identical. You can see how it really looked in the next picture.

Okay, moving on. I met up with my friends. We were excited.











We started out the day by seeking out the celebrities. Right off the bat, I found out that Sean Astin was letting people come up and say hi for free. SQUEE! I did that, for sure. He's a friendly man, as I said. Instead of high-fiving us and waving us on (I high-fived Sean Astin!), he commented on my hat. Oh, that was a highlight for sure!

We met a couple more celebs:















My friend Madeleine is the one in silver. She's Quicksilver from X-Men: Days of Future Past. As for the celebs, you can see their names and roles on the banners behind them. (Walter Koenig and Marina Sirtis)

Saturday, I also got two Dresden Files books signed by Jim Butcher, one of my favorite writers. I also met a couple of his (cosplay) characters:



(Harry Dresden and Karrin Murphy. Yay.)

I also learned that one of the perks of cosplaying is finding the other people who are into the same things you are. I found a bunch of other Gravity Falls cosplayers, and I made it a point to get pictures with all of them:

Another humanized Bill Cipher, and then Stanley and Stanford Pines:



And here is me with Mabel Pines and Soos, and then one with Wendy:

   

I enjoyed that. I liked finding fellow fans and then actually, sometimes, being asked for my picture too. It made me feel kind of like a celebrity, which cemented my theory that Comic Con is about gong to see and be seen.

Here's some more notable cosplayers and photo-worthy things:

Izma and Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove. The other is my friend Mary, as the waitress from the same film:



The Ouran High School Host Club:









The Impala from Supernatural (no, for real!) and Agents Coulson and Simmons from Agents of SHIELD:

    

So, that was my Saturday. After running around, getting these, I got my final picture:

That's the Phelps twins. James (Fred) is the one on my side. I'll tell you, it was hard work trying to make myself look like a girl again for this picture. I even wiped off the Big Dipper on my head.

And yes, I'm still thrilled about this.

Did I like Comic Con? Oh yes! Would I do it again? OH YES!

 

Elizabethan England in the Heart of the Desert

Week 2 of catch-up is a go! This week I want to talk about my experience at the Utah Shakespeare Festival! This was something that I've wanted to do for a while, but since I didn't know if I'd be living in Utah over the summer, or because I had too much to do, or because I would have had to go alone and that's lame, I was never able to do it. But this year, I was staying, and I was free, and I had a friend with me! So, I had every reason to enjoy three straight days of Shakespearean goodness.

We bought tickets for three shows. The Festival has a lot of plays, but we decided to see only the Shakespeare plays they had this year: Henry IV Part Two, The Taming of the Shrew, and King Lear. More on them later.

We drove down in the afternoon, stopping at the theatre in Cedar City. So, here's the cool thing about this place: the theatre and the atmosphere really bring the feeling of being in Elizabethan England home to you. Sure, it's still modern, and people are walking around in summer shorts and T-shirts, but look at this:

And this:

The theatre itself looks like the Globe, as you can maybe sort of tell from these pictures. (I took them on my phone, and the theatre is big, okay?) There are seats where the groundlings would have stood, so it's a comfortable Globe, with the cheap seats on the balcony. I actually really liked the balcony; we could see everything. Also, before the show and at intermission, people dressed in Elizabethan costumes come around with baskets of concessions. My favorite were the famous tarts they sell at the Festival. My favorite was probably the lemon, although I've heard the apple is good (I didn't try that one).

The food in general is good, and quite British:

Fish and chips, man. Fish. And. Chips. With malt vinegar and a dessert of shortbread. This is about as authentic as you're going to get in the middle of Utah. All it needs is little bones still stuck in the fish and some mushy peas.

I was lucky to go with a friend who loves Shakespeare as much as I do. She went the previous year and loved it, and knew I'd love it too. (This friend is currently away in the real England. Seeing Hamlet in London. I'm not jealous, you're jealous.)

Henry IV Pt. 2 was the first play we saw, the first night. It was one I hadn't seen or read before, so it was kind of cool to start with a play I had no prejudices about. It was well-cast and well-acted; Falstaff was hilarious. We left, very pleased.

