I wrote a book!

So the exciting news: I wrote a book! I’m so excited!

I’ve always loved writing, and writing and publishing a book is something I’ve always dreamed of doing. Through the years I’ve found other outlets for my writing, like the games on this website and then the DIY escape room kits. And this book combines my love for writing with all the fun of escape rooms. It’s been an amazing opportunity!

Here’s the story. In late 2019, I was contacted by Skyhorse Publishing, asking if I wanted to write a how-to book for people making their own DIY escape rooms at home. Um, YES!

(Actually, my thoughts at the beginning alternated between a terrified “Me!? Write a whole book!? With photos?! I can’t do that!” to a super excited “I am going to write a BOOK! LET’S DO THIS!”)

It is definitely the biggest project I’ve ever done, with the writing, photography and images, and lots of clue and puzzle ideas in the book. But it was so fun to write! For months I was in total escape room mode, and anything and everything I came across in everyday life, my brain tried to twist into, “How could I use this in an escape room?”

So, more about the book: Basically I break down my whole process, everything I do and have learned from the DIY escape room kits I’ve made. I also provide lots of clue and puzzle ideas.

The hope is that, with this book, anyone with creativity and a desire can make an awesome escape room. Probably better than mine! I actually have a lot of restrictions when I write the escape rooms that I sell on my website: I have to use relatively inexpensive or easy-to-get items, I can’t use any specific units of measurement because some of my customers are from the US and some aren’t, my clues have to be printer-friendly, the rooms need to be easy to run multiple times, etc. You, writing your own escape room, would be free to use whatever props you want and customize it however you want! That’s what the book is designed to let people do.

The book will be released next Tuesday, March 16, in a little over a week. I’m so grateful for Skyhorse and for how great they were to work with, and for this opportunity they gave me. I hope that this book will be a great resource for many DIYers/escape room enthusiasts!