#AtoZChallenge: J for Justices, Mind-reading and the Secretkeeper

 Here’s a little lore from Terang!

So, Terang is made up of three city-states: Maha, Suci, and Impian. And each of these city-states have their own leader and their own magical gifts from Kudus.

Today’s post will be about the Mind-reading Gift of the Impianans (Impianites? Idk, I don't think I've decided). This Gift is given primarily to the women, though some of the men have weak forms of the Gift. These Gifts usually manifest themselves around puberty—so between the ages of 12 – 14. Whilst everyone is encouraged to learn how to control their Gifts, those with particularly strong Mind-reading abilities are put on a register of sorts and are given the option to train to become Justices once they finish school.

These Justices form the backbone of the justice system in Terang—they can, obviously, read minds so they can fairly judge cases and know who is actually innocent or guilty. They often act as detectives as well, using their Gifts (with permission) to collect information. There are a lot of restrictions as to how and when they use their Gifts so that they don’t abuse it just to kaypoh and learn everyone else’s secrets.

The head of the Justices is called the Secretkeeper. Now, the Secretkeeper has a biiiiggg secret, mainly that she carries all the Memories of the Secretkeepers before her, right until the founding of Terang. These Memories are normally passed down from mother to daughter, but there have been instances where the Memories (and the title) is passed down to either another female relative or to another Justice. Because of that, the identity of the Secretkeeper is only known to the Triumvirate (i.e. the heads of each of the three city-states), the Majlis Maha, and her own close family. Only the Secretkeeper can decide who to reveal her identity to…so once in a while, a close family friend or two are in the know.  

Justices have appeared in both Amok and The Tale of the Hostage Prince, and the Secretkeeper is one of the key decision-makers so she appears as well!

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That's it for today!

Head back to my theme reveal and master list.

Go check out the other A to Z Bloggers!

###

The Tale of the Hostage Prince (Book 1.5) – Releases 14 April 2022

Yosua wears an uneasy crown. Although he is now Raja of Bayangan, he still longs for the land of his birth where everything was much simpler…and less deadly.

But peace doesn’t come easily, not for a twenty-year-old servant playacting at being king.

With his parents brutally murdered and his uncle bent on revenge, Yosua must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With his only remaining relative and the kingdom he has claimed? Or with his best friend Mikal and the sultanate that raised him as a hostage?

PREORDER NOW!

International purchases books2read.com/HostagePrince

Malaysia Teaspoon Publishing

Add on Goodreads

#AtoZChallenge: I for Identity

Harking back to the post on Emigration and Exile, the core of The Tale of the Hostage Prince is Yosua’s struggle with identity. 

Mikal’s parting words to Yosua in Amok are: “I hope you discover who you need to be.” And that’s something that Yosua has been mulling over again and again. 

Who is he? Where does he belong? How can he find out? 

At some point in the novel, Yosua decides where he’s supposed to be. But to get to that point, he needed to discover who he’s supposed to be. And obviously, when you’re stuck on a question, you sometimes need a little help. 

Here’s a little intervention that takes place at the Mahan Temple. A priest that Yosua doesn’t recognise (and assumes doesn’t know who he is) is lending a listening ear when the conversation veers off into something else. 

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Chapter 25 excerpt

Note: This scene is in Yosua’s point of view.

“How long can you deny who you are?” [Farouk asks.]

“How do you know who I am?” Fear races in my heart, closes my throat. “Why does it matter?”

Farouk gives me a long, cool look. “Identity is a funny thing. If you believe in Kudus Maha Esa, if you believe in an Almighty God who reigns above all things, then you must believe that every drop of blood in your lineage has been accounted for. There is a reason you were born in your family, a reason you were born where you were, a reason you’ve been given these choices at this time.”

“You know who I am.”

“You are Yosua ayell Garett, descendent of Baya’s line, Raja of Bayangan.”

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Names often form our earliest understanding of who we are and the world we live in. They usually carry cultural indicators. Like who your family is. Where you come from. Which is why it’s often an affront or a microaggression for someone to decide to give you a nickname because your real name is “too difficult to pronounce”. It's not just giving them something easier to say, it's telling you that everything you've grown up with is not valid, not normal, not enough.

But I digress.

Here, Yosua has his name affirmed to him, not just because of his lineage, but because that is who he is. That is his identity. Even if his uncle had been trying to form him into something more Bayangan by calling him Yosett Regis Baya.

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That's it for today!

Head back to my theme reveal and master list.

Go check out the other A to Z Bloggers!

###

The Tale of the Hostage Prince (Book 1.5) – Releases 14 April 2022

Yosua wears an uneasy crown. Although he is now Raja of Bayangan, he still longs for the land of his birth where everything was much simpler…and less deadly.

But peace doesn’t come easily, not for a twenty-year-old servant playacting at being king.

With his parents brutally murdered and his uncle bent on revenge, Yosua must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With his only remaining relative and the kingdom he has claimed? Or with his best friend Mikal and the sultanate that raised him as a hostage?

PREORDER NOW!

International purchases books2read.com/HostagePrince

Malaysia Teaspoon Publishing

Add on Goodreads

###

It's release week!

Which means Amok goes on sale this week too!

#AtoZChallenge: H for #HostagePrince (with excerpts from Chapter 24)

The Bayangan people call those of Yosua’s community “Tawanan”, which means prisoner, or hostage, because they’d been taken to Maha as captives in the previous war. Sultan Simson specifically took the eldest child of each noble and/or rich merchant family in order to disrupt the social fabric of Bayangan’s society. He’d also taken Garett, the Raja Muda (crown prince) of Bayangan, leaving Garett’s seven-year-old sister, Layla, alive. 

And so Yosua was born in Maha, the child of two Bayangan hostages.

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“Really? Have you not heard of Hikayat Putera Tawanan?”

The tale of the hostage prince? “What?”

