I don't know if you've heard, but Ellis and his friend Iris are writing a book! We made a podcast episode, but I decided to make a post about it!!!
This post will be basicly the same as the episode, but with a few differences.
the podcast episode
“That would be to much of a giveaway” -Ellis Walsh, in the vault of secrets episode. (for something like the 3rd time)
If you would rather listen to the episode, click on the link!
(or listen wherever you listen to Awesomeness Tripled!)
characters.
discover the different characters of the Vault of Secrets!
Sylvia:
Sylvia Berkenson Greyson Diana Parker is the main character in Vault of Secrets. She lives in the same house as her best friend (they're not related, but their houses are interconnected) She's 14, a sophmore at Parkway West high School. She is adopted. She spent 3 years with her other parents, who both immigrated from the Yucatán, Mexico. She had a dad, who was also Mexican, but he left their family months after Sylvia was accepted in. So she now lives with her mom (named Mongolia, who's African-american) and two twin brothers, both born the month she was adopted. She is a big star wars nerd, doesn't think before she acts, is usually the self-proclaimed spokesperson of the group, and loves watching movies.
Sasha:
Sasha Pride, (who-fun fact- was originally going to be named Julia) lives w/ Sylvia at 2127 race street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She's also 14, goes to the same school Sylvia does and is also a sophmore. She's an only child. She's Korean, (Born in the US, parents came from South Korea) She is a mini-genius. Not only is she smart, but observant. She always has a plan, loves the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, loves tennis, and is a dog-lover.
Dirk:
Dirk Dane (who is roughly based off Dirk Savage from the last kids on earth book series), also lives in Philadelphia, PA. He's 15, a sophmore like the others and is a big jerk. He's a bully, but he's one of those bully's that is perfect in front of teachers. He becomes real nice at the end, but he starts out real mean. He's white, (Greek to be exact). He's burly and intimidating, his dad's a former boxer, is a cat-lover and loves the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
About the authors
"The images from the book make in your head are always going to be the best images.”-Rick Rirordan
Ellis Walsh
Ellis Walsh is the host of Awesomeness Tripled: a Podcast. He has produced and co-hosted the podcast Ancient Egypt the podcast. He's the creator of 3 websites, huge star wars fan, and loves reading. He lives in Minnesota, and is currently enrolled in elementary school. This is his first Novel.
Iris Bergad
this author has declined to reveal any personal info.
Excerpt!
in the episode, Iris and I read aloud a part of the book. Here is an exact copy of what we read. Enjoy!
Backstory:
Sylvia's family is moving from Philadelphia to Queens. Sylvia is not happy b/c she's lived in her house along w/ Sasha for so long, they have the bond of siblings. She gets in an argument w/ her mom. When she loses, he mom sends her upstairs to collect items from the attic. While Sylvia's up there, she discovers a photo album she's never seen before (not that she ever goes in the attic, but...) She asks her mom about it. Her mom acts all sus, telling her that she doesn't need to look at it, etc. She sends her to her room. Sylvia goes back down to give her mom a piece of her mind. She overhears her mom on a phone conversation, saying things like; 'she knows' and 'it's just a matter of time before she figures it all out'. Sylvia is convinced something bad is going on, so she looks back at the photo album and sees that it was taken outside of Unispace corporate offices. She then discovers that her class is taking a filed trip to Boston. I hope you put two and two together there.
The Excerpt:
Sylvia and Sasha walked down the stairs from the airplane. A trail of the other students got off behind them. The group of students including Sylvia and Sasha were led to the bus that they quickly got on. Sylvia and Sasha walked to the back of the bus and took a seat on a bench. As the rest of the students got on as the door closed. Mr. Rawlins, their history teacher stood up at the front of the bus
“Students from Parkway West High School, Today, as you all know, we will be going to the Commonwealth Museum in Boston,” announced their teacher. Everybody quieted down as he spoke.
