Green Group discussion

Once upon a time...." Teeth - The Epic Novel with Bite " a novel by Timothy Dean.

Let's discuss with Timothy Dean during our summer book club, from August 9 to August 11, 2010 !

Hi Green Group! Thanks for inviting me here to to discuss TEETH - The Epic Novel with Bite, Vol. 1 of the South Pacific Trilogy.

TEETH is fiction, but set in a real place and time: the South Pacific in the closing days of WW2.

I have been a creator of television documentaries most of my life, for broadcasters that include PBS and Discovery. Much of my work and personal interests have to do with our planet, and its fragile ecology.

My fiction is set on the island of New Guinea where I grew up with cannibals and headhunters. These people were the very last group of pristine tribals to experience "First Contact" with the outside world.

In addition, their introduction to global "civilization" was violent World War 2!

My book is set in the tropical rainforest as America is about to release atomic weapons of mass destruction against the enemy that stabbed it in the back at Pearl Harbor.

In addition, the creature I call "the Great Antagonist," the biggest, most aggressive crocodile on Earth, is featured in TEETH. It is based on a real reptile from the period, also known as "the Father." It is an animal, so I will not call it a "villain," as evil, in my opinion, is something only expressed through humans, but rather he is the Antagonist (and a character in the story! I put you inside the Father's head).

Therefore, this is also a "man versus a force of nature" saga.

Thanks for inviting me here to day: tomorrow - Tuesday, August 10th at 12-noon US Pacific Standard Time, I'll be live to chat.

Fire at will!

Thank you Timothy to take time for discussing with the group about Teeth - The Epic Novel with Bite for three days and specially Tuesday, August 10th at 12 NOON, US Pacific Standard Time for AN HOUR

We're looking forward to discuss with you and have fun about this incredible species, the saltwater crocodile !

THE SALTWATER CROCODILE:
- from TEETH...

"Scientists say the Saltwater crocodile has been around for two hundred million years and shared the planet with the dinosaurs. But 'dinos' and all the other 'saurs' disappeared en masse sixty-five million years ago—with two exceptions. One is the bird, the 'living dinosaur.' The other is the crocodile, the closest relative to the ancient ones of all the reptiles.

The crocodilians not only survived, they went forth and multiplied. Crocodylus porosus, the giant ocean-going kind, voyaged from Africa to India, infested South East Asia, colonized the subtropical areas of Australia and ventured as far north as the frigid Sea of Japan.

They invaded the island of New Guinea, and here they found an ideal home. There were no other large animals with which to compete. From the beginning, they were the apex predator, and included all animals in their diet. Man, too, was welcome to come by for a bite, when at last he showed up on these shores."

Timothy wrote: "THE SALTWATER CROCODILE:
- from TEETH...

"Scientists say the Saltwater crocodile has been around for two hundred million years and shared the planet with the dinosaurs. But 'dinos' and all the oth..."

Hi Timothy....Thanks for being with us at The Green group.

The Salwater crocodile is among the biggest reptile in the world, known to attack humans who enter the crocodile's territory.

Can you share with us a personal history about this huge crocodile? Are you fascinated by reptiles ? :)

The saltwater crocodile is one of the character of the story. Which other characters are the heroes of your story?

You wrote: " I have been a creator of television documentaries most of my life, for broadcasters that include PBS and Discovery. Much of my work and personal interests have to do with our planet, and its fragile ecology "

Can you tell us more about your television documentaries and your work .......

Michelle wrote: "Can you share with us a personal history about this huge crocodile?..."

My parents worked as 20th Century missionaries: that is, they studied unwritten tribal languages, created phonetic dictionaries - and taught the people to read their own language. By the time they got to Papua New Guinea, my father was the director of operations. We were the first family to inhabit a fertile field between two warring native nations! There were some close calls.

On that island, the so-called Saltwater crocodile is the largest predator. It is the largest reptile in the world - the closest living relative to the ancient extinct dinosaurs like T. Rex - and with as much or more biting power in their jaws.

I left when I was in my teens, and did not return to revisit until I was an adult, and a television producer.

Here's a sample of footage I've shot both above and under water with monster predators!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILAn_4...

Then I discovered that my childhood friends were the elders of their village!

I also spent time on the real "Big River" of New Guinea - the Sepik - the inspiration for my mythical river, the Raub. The Sepik is home to both "saltys" and freshwater crocodiles.