“They whisper of a pure-hearted prince brought up in the courts of his enemy. No matter what the enemy did to sway him, to lure his allegiances away, his heart stayed true. Even when the enemy prince sought to influence him using love, friendship, and family, the hostage prince resisted. He knew that his country would always be his first love, even if he had never set foot in it, even if he never would…” 

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I remember rather vividly visiting a museum while I was touring Europe in the summer of 2019, and there was this story of these two warring countries. The winning country took the young prince of their enemy as hostage (I keep thinking tribute, lol) to raise in their court (as you do) expecting that once he grew up he would be, uh, loyal towards them because they raised him or whatever. And, of course, they would have a hold over the existing king. 

I cannot find any hard photo evidence of this story (I think we weren’t allowed to take photos in the museum), but I am pretty sure it was in this building, which Google tells me is the National History Museum in Tirana, Albania. (I know I should have blogged about this on the spot but eh, I don’t do much travel blogging.) 

National History Museum, Tirana, Albania

Which means that I am maybe 90% sure that the story I’m remembering is about Skanderbeg.

The wiki says this: 

“It was customary at the time that a local chieftain, who had been defeated by the Sultan, would send one of his children to the Sultan's court, where the child would be a hostage for an unspecified time; this way, the Sultan was able to exercise control in the area ruled by the hostage's father. The treatment of the hostages was not bad. Far from being held in a prison, the hostages were usually sent to the best military schools and trained to become future military leaders.”

At any rate, this set me to thinking about what the implications or impact that kind of upbringing would have on Yosua, even if the details of his circumstances were different. Or even the knowledge of this history would have on him, seeing that he doesn’t even find out about most of this until he’s about sixteen. 

And that helped define the direction that The Tale of the Hostage Prince eventually took.

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Ridiculous. I scoff, yet there is something about it that calls to me. 

I harden my heart. “I’ve never heard this tale before.” 

“No one would dare perform this in the city. Would you perform it amongst the people whom it villainises? But it’s gaining popularity in the rural kampungs.”

“You made it up.” 

“All stories are made up,” she challenges.

“So how do they tell the ending?”

Suraya smiles. “There is no ending yet. None of the troupes have found one. They’re still asking the people for their answer. How would you like to end it? Would you return to save them?”

###

That's it for today!

Head back to my theme reveal and master list.

Go check out the other A to Z Bloggers!

###

The Tale of the Hostage Prince (Book 1.5) – Releases 14 April 2022

Yosua wears an uneasy crown. Although he is now Raja of Bayangan, he still longs for the land of his birth where everything was much simpler…and less deadly.

But peace doesn’t come easily, not for a twenty-year-old servant playacting at being king.

With his parents brutally murdered and his uncle bent on revenge, Yosua must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With his only remaining relative and the kingdom he has claimed? Or with his best friend Mikal and the sultanate that raised him as a hostage?

PREORDER NOW!

International purchases books2read.com/HostagePrince

Malaysia Teaspoon Publishing

Add on Goodreads

#AtoZChallenge: G for Guerilla Theatre

The thing about moving is losing things. I'm pretty sure I saved a lot of references on this, but I don't know where they are anymore. 

At any rate, the idea of a courtly theatre-dance performance was first introduced in Amok, a scene that I later echoed in The Tale of the Hostage Prince (See B for Bayangan)

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Amok, Chapter 2 excerpt

Note: this scene is in Mikal’s point of view

There’s an awkward silence between us, masked by the strains of music from the ensemble. 

“This troupe is very good,” Layla says.

I nod. They’re playing one of the founding stories of Terang, a theatre-dance ensemble that features younger performers. I wonder what Layla thinks about the fact that half of them look like they have Bayangan heritage. I’m sure she’s just ignoring it out of courtesy. 

It’s a piece I’m particularly fond of, one that Yos used to perform when we were children, before he’d been assigned to my service. I’d been so jealous I’d begged to be allowed to learn to dance, only to be told that the art was meant for courtesans and servants. Not satisfied, I pestered Yosua into teaching me some of the moves and hand signals in private. 

I search for them out of habit: the open left hand, palm down, meaning wait; two hands clenched on each other, pulled in to their chests, signalling trust. Terang was founded on trusting and waiting on Kudus. The two signals are repeated many times in this piece, though the performers’ movements are so fluid it’s difficult to pick them out unless you’re looking for them. I wonder who selected this piece for tonight. Not Ayahanda, surely. It’s not the thing he’d select right after arguing with the Temple. Neither is he paying attention to it. Tok Yaakub is, though, and I wonder if he was the one who requested it. He nods in my direction when he notices me watching him.

###

The idea first came to me because I was bored and borrowed a bunch of stuff from the Brunel University Library, one of them being Theatre in Southeast Asia by James R. Brandon. I was thinking of a more dikir barat style performance, because hey, we did learn that in school. 

Theatre in Southeast Asia by James R. Brandon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finally finished this by making myself sit down and read the whole thing.
It's a little outdated by now, but it has good stuff which has inspired how I'm going to add theatre into my WIP. I mean, court-funded theatre will be fun to write and guerilla-style theatre troupes should be a thing.
The differences between individualistic Western plays and the community/religious base of Southeast Asian theatre was interesting to note.

So yes, court-funded theatre made it into the first book. And by the time I started writing The Tale of the Hostage Prince, the idea of the guerrilla theatre really captured me, so I ran with it. 

I was trying to find a picture of the book before I remembered that I probably added it on Goodreads, so here's the only picture of it that I apparently took. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Anna Tan (@annatsp)

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That's it for today!

Head back to my theme reveal and master list.

Go check out the other A to Z Bloggers!

###

The Tale of the Hostage Prince (Book 1.5) – Releases 14 April 2022

Yosua wears an uneasy crown. Although he is now Raja of Bayangan, he still longs for the land of his birth where everything was much simpler…and less deadly.

But peace doesn’t come easily, not for a twenty-year-old servant playacting at being king.

With his parents brutally murdered and his uncle bent on revenge, Yosua must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With his only remaining relative and the kingdom he has claimed? Or with his best friend Mikal and the sultanate that raised him as a hostage?

