Tim Stead's Blog, page 3

The Wise Monkey

In ‘The Dragon Prince’, Jiang is asked why he named his ship The Wise Monkey. By way of explanation, he tells this story:

Very long ago, before there was an empire, there was a JinTo priest who left his city and went into the forest because he believed that it would teach him the secret of life. He found a clearing and sat down, closing his eyes. He waited for a revelation. He sat there a long time, but he was a patient man, and prepared to wait. After a while a monkey saw him and came and sat in front of him.

‘What are you doing?’ the monkey asked.

The priest opened his eyes and regarded the monkey.

‘I have come to learn the secrets of life,’ he said.

‘That’s easy,’ the monkey said.

‘Tell me,’ replied the priest.

The monkey sat back on his haunches.

‘It is this,’ he said. ‘Stay alive, eat enough food, drink enough water, be good to other monkeys and try to have as much sex as possible.’

‘That is too simple,’ the priest said.

‘But it’s true,’ the monkey replied. ‘And if you want to learn more, just watch the older monkeys. They know everything there is to know.’

The priest laughed at so simple a creature.

‘You are a foolish monkey,’ he said. ‘Even I know far more than the oldest monkeys, and I am but a poor priest.’

The monkey shrugged and climbed a few feet up the nearest tree, but he stopped and looked back.

‘You’d better get up a tree,’ he said. ‘Why?’ the priest asked. ‘You hear that noise? That is the older monkeys. They are telling me that a tiger is coming this way. If you do not know that, how can you be wise like me?’

So the priest climbed a tree and watched the tiger walk by beneath him, and he realised that he had received his revelation. The monkey was wise in the forest, and he was wise in the city, but the secret of life was pretty much the same in both.

The Wanderer

The fifth book in The Fourth Age of Shanakan – The Wanderer – has reached the end of the first draft stage. It’s just over a hundred thousand words. The next stage is editing, so I’ll be going through the manuscript over the next couple of weeks trying to find errors. After that there will be proof copies handed to friends, and then, finally, a release when I have the feedback (plus any changes).

I was hoping to finish the first draft in October, so I’m well ahead.

The book is an account of a voyage of exploration woven in with the continuing story of Cal Serhan and all those who plot against him.

Clockheart

The e-book version of the third Derakwa book, Clockheart, is now in review with Amazon and should be available to download within 24 hours.

I’m also ploughing ahead with the fifth Shanakan book. About three quarters of the way through. I’ll probably complete the first draft some time in September.

The Seventh Friend

I am unreasonably fond of myths and legends. So much so that, from time to time, I invent such tales and insert them into stories. In “The Seventh Friend” the title refers to an inn and the regiments that rise from that inn. The name was chosen by Cain Arbak, the Innkeeper General, who chose the name because of this tale, of which he, in his turn, was quite fond…

I have left the translators note intact.

An extract from “The Seventh Tale of Karim”

“…and Karim wandered in the woods of Lillan, seeking proof by arms, and glory in the service of his king because the woods were claimed both by the Sillish Emperor and by his king. He rode upon his warhorse, Perran, his blade at his side and his shield upon the pommel.
After a while he came across a Sillish Warrior riding in the woods upon a great, dark horse. The Sillish Warrior had a bow, and he fitted an arrow to the string and loosed it at Karim’s heart, but Karim was swift and sure, and caught the arrow on his shield. Then Karim and the Sillish Warrior drew their blades and saluted each other, and rode at each other and gave battle. For many hours they traded blows in the woods until the sun was due to set, and the Sillish Warrior, seeing this, raised his shield in parley, and the two stopped fighting.
“The sun bids us cease our battle,” The Sillish Warrior said. “But, if you are agreeable, we will meet here again at sunrise and continue as before.”
Karim agreed to meet the Sillish Warrior at dawn, and made camp a short way from their place of battle, and in the night he wondered at the strength of the Sillish Warrior who had matched him blow for blow through the latter half of the day, and rode so fair, and spoke so well to the point.
At dawn he mounted again upon Perran and rode to the place of battle, and from a long way off he saw the Sillish Warrior also approaching. They saluted one another as on the previous day, and then began their battle anew.
All morning the two men fought, and yet neither could land a blow upon the other’s body. With the sun high in the sky and the heat of the day upon them Karim raised his shield in parley and the Sillish Warrior put up his blade.
“It grows hot, and I hunger and thirst,” Karim said. “Will you sit with me in the shade and share my bread and water until the day’s fury abates?”
“I will,” the Sillish Warrior said.
So they sat in the shade of a great tree and shared the food that Karim had brought with him, and they talked of courtly matters, and of the love that they had for their own lands. The Sillish Warrior declared that nothing could compare with the fresh wind off the eastern sea on a summer morning when all the wild flowers were in bloom along the cliffs, and Karim declared that there was no pleasure as great as walking in the woods of his own land when spring was resurrecting the world from winter’s spell and life burst forth from all things.
When the heat of the day abated, they took once again to their mounts and Karim urged Perran forwards. But the horse put his hoof into a rut concealed beneath the leaves and Karim was thrown from his saddle and struck a tree, and went into darkness.
When Karim awoke, he found himself resting upon a comfortable bed of leaves made with the Sillish Warrior’s cloak. His sword lay by his right hand, and a fresh bandage nursed the wound on his head where he had struck the tree. He arose from the bed, though the pain of his injury was great, and found the Sillish Warrior seated by a fire, preparing food.
They shared a meal, and afterwards Karim asked the Sillish Warrior why he had not slain him, for according to the rules of combat there was no reason he should have spared his life.
“In all the world there is but one warrior who could withstand my blade as long as you. You Are Karim of the Long Arm, Prince of Swords, and you were defeated by time and chance, as may happen to any man, but I have a fondness for tales, and the Tale of Karim deserves a better ending that this.”
“Will you tell me your name?” Karim asked.
The Sillish Warrior declined, but gave no reason. He insisted that they remain in their camp until Karim was quite recovered from his wound, and so they stayed for seven days, and each day the Sillish Warrior would leave the camp in the morning and return in the evening with food sufficient for the day. In the evenings they talked, and argued many fine points of philosophy, and shared many tales of battle, and of the hunt, and so they grew to know each other well.
On the eighth day Karim was well again, and they took up their swords and returned to their place of battle where they stood opposite each other, but did not draw their blades.
“I regret that you must slay me,” Karim said. “For though I do not know your name I have grown to love you as a brother, and yet my honour does not permit me to cede the woods of Lillan to a Sillish blade as long as I live. I have so sworn to my king.”
The Sillish Warrior drew his blade, but did not strike at Karim. Instead he threw it to the ground.
“Neither can I kill you, Karim Prince of Swords. Your life is worth more to me than ten such woods, and so hear me. I am indeed the Emperor of All Silla, the mighty Perandor, sometimes called the King of Swords, and I renounce my claim to the woods of Lillan in your favour. Go to your king and tell him your heart and not your sword has won this victory. You are forever welcome in my court, and I shall hold the bond between us sacred for as long as I live. No Sillish blade shall ever be raised against you.”
Karim knelt before the emperor, and was raised up a lord of the Empire of Silla, and he returned to his king and told him the tale, and the king was amazed and greatly pleased, and in his wisdom he raised Karim up lord of all the lands along the borders between Silla and the kingdom, and Karim ruled them wisely for all the years of his life.
For the rest of his days he was a frequent visitor to the Emperor, and the Emperor often hunted with Karim in the woods of Lillan, and they were friends until the last days of the Emperor Perandor, and there was no more war between Silla and the Kingdom, but instead a spirit of brotherhood that lived one thousand years.