Actually, "Saltwater croc" is a bit misleading, because these huge creatures can live in either freshwater or saltwater. They are the only crocodile that can live in the ocean, and that's why they got the name.

But as readers of TEETH will discover, these wily and aggressive predators go between salt- and fresh-water at will.

It was on one of my trips to this huge island in the South Pacific (located just above Australia) that I found a picture book of WWII in that theater. There were pictures of battles, and that most famous soldier of them all, Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur, when he was in Port Moresby (the capital).

On the penultimate page, there was a picture that changed my life. It was a photograph of an actual gigantic crocodile called "the Father." It was a proven and notorious man-eater. In the picture, it was dead at last, and strung up - dwarfing the soldiers seen down by its tail who finally ended its reign of terror.

That picture changed my life: the crocodile came alive and began to swim through my imagination. "Imagine!" I thought. "What would happen if you were a human caught on its river - having to try and survive a 30-foot, 4,000 lb. intelligent ambush predator like this???"

The result is TEETH - Vol. 1 of the South Pacific Trilogy.

Thank you for asking!

Michelle wrote: "Timothy wrote: "THE SALTWATER CROCODILE:
- from TEETH...

"Scientists say the Saltwater crocodile has been around for two hundred million years and shared the planet with the dinosaurs. But 'dinos'..."

The setting of your book is, for me, the enduring star attraction. You did a remarkable job of making this environment real through print, I felt as if I were there and to return all I need do is open your book. What was your most important goal in sharing this wonderful world with your readers? Were there any particular difficulties or surprises to grapple with while engaged in the writing and editing process?

What do you think about the saltwater crocodile's re-populating and now entering freshwater waterways in suburbs. Aggressive young males are attacking due to increased competition. What do you think is the best way to create a balance between nature and developmental growth in these areas. How do you feel about croc. farms? I just watched a special on this, so the thought is fresh in my mind.

Kathleen wrote: "The setting of your book is, for me, the enduring star attraction. You did a remarkable job of making this environment real through print, I felt as if I were there and to return all I need do is open your book..."

Thanks Kathleen - and for your excellent review.

First, I grew up on the island of New Guinea, so it has been super important to me most of my life.

Second, it is one of the great pristine parts of our planet - both onshore, in its teeming rainforests, and offshore, on some of the most gorgeous, untouched coral reefs I've ever had the ecstasy of diving on!

I love diving with big animals like sharks (but I would not knowingly go underwater with a Saltwater crocodile! Too dangerous).

As a boy, and as an adult, I have been fascinated by the unique ecology of the place - and of the Stone Age inhabitants.

One of the things I wanted to communicate in TEETH was that this was the very last place on Planet Earth that a huge group of tribal people, lost in the Stone Age, was finally confronted by global "civilization."

I put "civilization" in quotes, because, for millions of New Guineans, contact came for them in the form of World War 2. Then the Japanese war machine stormed onto the island - and was confronted by the Allies. First, this was the Australians, in a desperate bid to keep the then-victorious Asians from taking their nearly empty continent. And then America, under flamboyant Supreme Commander General MacArthur, entered the fray.

So I wanted to show all that - modern man in conflict with a virtual force of nature (the great crocodile), modern men in mortal conflict with one another (the Americans and Aussies against the "Japs"). And modern man in conflict with Stone Age headhunters and cannibals that thrived all over this, the 2nd largest island on our planet.

Here's a quick look at the Papua New Guineans coming together in recent times, in full colorful costume, to dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww9Pq2...

Incredible video, Timothy. How do you think we can best balance our appreciation and desire to get closer with the (usually) paradoxical need to preserve? What is your most earnest wish for this unique place, its people and creatures?

Charlie wrote: "What do you think about the saltwater crocodile's re-populating and now entering freshwater waterways in suburbs. Aggressive young males are attacking due to increased competition. What do you th..."

Thanks for coming by, Charlie:
Well, the Saltwater crocodile was almost wiped out in another of its home habitats, northern Australia. Reptiles, no matter how big, just can't survive the kind of firearms we have now. They've been protected there - and that's a good thing.

However, I think they must be controlled in areas of human settlement. There are vast stretches of wilderness in Aus, and right across the Gulf of Papua in New Guinea, and these areas should be protected, with perhaps limited hunting permits authorized. I'm not against hunting (although I only hunt with cameras), just against wiping out a species.