PREORDER NOW!

International purchases books2read.com/HostagePrince

Malaysia Teaspoon Publishing

Add on Goodreads

#AtoZChallenge: F for Food and Drink

Okay, this post is just going to be excerpts of the food & drink mentioned in The Tale of the Hostage Prince because at this point of “planning” my posts, I’m just combing through my text to see what I can fit into what alphabet. Only the significant ones, though, not the ones that just say "I sipped at my tea" or whatever.

Chapter 1
I smile—fake, so fake, is this who you are?—and stride across the hall to my seat at the head of the main table. When I sit, so does everyone else—and the bustle starts up again. The servants step forward, laying their mouth-watering charges—mutton rendang, peppery beef soup, chicken curry, to name a few—on the tables before us.

Chapter 2
There’s a knock on the door and I hurry to open it. It’s only Relka again, carrying a tray.
“Ampun, Tuanku, I thought you would need drinks for your guest.”
I step aside. He places the tray, which has a tall jug of iced rose syrup and a couple of glasses, on the side table in my living room.

Chapter 3
Relka brings up two servings of roti with chickpea curry for me and a plate of rice, sambal, anchovies, and hard-boiled eggs for my uncle.

(and later)

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Uncle Jeffett wraps his hands around his mug, as if warming them in the heat emanating from the spiced tea.

(even later!)

I stare at him long and hard, then pull back my unfinished breakfast. I sop up the last of curry with the cold leftovers of my roti, buying time to figure out what to say.

Omg what Malaysians, your roti canai is not supposed to look like this! From: https://www.therakyatpost.com/fun/2021/11/11/theres-a-lizard-roti-canai-and-malaysians-are-all-screaming/

Chapter 4
The scene is almost normal, as if everything I saw upstairs were a distant dream. It has to be a dream. A steaming cup of tea sits on the table in front of me, thick and black. I lift it to my lips. Strong and sweet. Like Ibu makes it. I swallow my tears.

Chapter 7
Eat, I tell myself, and suddenly I’m lost in memories of Ibu ushering Mikal into the castle kitchens, cajoling him to sit and eat after his father’s death. We all rallied around Mikal in the aftermath of his victory, but the one thing that held his head above the water and helped him work through his grief was my mother making his favourite dishes. Relka is doing the same for me—or at least he’s trying to—but it’s not the same. I find myself eating at odd times in the day, careening from binging on some comfort food to not having the appetite to eat at all. That night, Azman half-drags me, shirt soaked, back to my room after spending hours washing dishes amidst gawking kitchen staff.

Chapter 27
On the mat between us is a tray filled with various types of kuih. The ketua picks up the tall jug of chilled rose syrup and pours it out into glasses that he hands to us.

Eee all the kuih! From: https://www.malaymail.com/news/eat-drink/2016/03/27/malaysian-kuih-a-marriage-of-flavours-and-cultures/1087719

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That's it for today!

Head back to my theme reveal and master list.

Go check out the other A to Z Bloggers!

###

The Tale of the Hostage Prince (Book 1.5) – Releases 14 April 2022

Yosua wears an uneasy crown. Although he is now Raja of Bayangan, he still longs for the land of his birth where everything was much simpler…and less deadly.

But peace doesn’t come easily, not for a twenty-year-old servant playacting at being king.

With his parents brutally murdered and his uncle bent on revenge, Yosua must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With his only remaining relative and the kingdom he has claimed? Or with his best friend Mikal and the sultanate that raised him as a hostage?

PREORDER NOW!

International purchases books2read.com/HostagePrince

Malaysia Teaspoon Publishing

Add on Goodreads

#AtoZChallenge: E for Emigration and Exile

What does it mean to leave your country and head to somewhere new?

I think this question is one that many people are grappling with worldwide, whether they are considering emigrating for a better future, or whether they are being forced to flee their own country due to circumstances beyond their control.

I’ve left Penang and Malaysia for short periods of time, but never for good. It was always with the intention to return. But that doesn’t stop me from asking what if? What if, in 2015, I had decided to relocate to San Jose, California instead of travelling there every half a year for work? What if, in 2019, after finishing my Masters, I decided I liked London so much that I found a way to stay?

Besides, one of the questions ethnic Chinese and Indians face in Malaysia every so often is the question, Why don’t you leave?

My dedication for The Tale of the Hostage Prince reads:

For the diaspora,

third-culture kids,

and the pendatang who know no other homeland.

It’s funny (in the ouch-how-dare-you, not the haha kind) that third- and fourth-generation Chinese in Malaysia are still called “pendatang” (immigrants) and often told to “go home”. Even more awkward when the Baba Nyonya or Peranakan Chinese community get lumped into that, when their families have been rooted in Malaysia for centuries. What “home”, I have to ask? My grandparents were born in Malaysia. China is not my home.

Question: If a Chinese-Malaysian emigrates, are they the Malaysian diaspora or do they revert to being Chinese diaspora even if they have never set foot in China?

This kind of cultural and ethnic identity is one that Yosua grapples with in Hostage Prince. His parents were Bayangan, brought to Maha as captives. He was born in Maha, grew up in Maha, has “assimilated” because that’s all he’s ever known. And now he’s back in his “homeland”, the one he’s tied to by blood. And heritage.

But who is he really?

In Amok, Yosua made a decision to stay in Bayangan, to finalise his emigration, even though he knew the political situation would make it akin to exile.

Now he has to come to terms with it.

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That's it for today!

Head back to my theme reveal and master list.

Go check out the other A to Z Bloggers!

###

The Tale of the Hostage Prince (Book 1.5) – Releases 14 April 2022

Yosua wears an uneasy crown. Although he is now Raja of Bayangan, he still longs for the land of his birth where everything was much simpler…and less deadly.

But peace doesn’t come easily, not for a twenty-year-old servant playacting at being king.

