Posted on 2012-Aug-24
My new short story “สายไหมจอมพเนจร (Sai Mai a Stray Dog)” is now available on the BB eBooks reader. We are interested in developing the first Thai eBooks in the reflowable EPUB and MOBI formats. Some technical challenges remain, but we have managed to accomplish a web-based eBook reading system for the Thai language, where you can see my story.
Original Material
Although we succeeded in publishing one of the greatest poems written by Thai poet on our blog, Sunthorn Phu, we felt a strong urge to experiment with the original material in Thai to let loose our creativity. I spent the morning hours of three days–Monday, Wednesday, and Friday–penning what would be my first Thai short story and the result was satisfactory.
Planted Cohesion
There were only rough sketches of the story in my head when I gave a small hint to my story last week. This week, I took a hard look at my notebook and any keywords jotted down during the preliminary observation and research about the topic. Cohesion was considered one of my weakest points at school in linking one paragraph to the next. However, this time I tried to make it right by doing mind-mapping and grouping all the relevant information. Having fertilized the same species of decorative plants, my garden of imagination will be ready for exhibition once the characters are brought in. Since the story is about dogs, the addition of two villain leaders and a bunch of their gangsters strengthen the dog’s relevance to daily life in Bangkok.
Self-Discovery
Building the story from pure scratch enabled me to focus on one thing that matters the most: what would a stray dog feel to be abandoned by the creatures it trusted for all of its life? In a world where harsh reality shapes one’s identity, the journey toward self-discovery might sound a little philosophical to digest. But, at the end of each day we might look at ourselves and ask what can still inspire us to live our life amidst new challenges and obstacles. The story is told in the first-person on how to overcome obstacles by embracing the kind of honesty and sympathy that the protagonist and his mother have shown.
Thai to English Translation?
“A dog is a man’s best friend” might be an overstatement elsewhere but in this story both living creatures and human need one another to explore the harmony of life. Although my short story is purely in Thai at the moment, I might consider translating into English upon readers’ request. So far, the 4,900-word story needs exposure to the Thai community. Tell us about your experience of translating your own novel into other languages. Tweet and like us anytime so we can get to know you a little better. In order to publish your creative story as eBook in EPUB/MOBI format, submit a quote and we will make your wish come true in a couple of days. Peace!
Label: BB eBooks Company News
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