The next day, we spent the day itself in Zion National Park. I loved it. I've been wanting to visit more national parks, and Zion was one I'd never seen. We hiked the Narrows, which looks like this:

I didn't take this picture, but this is what the Narrows looked like. The Narrows is often too dangerous to hike, as if there's even the scent of a flash flood in the air people could be trapped up this slot canyon when the waters hit. But on the day we went (Pioneer Day - a good place to be in Zion!), the Narrows were open with no danger. So we hiked them. I did it barefoot, as my leather boots were going to be miserable to wear wet. My feet were and are fine; I just got an impromptu pedicure.

That night was The Taming of the Shrew. Great production. I'm always curious how they're going to shift this play to fit a modern, more politically-correct age, and the Festival tends to play the Shakespeare plays straight (no change in time period, or major alterations to character or lines). But they did the impossible: they played it straight, Petruchio taming an unruly Katherine, but they kept it funny for a modern audience and also, through their acting, portrayed a couple deeply in love and perfect for each other. Petruchio came across as a showoff, but one who saw the value inside Katherine that even she couldn't see, and Katherine was the good daughter and wife driven to extremes by her unfair circumstances. Played straight, right from Shakespeare, but with new depth. That's good acting, that is.

King Lear, the next night, was also good. I wouldn't say it had added depth, but it doesn't really need it. The tragedies are already deep and open to interpretation. My friend hadn't seen King Lear ever, so I warned her about the eye-gouging scene. I don't think she thought I was serious about someone getting their eyes gouged out on stage. I was. And the scene was done well.

All in all, the Festival was amazing. I haven't mentioned the musicians that would perform on the green outside the theatre before the show, their music fitting the culture of the play (English folk songs for Henry IV, Italian for Taming of the Shrew, Irish/Celtic for Lear). A great prelude. Good music, good company, good food, and good drama. I left with a pack of author playing cards and wonderful memories.

I even got to meet one of my heroes in person!

The List, and Other Sundries

Wow, four months.

It has been four months since my last post on this blog. I'd say I'm sorry, and that it won't happen again, but let's be honest. It will. I'll put it on my list of "Things I Say Will Never Happen and Sure Enough, They Do." So far that list looks like this:

1. Cliff Jump (happened at Lake Powell; the cliff was about 25 feet)
2. Ride the Tower of Terror (see previous post)
3. Run more than 10 miles (not yet, but it will. See below)
4. Forget the blog for months at a time ('nuff said)

I will try to post more regularly. Part of the reason I've been absent is out of an uncertainty as to what this blog is and what I want it to be. I've decided to write about whatever I feel like. Anything interesting I've thought about, or anything I've done that merits blogging.

One of the reasons I've been so absent is because I have been busy. I've been getting used to a new apartment and the people who live there. This place is much more social than the last, and it's possible that I may blog, in the future, about the people here. I will use nicknames and change details, for anonymity, of course.

What else? I have been working hard, both at my job and at my writing, which I hope will become my career. Guess what? I FINISHED A DRAFT OF JEREMY WILDERSON BOOK #2! It's with friends and family now, people whose opinions I respect who will read my draft and let me know how to make it better. Work on Book #1 is moving along.

I keep thinking I'll wake up one day and it will all be a dream. It hasn't hit, not yet, not really, that publication is actually going to happen. I know it is real, intellectually, but it hasn't reached my core yet. I have a feeling that one day I'll see my book on the shelf and totally break down, like

In the meantime, I'm keeping busy running. Yes, that's what I mean by the 10 mile comment above. On the 4th of July, I ran a 10K. I was smiling at the end of it, so I guess it went well.

Aren't I pretty?

A friend talked to me about a month ago, and my running had been going well over the summer, and I like having something to train for because it keeps me from going on ice cream binges...anyway, one thing led to another and now I'm registered to run the Haunted Half Marathon on Halloween.