With his parents brutally murdered and his uncle bent on revenge, Yosua must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With his only remaining relative and the kingdom he has claimed? Or with his best friend Mikal and the sultanate that raised him as a hostage?

PREORDER NOW!

International purchases books2read.com/HostagePrince

Malaysia Teaspoon Publishing

Add on Goodreads

#AtoZChallenge: D for Developing The Tale of the #HostagePrince

One question every writer seems to get (or at least I do) is how did you develop your story? Did you write an outline first? Do you plan out your character arcs? Determine the beats of the story? Or do you just write and create on the spot?

Or, as common parlance puts it: are you a plotter or a pantser? If you don’t know what this means, here’s a great article: https://thewritepractice.com/plotters-pantsers/. Other terms include “architect vs gardener” or “outlining vs discovery writing”.

I’m…pretty much a pantser. I find it very, very difficult to sit down and work out an outline from scratch. I’ve tried. And failed. Many, many times. What tends to work for me is to start writing first, let the story grow in multiple directions, if necessary, until I hit a spot where I go, “There—there’s the story.” From that point, I can either finish up the story so that I know how it ends, or I can go backwards into writing a semi-coherent plot and outline, then work on rewriting the whole thing.

What now is The Tale of the Hostage Prince has a convoluted history. Actually, the development whole series is very convoluted. See, I wrote Absolution first—or what I used to call The Weight of Sin. And then I figured it needed a prequel to explain why Terang got to where it was. So I thought, why not make it a trilogy! Fantasy series are usually trilogies, no?

So I started planning it out:

1. The Weight of Strength
2. The Weight of Secrets
3. The Weight of Sin

Sounded like a good plan. I'd already gotten the third one. The first one was easy. It definitely had to do with Maha, and how Terang fell from grace in the first place. That slowly evolved into Amok, which also draws inspiration from the biblical tale of Samson and Delilah, because, magical strength, y’know?

But The Weight of Secrets had me stumped. I thought I’d go with something to do in Impian, which has Justices that have the gift of Mind-reading. Even the head of the Justices is called the Secretkeeper! So I was playing around with various ideas surrounding Nek Ramalan (the Secretkeeper in Amok) and her daughter Rahsia. Then I thought maybe the story would be about Iman, Rahsia’s best friend, who shockingly inherits Nek’s powers (You can read Shattered Memories, a short story about this, in The Painted Hall Collection—though it’s a little outdated by now; Rahsia’s journey and many worldbuilding details have evolved since writing that in 2018). But nothing really stuck.

So I thought okay, fine. I can work with a duology. That’s not uncommon.

But by the time I was finishing Amok, Yosua had grown to be so much more than just the sidekick—I’d initially planned a dual POV between Mikal and Yosua for Amok before I switched over to Mikal’s POV exclusively. Yosua…deserved his own story. And I kind of wanted to know what he’d do after the events of Amok. Would he stay in Bayangan? And if yes, why?

Thus, The Weight of Secrets became Yosua's story, The Tale of the Hostage Prince.

More about that in H for Hostage and Y for Yosua!

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For those still wondering how pantsers work with story, structure, here’s a good article on that: https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/blog/2017/11/10/seat-of-the-pants-story-structure/ 

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That's it for today!

Head back to my theme reveal and master list.

Go check out the other A to Z Bloggers!

###

The Tale of the Hostage Prince (Book 1.5)

Yosua wears an uneasy crown. Although he is now Raja of Bayangan, he still longs for the land of his birth where everything was much simpler…and less deadly.

But peace doesn’t come easily, not for a twenty-year-old servant playacting at being king.

With his parents brutally murdered and his uncle bent on revenge, Yosua must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With his only remaining relative and the kingdom he has claimed? Or with his best friend Mikal and the sultanate that raised him as a hostage?

PREORDER NOW!

International purchases books2read.com/HostagePrince

Malaysia Teaspoon Publishing

Add on Goodreads

#AtoZChallenge: C for Cast of Characters

Some SFF books have a cast of characters, either at the front or end of the book. I mooted the idea for a while but it was a little too difficult to compile, and I didn’t know what information to include. At any rate, I do have a working draft from the last attempt, so I updated it a little for this post! 

For simplicity, I think I’ll only include the major/important characters so that it doesn’t get too long and confusing.

The ones marked (*) were in Amok but are not in The Tale of the Hostage Prince, though they may be alluded to.

Bayangan 

Yosua ayell Garett, also known as Yosett Regis Baya: The current Raja of Bayangan (and the current viewpoint character! He grew up as a servant to Mikal in the Mahan Palace.

Garett Regis Baya: Yosua’s father, formerly the Raja Muda of Bayangan before he was taken captive by Simson.

Marla Ishi: Yosua’s mother. The Ishis are a prominent noble family in Bayangan and she grew up in the Bayangan Castle before she was taken captive by Simson. 

Jeffett Ishi: Marla’s eldest brother. He became Regent of Bayangan after Garett was taken, and raised Layla to take the throne. 

Layla Regis Ishi*: Garett’s youngest sister. Raised by Jeffett, she eventually took his name (Ishi) along with the Regis indicator of the ruling family when she assumed the throne.

Carla Tuah: One of the oldest and most influential nobles on the Majlis DiRaja. The Tuahs are a prominent noble family in Bayangan.

Azman Tuah: Yosua’s close friend in Bayangan, and Carla’s grandnephew. He’s been marked to take Carla’s place on the Majlis.

Relka: Yosua’s servant.

Terang

Terang is made up of three city-states, so I'll just divide the cast by those as well. 

Maha

Simson*: Previous Sultan of Terang & Maha. He defeated Bayangan 20 years before the events of Amok and took the firstborn children as captives to Maha.

Mikal: Current Sultan of Terang & Maha, Simson’s only son. 

Yaakub*: Temenggung of Maha, he was Mikal’s mentor.

Rizal: Laksamana of Maha, he is the only one of Simson’s Majlis Maha to survive the events in Amok, and is currently still holding the post. 

