Will Kleman blended his love of music and fantasy in his first ever book, “Bygones, Volume I: Jome’s Secret.”
VILLANOVA, PA — Many college students peruse social media while taking breaks from studying or working on an assignment. But Villanova University senior Will Kleman wasn’t scrolling through TikTok or Instagram when he needed a reprieve from school: he was creating a fantasy world.
Kleman, who will graduate this year with an economics major and computer science minor, has just published his first book.
“Bygones, Volume I: Jome’s Secret” will be available Saturday in paperback via Amazon. The first novel from Kleman also includes QR codes that, when scanned, play original music he and his father Bill wrote to accompany the story.
The 22-year-old from Landenberg, Chester County, said he spent about four years developing the world his character inhabit and writing their tale.
“My first idea for the book came when I was a senior in high school, during COVID,” he told Patch over the phone.
He and his family were playing a game that required them to come up with their own fantasy world map. And that practice stuck with him.
“When I got to college it was in the back of my mind,” he said of the world he created, not knowing it would lead him to become a published author. “I thought about it for a year and a half before starting to write.”
As a fan of seminal fantasy and science fiction works such as “The Lord of Rings,” “Harry Potter,” and “Dune,” Kleman was fascinated by the worlds created by these monumental authors.
While he wrote “Bygones” in his sophomore and junior years at Villanova, he made sure he gave plenty of care and attention to his fantastical world.
“I thought it would be important to have a backstory, and an ending,” he said of writing the novel.
Despite having those ideas in his mind, Kleman said much of the book was written “blind,” as in he would write freely.
“I compare it to a quarterback being at the one-yard line,” he said. The goal is clear and close, but it’s how that goal is achieved that makes for a fun time writing, he said.
“You have to call the right play and use the right players,” he said. “You have to use your character to solve problems.”
Kleman said about half the time it took to get “Bygones” published was the writing, the other half bouncing ideas off his family.
His sister and girlfriend are big readers, and his mother is children’s author Jamie Kleman.
Other than his family, Kleman’s writing was largely a secret to friends, classmates, and colleagues.
“Bygones” is set in Crybella, which Kleman described as having a landscape similar to that seen in “The Lord of the Rings.” Its inhabitants are divided into eight clans, a similar model to that of the houses in “Harry Potter.” And those inhabitants have various abilities, which Kleman likened to a mix of “Potter” and “Star Wars.”
The main characters are brothers Ashe and Hale Healstone, members of the Deja clan. They are imbued with a power that allows them to see into both the past and future.
The two are vastly different, but their shared abilities bring them together to overcome “unforeseen events challenge their lives.”
“Both boys are pushed to the limits, questioning not only themselves but the laws imposed by the Synod, Crybella’s governing body,” the book’s description reads. “Will the brothers answer the call of adventure, or will they remain tethered to tradition?”
Kleman said the elder Healstone, Ashe, was loosely inspired by his sister’s boyfriend, who has helped guide him through life at points.
Family members, friends, pets, and road signs were all sources of creativity when naming characters, locations, and more in Cybella. Kelman would write the alphabet down in his notebook, choose a letter, and go from there, trying to figure out what worked for names of people, places, and things in his world.
His goal was to make the world unique, but digestible and memorable.
He even tapped artists he loves for naming inspiration. For example, one character is named Zep after legendary rock and roll band Led Zeppelin.
And music plays an important role in “Bygones.”
Not only does one of the eight clans focus on music, Kleman wrote music to accompany his story.
“Story telling is making the reader and audience feel like they’re there,” he said.
To help with that feeling, Kleman and his father, armed with guitars and a keyboard, wrote original accompanying pieces in the family’s basement.
They would read sections of the unfinished book and come up with music to go along with the tone of the section in question.
After record demos of their songs, the two would take them to his drum instructor’s studio, TribeSound Records in West Chester, where a team of professional musicians would perform the pieces on actual instruments.
“When the idea [of including accompanying music] came to me, I was reading ‘Harry Potter’ and put the soundtrack on during certain parts,” he said.
Kleman said he’s always been a big music fan, having begun his musical journey on drums before moving to guitar and piano, and loves film scores.
Readers will encounter QR codes throughout the novel that, when scanned, will play the music meant to be heard while reading.
Kleman said the music is a combination of styles, but overall the vibe is akin to a movie score or soundtrack.
The soundtrack’s personnel were Chris Cotter on drums, James McLaughlin on organ and piano, Avery Coffee on bass and guitar, and Brian Fitzgerald on violin. Cotter recorded, mixed, and produced the tracks, while Steven Blevins served as assistant recording engineer and mastering engineer.
Of course, the father-son duo of Will and Bill Kleman played keyboards on the tracks.
Check out the “Bygones, Volume I: Jome’s Secret” original soundtrack online here.
And yes, Kleman is looking to make “Bygones” a trilogy.
He hopes the series can mature alongside its audience, much like the “Harry Potter” series.
With the world, characters, and plot already established in volume one — as well as the publishing aspect being figured out — Kleman said he hopes to have volume two out in a year or two.
He hopes the story helps readers learn the importance of stepping out of comfort zones in an effort to forge bonds and overcome obstacles.
“Creating characters people can relate to is one of the reasons I like writing,” he said.
One quote he often revisits when writing is from the 1989 film “Dead Poets Society.”
“I wrote this quote down,” he said. “‘No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.'”
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