13.1 miles, in case you were wondering. I keep doubling up: first a 5K (3.1 miles), then a 10K (6.2 miles), and now a half marathon. If this pattern continues, I'll be adding "5. Run a marathon" to the list above.

Anyway, I'll try to post more often. You may be in for a flood of posts the next couple weeks as I unload all the things I've done over the summer. I should have kept up with them as they happened, but it didn't happen, so if it's worth telling, I'll tell it now. And I'll try to keep you updated on my latest scrapes.

UPDATE: my friend Kiersty and I started another blog, called Fanundrums. It's basically our fangirl conversations about, well, everything. If you're geeky and you know it, check it out. I'll get a link to you in the next post. This blog is going to still have my thoughts on writing and some reviews on books and movies I like, as well as general thoughts and stories for you.

The Happiest Place on Earth, With an Extra Side of Magic and Joy

I apologize for the long title of this post, but after my last post (which, let's be honest, was a bit of a downer) I have a lot of happiness to speak of.

I promised I would talk about my lovely family vacation, so I will now. We went...to DISNEY WORLD!

This picture adequately expresses my feelings about going to Disney World.

We also went to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, otherwise known as Universal Studios.

This is concept art, but the Diagon Alley really looks like this. And the dragon really flames every so often.

I had a great time and, now that I'm back in the real world, wish I could go back. I may just do that, sooner or later.

 

Anyway, here's my report. The whole family was there: all seven of us. One of my sisters just came back from a mission to Peru and my brother is leaving in June for a mission...in Peru. Different missions, but that country seems to love my family. So my parents decided to have a vacation while all their children were relatively local.

We started at Universal Studios, where I proceeded to act like a total fangirl all over the Harry Potter place. I've been to the Hogsmeade half, but the Diagon Alley half is new. It's also mindblowing. As good as Hogsmeade is, I think Diagon Alley may be more impressive. When you're inside, you can't see trees peeking over. It's easy to imagine that you really have walked through a brick wall into another, magical, world. The Gringotts ride is also amazing! I won't talk about that, because I don't want to spoil things. But, know that the line itself is an experience.

Also, should you ever go there, get ice cream at Fortescue's. It's delicious, and where else could you get Earl Grey and Lavender ice cream? Also, I want to give a shout-out to the man at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes who carefully told me all the precautions I would need to take with the Fainting Fancies I bought, so as not to hurt myself, and patiently accepted my "Muggle plastic" as payment.

After a couple days in Universal, we went over to Disney. Now, as giddy as I was about being in Disney World, I felt sick to my stomach as I rode the bus to the first park on the agenda. I had a hard time eating breakfast; I thought I might throw it up. Why? Because I had promised four months in advance to ride this monster:

This is what the firing squad looks like, first thing in the morning.

I'm scared of heights, particularly falling from them. And this, right here, is a free-fall ride that my whole family loves. I was told it's a fun ride, and I had made a promise. I was going to ride it. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to hold my mom's hand through the whole thing. (I'm 24, by the way.)

Clearly, I survived to write about my experience (or did I? MWAHAHAHA!), and to go on it a second time. It was fun, despite the way my screams must have sounded to people on the first time I rode it.

But, after conquering the T of T, I wasn't afraid of other rides. I took on the Rockin' Roller Coaster and, later, Expedition: Everest. No ride at Disney World holds any fear for me anymore. Now, it's really the Happiest Place on Earth.

I had a great time. The parks were wonderful, as always, but it was really special to be able to go with my whole family and enjoy our time together. It was a magical vacation, which may be why I keep wishing I was still on it. No, it's definitely why I keep wishing I was still on it!

See? I told you there was good, after the bad in the last post. I guess it's for the best that vacations don't last forever, though. It would have lost its charm eventually, and anyway, I need to get hard at work writing.

For you see, I've signed a book deal. Under Locker and Key has been accepted for publication by Aladdin and is scheduled to come out summer of 2017. So, now I'm on deadline.

[Dramatic pause here as the news sinks in]

That's the side of Magic and Joy, by the way.