The Baykidi Stones

So many people have asked me what my novel is about that I thought I’d tell about it here. I’d love to know what you think. I am currently searching for an agent.


The Baykidi Stones (pronounced By-kee-DEE)
For ages 11-14

Ethnic tensions are smoldering in the Pacific island of Jalahar, where pockets of combatants challenge the government. Fourteen-year-old Velu, who is of the privileged ruling class, unwittingly interrupts a killing by insurgents, and finds himself on their hit list. He flees from his city, aided by people he barely knows. In his zeal to foil his pursuers, he mistakenly betrays innocent people to authorities. Soon he learns the people he denounced are part of an underground group working to unite the country’s two ethnic groups and to bring change using the “strengths of the heart,” rather than war. Can their methods really gain the release of those imprisoned due to his mistake, and can Velu help an unarmed crowd avert a bloodbath in a stand-off with government soldiers?

Enemy Images in Politics

Since one of my themes is the harm caused by “enemy images,” I can’t ignore our collective backyard, that is, U.S. politics. Talk show host Dev Ulz-Advokit recently interviewed me about this topic:


D.U. What is the harm caused by Democrats and Republicans railing at each other like enemies? Doesn’t it spice up the news a bit?
T.I. Sure, it generates great entertainment, but it doesn’t make a great country. If we didn’t see each other as enemies, we’d listen to the other side’s legitimate concerns and incorporate them in wise policies, instead of simply posturing to make the other look bad.

D.U. But neither party is going to jettison its position on the issues. Why try?

T.I. The object is not to produce homogeneity. A democracy needs varying perspectives because each side brings up points that the other side may need to hear. For example, beneficial government programs need to be checked by concern for costs, waste and fraud. Military decision-makers need voices apprising them of effective nonmilitary alternatives. In the current health care debate, the moral imperative to provide health care for all needs to be balanced with economics and efficiency.

D.U. OK, so dissension is cool. What’s the problem then?
T.I. The problem is tone. Many debates are undermined when the speakers mischaracterize or ridicule the other side and/or its motives. Then more energy is going into attack and defend, than actual substance and problem-solving.

D.U. You heard that everyone: mischaracterization and ridicule are un-cool. But isn’t that the way of the world?
T.I. Maybe we all need to practice a new way. If Republicans and Democrats can’t even discuss the issues productively, how can we expect, say, the Israelis and Palestinians—who have a much deeper, visceral situation to address—to arrive at a peace agreement? Or the various Iraqi factions to chisel out a viable government?

D.U. Right. So is there anything the average Jane or Joe can do, or are you just blowing hot air?
T.I. We all contribute to the climate of the country, so yes, there is plenty an average person can do. Consider your words, watch your tone. Present your ideas without blaming, put-downs or ridicule. Talk to individuals of a different political persuasion from you and uncover their underlying, after-peeling-away-the-layers concerns and hopes.

D.U. And then what? Don’t leave us suspended.
T.I. Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if you found out their core values were about the same as yours—let me guess—they want security, freedom, fairness, respect and caring? Even if you disagree on how to manifest those values, at least you’ve discovered you’re both humans of the same species who can engage in a constructive conversation.

D.U. Well, thank you, Ms. Idrobo for speaking with me. Now, to our listeners, any dissension out there?

Rethinking Enemy Images

A guy tries for ten minutes to merge onto a busy boulevard, cursing out the drivers that pass as ignorant and selfish. Finally someone gives him a break. Once on the road, he goes by several merges further on, also with long back-ups of cars waiting to get on. His friend suggests allowing in one of the cars. “Why should I let in any of those idiots?” he responds. “I’m in a hurry.”

It is just human nature to assess our own motives as reasonable and justified, and the motives of others as selfish, despicable, or even evil. This habit, while bad enough on the interpersonal level, can become deadly when practiced by groups or nations. Yet that mindset can be transformed by the simple act of getting to know the “enemy” or “other” and engaging in problem-solving.

I love stories that confront us with this truth. In the middle-grade novel Beyond the Dragon Portal (2005- Melissa Glenn Haber) Sadie travels to Dragonland to find her lost sister. Just when she thinks she understands this strange land and is fired up with anger against the enemy who is killing her dragon friends, she discovers that the truth about the Dragons’ war is much more complicated than she thought. I don’t want to give anything away, but this well-crafted story cleverly enables readers to get an insider’s view of the “enemy” and of war.

I am compiling a list of books that inspire readers to rethink enemy images. Let me know if you have any nominations!

Themes that Resonate

I love books for their characters and story. But they truly carve a place in my heart when their themes resonate with me and make me think. That is what gives a novel depth. I am a lover of themes!

In particular I’m keen on themes that make me reflect not only on the world as it is, but on the way it could be. For example, The People of Sparks (2004- Jeanne DuPrau, Book 2 of the Ember series) is an endearing children’s novel of a girl and boy caught up in a deteriorating conflict between their people and the people of the city to which they have fled. The characters are memorable and the story is engaging. But its depth is achieved through exploring the themes of understanding, mistrust and hatred. The main characters Lina and Doon act in a dangerous situation with the simple but profound solution of helping rather than hating. Their actions completely transform the situation in Sparks.

Children reading the book witness a wonderful model for dealing with inflamed group emotions. “Helping rather than hating” is a theme that resonates deep in the heart.