Personally, I'm all for croc farms. By the way, crocodiles are natural cannibals (which makes them right at home in New Guinea, as one of the characters says in the book!). In the farms, they have to be separated by size, as a difference of a couple of feet will mean the smaller one is done for! That helps keep it in perspective when we think about their innate nature.

Crocodiles are excellent eating (firm, white steaks that don't taste fishy), and their skins, of course, are extremely valuable. I'd rather see them farmed than over hunted in the wild.

On New Guinea, the native people have had to co-exist with crocodiles for many centuries (perhaps 10,000 years or more - and humans are the newcomer. The crocs have been around for perhaps 200-million years).

Many of them worshiped the big "salty" crocodiles as dark deities. They simply had to get used to losing people every year to predation. I cover this in detail in my story.

I would say, the crocodiles that develop a taste for human flesh and won't move away, should be captured and moved hundreds of miles to protected wilderness, and should only be put down as a last form of protection.

The best way to develop a barrier between croc-lands and human settlements in Australia is nets and other means of keeping the species apart. Australia is forced to net many of its beaches to keep the sharks and humans at teeth-length, so it shouldn't be exceeding difficult to apply many of the same techniques to crocodilian habitat.

It's only now, after many years of protection, by the way, that some big male crocs are getting somewhere in the weight class of "the Father" in my book - he's 30-ft. long and weights about 4,000 lbs!

And that points to another commercial aspect of the crocodiles: more and more, people are going out on special boats to see the big aquatic reptiles in the wild. Tourism will help save the big crocs.

Thanks, Charlie.

Hi Timothy! As you know, I have read and LOVED your book. I see people have already asked the first few questions that I had, so I am going to ask my third question.

You have photos where you are hanging with the natives. Were you afraid or was it perfectly natural for you to befriend them because of your background?

Thank you,
Ellen

Kathleen wrote: "Incredible video, Timothy. How do you think we can best balance our appreciation and desire to get closer with the (usually) paradoxical need to preserve? What is your most earnest wish for this ..."

Kathleen, in New Guinea (both Papua New Guinea, which is an independent nation and was once an Australian Trust Territory, and the western half, which was once Dutch New Guinea and is now run by Indonesia as Papua and West Papua), a lot of tourism is still pretty rugged.

However, as usual, the clash with global culture has some devastating results. Rich tribal culture is eroding fast, as native people, especially the young, desert the old ways and drift away from tribal life, and end up unemployed in the cities. It's a recipe for violence and disaster.

I hope the people themselves will learn in time to keep alive their own cultures. Maybe it's impossible to keep out "western" innovations and ways of life. And in some cases - modern medicine to combat everything from intestinal parasites to blood parasites like malaria, and other diseases - the new ways are good. But when satellite TV and western products erode the people's own culture, their pride, and reason for being, then it's heartbreaking, and wrong.

What do you think? Here's a look at one such clash - tribal warfare Western Style. I call this "The Cola Wars."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChKclu...

Michelle wrote: "Can you tell us more about your television documentaries and your work..."

I spent a big part of my life as a TV producer of documentaries. And I grew up in the tropical rainforest, and so I am not a city kid: I was immersed in ecological systems, much like Mowgli the Jungle Boy, or Tarzan. Truly, it was like that.

I have been a hiker and boater for many years: I love the outdoors, and am fascinated with all things to do with it. I am an experienced scuba diver and underwater videographer. I stopped counting how many dives I'd done after 5,000.

I took part in the efforts to secure the last stands of old growth forest in British Columbia where I lived for many years. We helped save that legacy of forest from both the lumber companies, and the loggers, who argued that we were taking the bread from the mouths of their families.

On a medical subject, I was the first producer to hire Christopher ("Superman") Reeve after he broke his neck and became the world's most famous quadriplegic. Together we made "The Toughest Break" on spinal cord injury and attempts by international scientists to repair damaged spinal tissue (PBS, Discovery Health, etc.)

The most famous nature documentary I shot for Discovery was "Return of the Dolphin." I produced, wrote, shot (including underwater) and directed. I contracted Bryan Adams, the rock star, to narrate. He's a long-time supporter of Greenpeace. While Bryan is Canadian, he's lived in London, England for many years, so I traveled there to record the narration track. While there, I went to dinner at his fine house on the Thames River for a couple of nights, and we had a chance to visit and become friends. Bryan ended up giving me free of charge, the rights to one of his songs to use in the documentary - which did not impress Sony, his distributor, who had to write the contract!