Daud: Head of the Temple in Maha.

Han: One of the Tawanan, he grew up in the Mahan Palace with Yosua. Now, he leads troupes between Maha and Terang, often acting as messenger between Yosua and Mikal.

Suci

Ikhlas*: Uskup Agung of Terang, and the head of the Temple in Suci

Farouk: An Uskup from Suci, one of the forerunners to succeed Ikhlas as Uskup Agung. 

Impian

Nadir: Titular head of Impian

Ramalan*: Previous Secretkeeper of Terang. Besides having the Mind-reading Gift of the Justices, she also sees visions of the future. 

Rahsia: Ramalan’s granddaughter. She is a Justice, and was sent as a spy to Bayangan in Amok.

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That's it for today!

Head back to my theme reveal and master list.

Go check out the other A to Z Bloggers!

###

The Tale of the Hostage Prince (Book 1.5) – Releases 14 April 2022

Yosua wears an uneasy crown. Although he is now Raja of Bayangan, he still longs for the land of his birth where everything was much simpler…and less deadly.

But peace doesn’t come easily, not for a twenty-year-old servant playacting at being king.

With his parents brutally murdered and his uncle bent on revenge, Yosua must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With his only remaining relative and the kingdom he has claimed? Or with his best friend Mikal and the sultanate that raised him as a hostage?

PREORDER NOW!

International purchases: books2read.com/HostagePrince

Malaysia: Teaspoon Publishing

Add on Goodreads

#AtoZChallenge: B for Bayangan

 The Tale of the Hostage Prince is mostly set in a kingdom called Bayangan. It’s ruled by a Raja, who is elected by a council of nobles called the Majlis DiRaja (literally, council of kings, but oh well). This may or may not be influenced by the way the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is, uh, selected in Malaysia but, you know, with a lifetime appointment and other complications. (Wikipedia also tells me Negeri Sembilan practices something of the sort. Maybe S will be for Succession rules, but we’ll see.)

At the back of my books, I give a short blurb on the main places that appear in the Absolution Series. Here’s what you’ll find:

Bayangan is located across the Mahan straits and is said to have been formed by rebels who seceded from the Terang Sultanate due to differences in beliefs. The rulers of Bayangan have maintained its animosity and enmity over the years, leading to frequent wars between the two kingdoms.

That sounds pretty dry, so here’s a little excerpt that covers Bayangan’s founding legend, how it got its name in the story world*, and the Regent’s Festival! 

To set the scene: It’s the Regent’s Festival in Bayangan, and Yosua is griping (a little) about his duties as king. (Note: the novel is in Yosua's point of view!)

Chapter 3 Excerpt

In keeping with tradition, I’m required to hold the Regent’s Court in the throne room, listening to the gripes of the people and settling them as the ultimate judge over Bayangan. They’re only supposed to escalate the most difficult cases to me—the ones that have been disputed too many times, those which the magistrates cannot handle, those which need a tougher sentencing that only the Raja is allowed to pronounce. Yet most of them are petty squabbles, easily dealt with. I suspect they delay their cases on purpose in hopes that their hearing would fall during the festival—who doesn’t want to say that the Raja himself judged their case at the Regent’s Court? Twenty years ago, when the population of Bayangan was decimated, and the kingdom was in disarray, I can imagine this was a useful tool for my uncle to consolidate power and support, and to prove his ability to rule. But now? Now it is nothing but a useless spectacle. 

It’s tough to listen to their long grandfather’s stories without tapping my feet or drumming my fingers on the nearest surface. I would rather even be at parang training, being humiliated by the weapons master, than this. I plaster an attentive look on my face that I can only hope looks genuine. Beside me, Azman sniggers. 

‘Shut up,’ I scold with my fingers though, of course, he doesn’t understand.  

Various performers congregate in the courtyard, entertaining those waiting for their turn to tour the castle with songs and stories and sleight of hand. Han and his troupe perform in the dining room all day, presenting a stunning repertoire of stories collected from the farthest reaches of Bayangan. 

I don’t get to watch until the evening, stuck as I am with my duties. With the crowd ebbing and flowing throughout the day, there’s no formal protocol. Everyone fills their plates from the loaded buffet table whenever they’re hungry and finds a place to sit. 

I’m almost done with my dinner when Uncle Jeffett sits down beside me with a heavy thud. His face is unexpectedly grim for an event like this. Straight ahead, the evening performance starts and his expression darkens.

“And so it goes,” Han calls.

The chorus responds, “If you will listen, O Raja.”

Han echoes, “If you will listen, O Raja.” 

“This is how it went,” the chorus replies.

“In the year of the locust, when magic corrupted Terang, there stood a man head and shoulders above the others, who was not afraid to fight alone.”

They launch into a swashbuckling story of the founding of Bayangan, from when Harett Baya rejected the cult of Terang and founded his own kingdom. There are fantastic sea battles up and down the straits accompanied by dramatic declarations, until Harett finally convinces Sultan Yosua to leave them alone. Harett Baya names his newly formed kingdom Bayangan, after himself, and adds Regis to his surname. His descendants—and many nobles who aspire to kingship—tag the ‘ett’ suffix to their names in honour of him. It’s a beloved story, but not one that I would have preferred the rapt audience to be reminded of right now. 

The legend they tell here is vastly different from the version I grew up with, where my namesake performed a penance and wept over the people living under the shadow of fear and ignorance. I know that version like the back of my hand, its forms engraved into my body’s memory. I dance it in my mind’s eye, tracing Kudus and faith into the palm of my hand, as Han’s troupe plays out the Bayangan version in front of me. 

I try to look beyond the surface of this performance to see what Han is saying in private, but again, there are no hidden messages—at least, not for me. Did someone request this story—someone opposed to the new policies I’m trying to push—or did Han choose it of his own volition? And if the latter, to what end? 

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* I made up this legend after the fact. The real story is that I was being very, very literal in my naming. Since Terang = Bright/clear, their enemy obviously had to be Bayangan = Shadow/shade. I’m sorry. Lol.

