Here\u2019s Who:<\/strong> a short, first person introduction to the writer Today I am very pleased to invite you to meet my seventh and final guest, Tim Stead.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n I’m a New Zealand writer, born British, and have lived in the UK, Hong Kong and here in NZ. I’ve worked as a reporter, an IT specialist and manager, and as a Divemaster. The highlight of my brief journalistic career was spending 45 minutes alone with Ed Hillary \u2013 a man of great charm and dedication. I covered many interesting stories, but none left a bigger impression on me. For many years it was diving that filled a need for adventure. There\u2019s nothing that quite matches rolling off the side of a boat into unknown waters and seeing a new world open up in front of you. I\u2019ve had the good fortune to meet dolphins, rays, sharks, turtles, barracuda, and even sea horses. If nothing else, then diving fuelled my appreciation of the alien. I now make my home in Canterbury within sight of the Southern Alps.<\/span><\/p>\n I got hooked on reading at an early age, and almost at once on writing, probably because I wanted to own the characters I read about — to see them participate in adventures of my own devising. From there I graduated to short stories. These were mostly contemporary or SF. My first publishing success however was with a fantasy piece Heart of Stone<\/em><\/strong>. This story was published in the now defunct UK magazine Xenos<\/strong> some time in the last century. You can find an excerpt from it on my website.<\/span><\/p>\n The necessity of earning a living prised me away from writing for many years, but I have recently returned to it with a vengeance, writing solidly for the last few years, producing five novels in the Fantasy genre. I have even more recently begun trying to get them published.<\/span><\/p>\n I write high fantasy. If I had to compare it to anyone it would be George RR Martin, the current work being a tale with multiple characters and perspectives, but of course it’s quite different. My writing style is inspired by the late Roger Zelazny, whose work \u00a0I have always admired and enjoyed. His poetical yet slick delivery, his always imperfect characters, and his inventive plots kept me reading. A new Zelazny in the shops always had me reaching for my cash.<\/span><\/p>\n I like to think that my own work displays some of the same qualities. There are currently two series that I am working on. The Fourth Age of Shanakan<\/strong> is presently two books and will grow. It\u2019s designed to be a series of connected but independent tales covering a period of several hundred years. The Sparrow and the Wolf<\/strong> is a trilogy \u2013 I\u2019m still writing the third book \u2013 that may well expand into several trilogies if my readers enjoy it. It is a more complex series with many strong characters competing for your attention. More on both series, and some chapters, can be found on my website.<\/span><\/p>\n I believe in writing to entertain. There should always be some brightness at the end of a book, something about which the reader will be happy or satisfied — justice done, debts paid, calamity avoided. Having said that, a little darkness goes a long way. I think that a book stands or falls on the strength of its characters. I try to imbue mine with the duality that so characterises life. Good people do bad things. People make mistakes. Time and chance happens to us all.<\/span><\/p>\n You can find out more about me and my writing on my website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHere\u2019s Why:<\/strong> the writer writes speculative fiction
\nHere\u2019s What:<\/strong> an example of the writer\u2019s work
\nHere\u2019s Where:<\/strong> you<\/em> can find out more about the writer and their work\u2014and I really hope you will!<\/p>\nHere\u2019s SpecFicNZ\u2013Christchurch: Featuring Tim Stead
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