Translator’s note:
It is generally recognized that Silla occupied what is now mostly the Great Plain, and the Kingdom covered the area that is now Afael and most of Avilian. These ancient tales were penned to illustrate the perfect virtues of the noble classes, and to inspire behavior of the best kind among the powerful. It cannot be judged how well they succeeded, but there is much to be learned from the fact that they have come down to us by many routes, in many languages, over two thousand years and more.
In each tale Karim wins a friend by the virtue of his nobility, his kindness, his force of arms, or some other noble attribute. The whole is a handbook on morality. We can be fairly sure that both Karim and Perandor actually existed, but as to their character, who can tell? The volume was composed many years after the death of both.
From “The Ten Tales of Karim” Author unknown.
A Translation by the Learned Scholar Jorril Marras
Sage advisor to the Royal Court of Berash.

Back to the Beginning

It is, perhaps, a strange thing to do, but I’ve just finished reading the first book I wrote: Shanakan. It’s been over a decade since I wrote it and I did have a reason. I’ve just started writing book five in that series and I wanted to get back into the feel of the characters, the place, the history.

It worked. They came back to life for me.

To be honest, I was worried about the book. I thought it might not live up to its sequels, being the first. I have been reassured by others that it’s fine, but there’s nothing like reading it yourself and now I felt that there was enough distance between us.

I have to admit that I was pleased. There are a few things that I would do differently if I wrote it now, but overall it’s a good tale with good characters and that sense of credibility that I think is so perversely important in fantasy.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I’ve started reading book two. In a way it’s a personal vindication of why I started writing. I was struggling to find a book that entirely satisfied me, so I thought I’d have a go at writing one.

Now, fifteen books later (twelve on amazon), writing has become one of the great pleasures on my life.

New Book

I’m currently in the early stages of writing the next volume of The Fourth Age of Shanakan. This series is made up of generally shorter books – about a hundred thousand words, so I expect to get to the first edit in about sixteen to twenty weeks, so some time in September/October.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I’ll post news here as it relates to the progress of my writing, and maybe the odd something else that might be of interest. This is a total revamp of the website as of 2022. I hope you like it.

News, mailing list etc.

A note to all followers of my reviews/blog:

I now have a mailing list. It will be used to announce new books or editions and any special offers. If you want to be on that list just send an email to tim@timstead.info saying so.

I’ve finally finished the first draft of “The Dragon Prince” the sequel to “The Fish King”. I’ve done the first read-through and have put the cover process into motion. I like this one, too. It mostly focusses on one of the second tier characters from “The Fish King” – Jiang.

If I put the first book on offer I’ll post here and send to my mailing list.

Also, The Fish King is now available to order in paperback.

Free Book

My latest book is available FREE from the following link, but the catch is, you have to review or rate it.

http://readingdeals.com/free-review-b...

I really enjoyed writing this one, so would like to know if it was as much fun to read as it was to write.

The Fish King

Today I published "The Fish King" as an e-book. This is a new book in a new series. It's a self contained fantasy tale, but also part of a series. As with 'The Fourth Age of Shanakan', each story will be complete, but also leans a little on those that came before it. I am well into the sequel, now pushing 130,000 words (or over 400 pages). I would guess it will top out at around 200k.

I am especially pleased with this one. So here's an offer to all those who follow me. Just ask, and I will send you a free copy of the e-book in exchange for a review. I don't really care how long your review is (the longer the better, of course), but I depend on reviews for sales. Don't mind if it's Amazon or Goodreads (well, some advertisers prefer Amazon).

It's available in .mobi or PDF.

The paperback will follow when I sort out a small issue with the cover.