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The Tale of the Hostage Prince is now on NetGalley, so if you have an account there, click the widget thing below to get an ARC! 

The Tale of the Hostage Prince

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That's it for today! 

Head back to my theme reveal and master list.

Go check out the other A to Z Bloggers!

#AtoZChallenge: A for Absolution

Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! Today's post is A for Absolution.

The Absolution Series is a duology consisting of Amok (released June 2021) and Absolution (coming this November!) But wait, you ask, there are three titles in that picture!

While Amok and Absolution revolve around the fall and restoration of Terang (therefore are books #1 and #2 respectively), The Tale of the Hostage Prince is a side story that follows what happens to Yosua in Bayangan after the events of Amok. Since it isn’t directly related to the main story arc of the other two, I made it #1.5.

(Confusing? Yeah, I know. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. lol)

Here are the book descriptions & buy links!

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The Absolution Duology

Amok (Absolution #1) – June 2021

What is faith, except hope in desperation?

All Putera Mikal wants is to gain the Amok Strength, the supernatural power granted by Kudus to the royal family. Yet no matter how religiously he keeps his vows, Kudus denies him the Strength—even while his father, Sultan Simson, blatantly defies the Temple, insisting on a marriage alliance with the enemy queen despite the priests’ visions of doom.

Then the prophecies come true.

International purchases: books2read.com/Amok

Malaysia: Teaspoon Publishing | Shopee

Add on Goodreads

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Absolution (Absolution #2) – Releasing November 2022

If cursed is the hand that kills, then it wouldn't matter if that same hand stole, would it?

Tulen feels doubly cursed, forced to serve the bratty princess of Impian as punishment for her crimes, until said princess embarks on a pilgrimage. Tulen grabs her only chance to offer a sacrifice at the holy city of Suci—and maybe, finally, feel clean again.

Sultan Mikal has set his face towards Suci—and certain death. Nothing about his Penance is clear, except the fact that if he fails, Terang will fall along with him.

When Tulen’s pilgrimage intersects with Sultan Mikal’s quest to fulfil the Covenant of Salt, Tulen faces a difficult dilemma: What is her absolution worth in the face of the sultanate’s very existence?

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The Tale of the Hostage Prince (Book 1.5) – Releases 14 April 2022

Yosua wears an uneasy crown. Although he is now Raja of Bayangan, he still longs for the land of his birth where everything was much simpler…and less deadly.

But peace doesn’t come easily, not for a twenty-year-old servant playacting at being king.

With his parents brutally murdered and his uncle bent on revenge, Yosua must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With his only remaining relative and the kingdom he has claimed? Or with his best friend Mikal and the sultanate that raised him as a hostage?

PREORDER NOW!

International purchases: books2read.com/HostagePrince

Malaysia: Teaspoon Publishing

Add on Goodreads

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That's all for today. See you tomorrow for B for Bayangan! 

Head back to my theme reveal and master list.

Go check out the other A to Z Bloggers!

#bookreview: Shadow and Sword | NK Carlson

Shadow and Sword by N.K. Carlson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Reith sets off to hunt one morning, little does he expect to come back to find his town under attack. Following instructions, Reith sets off alone to the ruined city of Erador in hopes of reuniting with his mentor, Master Chronicler Vereinen. Instead, he only uncovers more danger - and an ancient sword of gold, silver, and copper.

Shadow and Sword starts off at a run, then doubles back a little to events that happened earlier in the day. I know the general writing advice now is to start in media res but this was a little...awkward, and could have just have started in sequence anyway because of the short time covered. Still, it works well enough. Reith gains sympathy as the young apprentice trying his best in unexpected circumstances; the Gray Man is a chilling villain, a vague, unsettling shadow looming over the towns of Coeden and Suthrond.

As Reith travels Terrahsohnen, the reader is drawn into a fascinating world where humans, dwarves, and elves once worked together before the dragons laid waste to Erador and left behind the scorched swath of dead land called Dragonscar. We don't know why - it's part of the unfolding mystery, along with the reasons for the current animosity between humans and elves and the growing evil.

Carlson's literary inspirations are maybe a little obvious here. Reith breaks out into a spontaneous rhyming song. There's a magical circle of trees that provide sustenance and safety for Reith as they whisper at him, reminiscent of the Ents. And then there's a voice that speaks to Reith, one that "had a memory from the dawn of time and ... could see into the future" which hints at Aslan.

And that's the thing. Shadow and Sword is an interesting enough read, but if I had one complaint, it would be that everything becomes a tad predictable at some point. What could have been an exciting plot twist came off to me as "oh, yeah, that was like what happened in [book]" which is maybe more of a "we have the same literary tastes" problem than anything else.

And so the novel ends with the convening of the fellowship, with the sword-bearer poised to bring light to fight the Shadow.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

#CoverReveal and #Preorder links: The Tale of the Hostage Prince

After all the organisation I did for the release of Amok - which went astray anyway because of Malaysia's MCO - I feel like I don't have any concrete plans for launching The Tale of the Hostage Prince, other than my A to Z posts.

Mostly because I'm just sitting on everything being overwhelmed. And also slightly over-scheduling myself for March when I knew I was trying to launch a book. (Or maybe because I was launching a book?)

BUT! 

Launch day is now less than a month away, final files are at the printer or uploaded online, and I'm staring at April wondering if I've made a bad choice... 

So I guess it's time to reveal our lovely cover, designed by Jiwosophy!

~

Yosua wears an uneasy crown. Although he is now Raja of Bayangan, he still longs for the land of his birth where everything was much simpler…and less deadly. 

But peace doesn’t come easily, not for a twenty-year-old servant playacting at being king. 

With his parents brutally murdered and his uncle bent on revenge, Yosua must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With his only remaining relative and the kingdom he has claimed? Or with his best friend Mikal and the sultanate that raised him as a hostage?

