Kaydee Konvos
3. Monkeys
So, every now and then, I dabble in poetry. This is my favorite, a true story, written when I was in college. The professor loved it, asking if I’d let him use it in an anthology for a high school class he taught. Well—yeah! Later on, I dusted it off and it took third place in the Voices of Lincoln (CA) Annual Poetry Contest.
MONKEYS
Greg believes
that every tree
holds monkeys
in its branches.
Each tree we pass
on our daily walk
must be inspected
carefully, lovingly,
for primate habitation.
The chattering leaves
and rustling boughs
fire his small-boy heart,
and he keeps looking—
a leaping and jabbering
simian child
searching for his soul-mates.
At two, Greg doesn’t understand
about cages and bars
and curious stares;
he runs free and imagines
his chimps do too.
I know
there are no monkeys wild
in Northern California,
but Greg believes,
so I look with him,
humoring him, and praying
we’ll find one.
2. So What is Tav-Yah?
One of the things I really like about writing sci-fi is that you get to make up a lot of words. For example, Trick’s favorite weapon is the thermaskap, which comes from the Greek “therma” meaning heat, and the Norse “skapa” meaning to create or make. Thus, the thermaskap is a weapon that creates heat. And does it ever! Capable of burning a hole right through a seven foot Kretzoid with just one pull on its triangular trigger.
An important term in the trilogy is Tav-Yah, which is featured in the subtitle for the series. Tav-Yah is the resistance group Xana, Trick, and their crew hope to join in their war against the aliens. I wanted to give it a name that would sound mysterious, and yet is symbolic of this hardy, undercover band of warriors. Hmm, what to do?
It took a long time playing with different ideas, but eventually, I came up with one. I took the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Tav ת joining it with the last letter of the Russian alphabet, Yah Я. Being the last letter of each alphabet, the phrase symbolizes finality, the last, final hope for humanity. There you go—Tav-Yah!
Try it sometime. Creating new words for your new worlds is a lot of fun. 😊
1. Discovery’s Origin Story
Discovery, my first novel, began as a short story writing assignment in a sci-fi lit course I took in college. Great class! Got to read some amazing stories I probably never would have read otherwise, like A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, and A Rose for Ecclesiastes by Roger Zelasny.
Anyway, back to what I was saying. My professor assigned a mid-term requiring us to write a sci-fi story of our own. After lengthy debates with myself, I came up with the idea for “Girl’s Night Out,” about an unidentified girl who, as part of a psychological experiment, is forced into deep sleep states while the scientists studied her brain. She escapes through astral projection, going out to party much like Xana does at !X-ta-See! Learning of her trick, one of the scientists goes in after her astrally, dragging her back to the lab. The professor enjoyed the story, calling it a “spooky little tale,” and gave me an A.
Like all my college papers, the story got stuffed away in my closet for a while. I took it out a little over six years ago, figuring I’d polish it up a bit, maybe submit it to a writing contest. Well, Discovery had other plans. It took over, growing until it became a full-length novel. It became my first, but hardly last, experience with the fact that stories and characters often have their own agendas, insisting on being told their way. Who knew?
Discovery was well underway when a friend told me about The Jacket, by Jack London. Yes, that Jack London. Back in 1915 he wrote a story about a prisoner being confined in a strait jacket by a warden determined to break him. The prisoner discovers astral projection as a means of mentally escaping his torture. Unlike my characters, not only does the prisoner leave his body, he time- travels, entering the bodies of people from the past as well. I got some inspiration on how astral projection might work from his story.
Six years is one loooong gestation period, but Discovery finally arrived in February 2026. Those of you who enjoyed the book—I hope that’s everyone!—will be pleased to know you won’t have to wait that long for the sequel. Alliance: Book Two of the Tav-Yah Chronicles is in its last revision stages. It should be coming out the end of the year or the very beginning of 2027.