“At the museum I will ask you to break off into your groups that you have chosen for your project, I request that you will be quiet there. There are quite a few staff, to help you if you need it. As you know, we will take a 90-minute tour of the museum. The Commonwealth staff have been nice enough to alter their course and at the end you will break off into partner groups and try as best you can to find signs of your lineage. Now, I know you've heard this speech a million times, but you are representing our school, be on your best behavior.” said Mr. Rawlins. “Now if there are any questions raise your hand and say it to the group or come up here and ask me.”
Nobody raised their hand and nobody came to the front of the bus so Mr. Rawlins sat down. The volume went back up once he sat down. The bus went on and on for what felt like hours but was really only 52 minutes. When they got there, there was a chaotic commotion of people pushing and shoving to get out.
“Settle down, settle down,” barked Mr. Rawlins. “You will All get your chance. We will start from back to front. James and Jaiden, you go ahead first.” he said continuing to call out people as Sylvia and Sasha continued to talk.
“So Sasha,where are we going to start?” said Sylvia lowering her voice as the bus got quiet. She had put all of her trust in Sasha for devising an escape plan. Sasha was basically a mini-genius. Not only was she smart, but observant. She would no doubt create a plan based on where the teachers place their trust, how this field trip operates, where is the most likely place to get spotted, etc. If anyone could successfully sneak them out of Commonwealth and into Boston, it was her.
“Today’s filed trip has two parts. One is the guided tour of the museum exhibits. We will take the tour as a group. We definitely can’t sneak off there. Although it would be easy to slip away unnoticed by anyone, it would also be extremely easy for people to notice we are gone.
The next is tracing back your family history. This is the part where we split up into partner pairs. Most people will go to the ‘family tree’, a big round screen that is basically their own version of ancestry.com. That is where the teachers and chaperones will focus their security. We will go off into the documents that are on display at the back. We will say that we are going to see if we can find traces of our family in the treasures gallery. It is probably the safest move for us, since teachers will suspect me to go off and trace my family in a complicated way. It would actually -by my standards-, be kind of suspicious if we stayed back at the family tree. Teachers would suspect that something is going on if I didn't-” but she was cut off when Mr. Rawlins called their names.
“You excited girls?” he said as he got off the bus behind them.
“Yes! then all those conversations people have about relatives I will understand!” Sasha said with playful sarcasm,
“What about you, Sylvia?” Mr. Rawlins said
“Pretty excited, my family has been a mystery half my life.” she said
“Oh! well I am happy for you girls! Well I need to get going. Bye!!” he said as he walked off to go and help other students.
Sylvia and Sasha made their way into the museum. It was magnificent. They entered in a medium-high ceilinged building. As they were walking in, Mr. Rawlins told them to split into their assigned groups. “Students of 5th-period history. Welcome to The Commonwealth Museum and Boston archives. Today is a very special day, for you are the first and probably last to experience this unique field trip.”
“Yeah right. What he really means is that were the first one to do this project and go to The Commonwealth. He’s taken plenty of kids to museums before,” noted Sasha. Sylvia snickered. It was at times like this when she was glad that her best friend found school documents interesting.
Mr. Rawlins kept yapping on, saying basically the same thing he had said on the bus. The first part of the field trip was actually pretty fun. While most students stood around like they were bored, (probably because they were. The school had banned ‘cell phones or other electronic devices.’ Sasha had freaked out because she thought ‘electronic devices’ meant she couldn’t bring her electric toothbrush for the hotel, but they had sorted it out with their teacher.) Sylvia and Sasha had fun with the interactive exhibits and enjoyed hunting for funny colonial names in the descriptions. They had doubled over laughing when they found one guy named ‘Ebenezer Ligget’.
Finally, it came time. The heads of their groups had told them to ‘run wild’ and almost all of them went to pour over the family tree. Sylvia and Sasha walked over to the treasures gallery. It was perfect. Nobody was there. Normally, it would have been packed, but the staff had closed to the public for that day. The school must have been paying this museum a lot!
“Here we are,” said Sasha. “You see that door back there? That’s where we exit.”
“Wait, isn’t there a person guarding it?” Sylvia replied.
“Leave it to me, I have a plan.”
Suddenly Sylvia heard a voice she hoped she would never hear on this field trip.
Remember, this is only the first draft. Much will change (maybe even the title!) by the time it's published.
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