~

Preorder now!

ebook | paperback (Malaysia)

I've dropped pre-order prices to $2.99/RM12 for ebooks and RM35 for paperbacks in Malaysia. The international release for paperbacks is in the process - it has to go through some final checks before I can release it for sale. 

~

FOR IMPATIENT PEOPLE 

who don't mind subscribing to my slightly-neglected newsletter:

I'm trying out Smashwords' presale function, which means that you can get early access to the ebook like NOW! Before release day! If you click to subscribe to my newsletter, you'll even be able to get it at the pre-order discount of $2.99! (If not, you can still get it at the full price of $4.99.)

HEAD TO THE SPECIAL PRESALE

#AtoZChallenge Theme Reveal 2022: The Tale of the Hostage Prince

Technically this post was supposed to go up yesterday. Practically, I only started writing it today. Well, it's still Monday somewhere in the world, I think?? But delay aside, I decided to kill two birds* with one stone with this year's A to Z Challenge.

You see, instead of organising a cover reveal and book launch tour, which takes massive coordination skills and time, I decided to use the A to Z Challenge as launch month for 

The Tale of the Hostage Prince

...which means content around the world of the Absolution series, teasers for the new book, writing insights, and basically a bunch of Yosua-related content!

The Tale of the Hostage Prince launches on April 14, because that's when L for Launch is. 

I'll be updating the index below as and when I start filling them up! :)

*No birds were really killed, promise. 

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A for Absolution

B for Bayangan

C for Cast of Characters

D for Developing the Tale of the Hostage Prince

E for Emigration and Exile

F for Food and Drink

G for Guerrilla Theatre

H for Hostage Prince, with excerpts from Chapter 24

I for Identity

J for Justices, Mind-reading and the Secretkeeper

K for Kudus

L for LAUNCH DAY!

M for Mikal, Maha and the Amok Strength

N for Nusantara

O for Obedience

P for Paderi, the Perantaraan Gift, and Suci

Q for Quills and that pesky thing called anachronism

R for Relka

S for Succession

T for Tuah

U for Uncle Jeffett

V for Vibes

W for War

X for Xenophobia

Y for Yosua

Z for Zen

#bookreview: Mister Yam | Yeng Tan

Mister Yam by Yeng Tan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars because I am slightly (British: very) annoyed with this book.
TL;DR: For all the fantastic layered writing in the beginning, the ending was a flat out trope. He did not stick the landing, folks.

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Mister Yam starts most deliciously. We're presented with an oddly named Malaysian protagonist in California who has a rather intriguing voice. Mister Yam meets up with Lorenzo, an old college friend, and encounters the winged sheep (that's on the cover) for the first time.

Part 1 is the start of the bizarre events that happen to Mister Yam - a mystery that I'm rather invested in. Who is this unknown woman who knows all about him? Who is this bald, sheep-obsessed man who keeps turning up everywhere and feels like a time-traveller? How are all these random events connected? There are some brilliant lines, some rather poignant philosophical musings, but also a few awkward word choices. Play pamphlet becomes a whole side-story, but that's another matter.

Part 2 is where the dissatisfaction starts setting in. Everything is becoming too coincidental, too manufactured. It doesn't feel like cause and effect anymore, it feels like random events tacked on to advance the story. There is a sidetrack into Emma's backstory of her Mormon mission in Mongolia and escaping from Mormonism & her family, which involves the bald man with the sheep. The mystery is nowhere closer to being solved; it just felt like an anti-Mormon spiel. On that point, I never got why Emma (who, before this, thought he was a bit weird) would just suddenly invite a weirdo to her home. And then tell him her life story. But not the important bit at the end, he needs to figure that out himself.

At any rate, the mystery is devolving into Mister Yam is supposed to know what he's supposed to know even if he doesn't know he knows it (but the mystery is also where is Lorenzo?). The reader (me) doesn't know any of what he's supposed to know so this is all just going round in circles. Confusion x1000.

And then you get to Part 3, where the conclusion to the mystery or the search for Lorenzo (or the sheep, or Boris, or whatever the heck Mister Yam is hiding from himself) is revealed. And it sucks. It plays out like one of those shitty school essays where the author doesn't know how to resolve everything they've put in and takes the easiest solution. If this were an essay, I'd give an A for the prose and writing style but a D for ending and resolution.

Read it, I guess, if you just want philosophical musings about life and the universe. Not if you want the ending to mean something to the beginning.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

#bookreview: A Castle from Ashes | Sharon Rose

A Castle from Ashes by Sharon Rose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sir Thomas Kaituer is almost assassinated at the ruins of his family's castle. Lady Sareen visits her cousin Beth to ask for advice on how to avoid marrying Lord Ivan Maerton, where she finds herself starting to fall in love with Sir Thomas. Lord Ivan Maerton is determined to accomplish two things: destroy Kaituer and marry Lady Sareen.

Where the first two books in the Castle in the Wilde series, A Castle Awakened and A Castle Contended, focus on Tristan and Beth's story, this one focuses on Sir Thomas Kaituer. Thomas isn't a new character by any means - he's been a side character of increasing importance ever since the first one where he first stumbles upon the castle while searching for his missing brother. We've seen him grow from being an outcast living in fear for his life to being knighted by the king himself. (In fact, the recently released prequel, A Castle Lost, tells the story of the grandfather he was named after, and how that Thomas Kaituer lost his family, title, and castle all in one day; it might be helpful to read that first to see where the present Thomas is coming from and all the family baggage he is dealing with.)

A Castle from Ashes at its core is a story about integrity and (appropriate) belief in one's self. Thomas is coming into his own - yet he struggles with self-doubt and whether he is worthy of all the things that have been restored to him. It feels like everyone else around him, from the people of the woods to Tristan and the king, believes in his capabilities more than he does himself. I don't quite believe in this "noble blood" thing that makes it so that he has a right to rule because of his bloodline/ancestors, but it is evident from the way that Thomas carries himself and how he relates to others that he has great leadership qualities and a heart to help those under his care. Besides, he has a great role model-and practical help-in Tristan.