I spent six weeks shooting that, on the north coast of Vancouver Island. This is the location of the world famous Johnstone Strait, home of an extended family of resident Orca.

When I was filming, great groups of big Pacific Whitesided Dolphins were entering these waters - and driving off the killer whales. That was the subject of the documentary I shot both above and underwater with them.

I've also traveled the world, filming my underwater adventure series, "Aqua Planet." We went to Australia (Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea), Papua New Guinea, which has some of the most pristine reefs in the world, the Philippines, Cuba (we did the most extensive television coverage ever done there), Central and South America - a four year odyssey. This was for Outdoor Life and world Travel networks.

I filmed "Thunder in the Canyon" - my whitewater tribute to the explorer Simon Fraser, 1000 km down the mighty Fraser River of British Columbia. It was also an homage to the First Nations people who still live along the river banks and fish its waters.

The Fraser is a timely subject, because industry and people are polluting the river - and it is one of the last great waterways without a dam on it in the region, and a precious breeding ground for millions of salmon that make their annual runs up the river and its tributaries to spawn.

At last I returned full-time to my first love: fiction, but fiction set in a real time and place on our lovely blue-green Planet Earth.

Wow, what an interesting group and so full of great questions. I read through everything so far and hope to come up with something smart to ask. Charlie asked the question that was on my mind and got a great answer. By the end of Teeth as much as I repected the croc, Katsu's cooking made me want to eat him too. This is weird because as much of a threat he was to our characters that we became personally involved with, we became personally involved with The Father cause of the way his character was built up. As much as I feared him, I feared for him as well. He was thrown into a world of bullets and bombs and because of this was used for target practice. Timothy made us readers feel that crocs pain and let us understand his conflict and his persistent hunt for the smooth headed two legged man that shot his foot off.

I guess my question for Timothy would have to be, with all the documentaries you have worked on and all the wild life you have been around, is there any other creature on the planet that you fear more or just as much, and if there is do you plan on writing another adventure after this trilogy based on this creature being thrown into another adventure like this? After all we have a lot of history on this big old rock teaming with life.

Ellen wrote: "Hi Timothy! As you know, I have read and LOVED your book. You have photos where you are hanging with the natives. Were you afraid or was it perfectly natural for you to befriend them because of your background?..."

Hi Ellen! While there are very dangerous people in New Guinea, the ones you see me hanging with are my bloods! Or as we say there, my "one-talks" - those who share a language. That's an important distinction in a country that has over 1,000 totally different languages on it! That's a natural outgrowth of the fact that for centuries, many New Guineans considered themselves to be the only "true people," and considered the tribe just over the hill to be their eternal enemies, and their food!

As you know, this is a prominent factor in TEETH, notably between the Mambu Nation, and Chief Bumay of the Valley of the Cannibals, and the Uhuli people, who have been exposed to missionaries, and follow their English-speaking chief, Mula. Much of what you read here is either right out of first-encounter non-fiction books, or from my personal experiences as a boy, and on a number of trips.

On one of my visits, I was lucky enough to meet a "first contact" tribe. That is, these people had somehow managed to avoid the outside world - until now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMyALl...

Steven wrote: "Wow, what an interesting group...with all the documentaries you have worked on and all the wild life you have been around, is there any other creature on the planet that you fear more or just as much, and if there is do you plan on writing another adventure after this trilogy based on this creature being thrown into another adventure like this?..."

Hey Steven - thanks for coming by! I've been underwater with a lot of big animals, but none I fear more than the Saltwater crocodile! While in New Guinea, I was told by old hands there that, out on the ocean, even in a boat, the only creature they feared was the crocodile.

I don't think I'd want to jump in the water with a Great White Shark either, although I've shot shark feeding events underwater in the Caribbean at several locations, and on the Great Barrier Reef.

One of the things I noticed about sharks: these are wild animals, big predators, but they have an innate sense of care and almost courtesy about how they feed! There's a group of human divers - all of whom could be food for a big shark - but the sharks come in gingerly, and only take the dead fish being offered up! How did they learn that?

I mean - would you offer a cooked chicken by hand to a Grizzly Bear??? Or a Bengal Tiger??? Not me!

There are many dangerous-to-human animals on land, including those above. Off the top of my head, another exceedingly dangerous one is the African buffalo, which has killed many people. And I wouldn't want to bed down with lions, hyenas, rhinos or hippos! And then there are all the poisonous snakes and insects.

I have a number of novels I want to write: not all have creatures other than humans in them.

