Mary Soon Lee, a well-loved poet and member of Parsec, has published a book containing the entire story about King Xau as told in poems. The first fifth of the book, “Crowned,” was published in 2015 by Dark Renaissance Books.
Mary’s comment: The pandemic made me anxious to get the whole story published, and it’s now available as an ebook, from Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, and Google Play. I’m donating any money I get from 2020 sales to charity (Doctors Without Borders, The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, and The Trevor Project).
Her webpage for the book – The Sign of the Dragon – includes a recording of her reading the opening poem. [Note: This is definitely worth listening to, as Mary is very good at reading her poems.]
The plot summary is as follows:
As the fourth-born prince of Meqing, Xau was never supposed to be king. But when his three older brothers are all deemed unfit to rule and eaten by a dragon, as is the custom, Xau suddenly finds himself on the Meqinese throne. The early years of his reign are marred by brutal earthquakes and floods, and the long-simmering tension with the neighboring country of Innis finally erupts into war. Worst of all, demons rise out of legend to walk the realm again, leaving death and destruction in their wake. In a desperate gamble, Xau must broker an uneasy peace with his former enemies and hope their combined strength is enough to vanquish the demons before it’s too late.