On the other hand, Ivan is so sure of his place in the realm and his utter right to everything he wants that he gets increasingly unhinged when things are denied him or events don't turn out the way he expects them to. Of course, his greatest enemy is Thomas, because how dare this little upstart outlaw claim any portion of his inheritance no matter what the law says? I kind of pity Duke Maerton because he has to deal with his son, but not really because it is somewhat his fault.

Of course, in between the clash of these two men, there has to be a woman. And Lady Sareen is stuck in a society where she has little to no say in what happens to her. But it's lovely to see how she learns to stand up for herself - and what she really wants - while maintaining appropriate boundaries.

All in all, A Castle from Ashes is an exciting read and a fitting end to the trilogy.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

A Castle from Ashes releases today! Get it now :) 

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A Castle from Ashes by Sharon Rose
Novel 3 of the Castle in the Wilde series

His family was abased, and their castle destroyed. Now a hint of the king’s favor marks him for murder.

Saving the king’s life has lifted Thomas Kaituer from impoverished exile. It also earned him a title—without a scrap of authority or noble privilege. All Sir Thomas gains from his courtesy title are a few party invitations and contempt from the House of Maerton—the very rivals who drove his family from their ancestral land.

When a stranger points out the ruins of Kaituer Castle to Thomas, he cannot resist visiting the home from which his grandfather fled into exile. Now a desolate scene where all may tread—except Thomas. Was he lured here with deadly intent? Who shot that arrow at him? And why, since he is a nobody?

Hovering between the poverty he grew up with and the nobility he is denied, Thomas belongs to neither world. No land will be his, no bride will be suitable, no children will carry his name. Then the king pulls a will from the royal archives. Thomas’s great-grandmother left her descendants a small estate, also occupied by the Maerton clan. They suddenly relinquish it to him. Far too easy. Another trap, perhaps? But how can he decline it when it could be the key to his future? Would it give him the right to join hands with a certain lady? If he lives long enough.

A Castle from Ashes is the final novel of the Castle in the Wilde series. If you enjoy a story where lies hide in plain sight and true freedom must be won, explore this fantastical world with medieval undertones and sparks of hope.

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About the Sharon Rose
I started writing when I was seven years old. Okay, My Life as a Flying Squirrel may have had a couple spelling errors, but my classmates loved it.

 
Plenty of life has happened since that first story, and I’ve come to realize the things that fascinate me. People. Communication. Culture. Personality. Viewpoints. Beliefs. Anything that makes each of us beautifully unique. Small wonder that my art spills out in story form.

 
It was only a matter of time before I just had to share my stories. I publish fantasy and science fiction because they allow vast spaces to explore. My stories weave cultures and characters, who are more than they seem to be, into adventures with mystery, romance, and hope.

 
When I’m not writing or reading, I may be traveling, enjoying gardens, or searching for unique coffee shops with my husband. We live in Minnesota, USA, famed for its mosquitoes—uh, I mean 10,000 lakes and vibrant seasons.

#comingsoon: A Castle from Ashes | Sharon Rose #fantasybookseries

I'm excited that A Castle from Ashes (Castle in the Wilde #3) is launching on January 18th! I've just finished reading it and am getting round to writing my review which will be posted next Weds (well, in my timezone, but Tuesday in the US).

Here are my reviews for the earlier books in the series: 

A Castle Lost - (pre-prequel, haha, this is about Thomas Kaituer's grandfather, who he's named after -- and might best be read right before this book 3! Actually, I might go back and re-read this)

A Castle Sealed (prequel) 

A Castle Awakened (book 1) - on sale at $0.99 until 15 Jan

A Castle Contended (book 2) - on sale at $0.99 until 15 Jan

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His family was abased, and their castle destroyed. Now a hint of the king’s favor marks him for murder.

Saving the king’s life has lifted Thomas Kaituer from impoverished exile. It also earned him a title—without a scrap of authority or noble privilege. All Sir Thomas gains from his courtesy title are a few party invitations and contempt from the House of Maerton—the very rivals who drove his family from their ancestral land.

When a stranger points out the ruins of Kaituer Castle to Thomas, he cannot resist visiting the home from which his grandfather fled into exile. Now a desolate scene where all may tread—except Thomas. Was he lured here with deadly intent? Who shot that arrow at him? And why, since he is a nobody?

Hovering between the poverty he grew up with and the nobility he is denied, Thomas belongs to neither world. No land will be his, no bride will be suitable, no children will carry his name. Then the king pulls a will from the royal archives. Thomas’s great-grandmother left her descendants a small estate, also occupied by the Maerton clan. They suddenly relinquish it to him. Far too easy. Another trap, perhaps? But how can he decline it when it could be the key to his future? Would it give him the right to join hands with a certain lady? If he lives long enough.

A Castle from Ashes is the final novel of the Castle in the Wilde series. If you enjoy a story where lies hide in plain sight and true freedom must be won, explore this fantastical world with medieval undertones and sparks of hope.

---

A Castle from Ashes can now be preordered on Amazon! 

Click here for the Castle in the Wilde series

About the Author, Sharon Rose
I started writing when I was seven years old. Okay, My Life as a Flying Squirrel may have had a couple spelling errors, but my classmates loved it.

Plenty of life has happened since that first story, and I’ve come to realize the things that fascinate me. People. Communication. Culture. Personality. Viewpoints. Beliefs. Anything that makes each of us beautifully unique. Small wonder that my art spills out in story form.

 
It was only a matter of time before I just had to share my stories. I publish fantasy and science fiction because they allow vast spaces to explore. My stories weave cultures and characters, who are more than they seem to be, into adventures with mystery, romance, and hope.

 
When I’m not writing or reading, I may be traveling, enjoying gardens, or searching for unique coffee shops with my husband. We live in Minnesota, USA, famed for its mosquitoes—uh, I mean 10,000 lakes and vibrant seasons.