BUT I've spent time in Mexico, Central and South America as well, and am fascinated by the jaguar legends. I won't say much more -- yet. Stay tuned!

Our first " The Group Talks with Authors " is a great success. I want to thank Timothy for all his answers, informations and the time he spend with the group to discuss.
Thanks at all the members which participate at the first day with " Teeth" and all the relevant questions posted all the day.

Michelle wrote: "Our first " The Group Talks with Authors " is a great success. I want to thank Timothy for all his answers, information and the time he spend with the group to discuss.
Thanks at all the members..."

Thanks! Moderator Michelle is in France where night comes sooner than in North America. I'll be checking back regularly as the day continues here.

Tomorrow (Tues.) at high-noon, there's going to be a Showdown at the Green corral! Ok - so it's a live chat right here at 12-noon Pacific time! C'mon by, pardner. I'll be the cowboy on one side of the fence...you can draw and shoot at any time.

Timothy wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Our first " The Group Talks with Authors " is a great success. I want to thank Timothy for all his answers, information and the time he spend with the group to discuss.
Thanks at a..."

Hi Timothy ! Night comes sooner than in North America, I agree. And I have a lot of readings to do. Looking forward to follow the discussion and to talk at The Green corral tomorrow at 12-noon Pacific time with the group!

Hi T
As someone whio has read TEETH and consider it one of the best thrillers (or any genre for that sake) that I have ever read- I really appreciate the opportunity to ask a question- while your novel takes place quite a distance away- the horrific Gulf oil spill has devastated wildlife- what effect on the Gulf Crocs do you anticpate- or have heard about- resulting?
also- as we all know that drilling and polution of both fresh and salt water lakes and oceans is rampant around the world- through oil drilling, illegal dumping ect- what does this increasing menace have on the future of crocs?

Rick wrote: "the horrific Gulf oil spill has devastated wildlife- what effect on the Gulf Crocs do you anticipate...as we all know that drilling and pollution of both fresh and salt water lakes and oceans is rampant a - what does this increasing menace have on the future of crocs? ..."

Hi Rick - thanks for your kind words. Frankly, I haven't heard about the impact of the terrible Gulf spill on crocodiles. What I have seen, probably like you, is that that the shellfish and shrimp fisheries have been shut down.

Oil kills all life, and I think we have just caught a glimmer so far of the devastation in the Gulf. Recent reports suggest the spill has dissipated - but they haven't looked deep enough, and only time will tell.

I wondered as I watched the BP Gulf disaster unfold, "what is oil doing so deep???" They went 5,000ft. through ocean, and then up to 30,000ft below that! Now, if my shaky math is correct, that's up to 6 miles deep - and that is about the thickness of the Earth's crust! IF oil is a product of organic life on the long-ago seabeds rotting, and then being squeezed under sediment - how could oil get that deep?

I haven't heard any good explanation - have you? And then I saw one report by a former Oil Co. CEO who said this is "abiotic oil." Abiotic petroleum, AKA abiogenic or non-biological oil is thought to have been formed from carbon back when the Earth itself was formed! The theory was promulgated in the Soviet Union back in the day, and then largely sneered at. Perhaps until now!

This CEO said that no one had been crazy enough to drill that deep for oil before, except the Russians, and they did it on land, where the rig was fixed. BP did it on a floating platform over very deep water - and that was a huge risk! The report I watched said there was nothing wrong with BP's equipment - it is just that oil and other chemicals at that depth are under such enormous pressure, that none of their precautions would ever work! That's where the image of sticking a pin into a volcano of deep liquid chemicals came from.

Scary, if fascinating, stuff!

Pollution, overcrowding, loss of habitat, and all the rest of it will no doubt have a negative effect on all the crocodilians (includes crocs, alligators, and more). I think we need as an international community to pressure governments in every country to set up marine (and land) reserves, where wild creatures can breed, provide new stock, and live in their natural state.

As humans, if we want other creatures with which to share this world - and I say we do! - we need to set up the reserves, patrol them to keep the poachers out, and not "manage" the vast biosphere to death!

Thanks for asking.

All my brilliant questions have been asked, but love being part of this great interview! Looking forward to sinking my teeth into your new novel!

Fascinating discussion! Timothy, what, in your opinion, has been the most adverse effect of global "civilization"'s intrusion on the tribes of New Guinea?

Timothy wrote: "Kathleen wrote: "The setting of your book is, for me, the enduring star attraction. You did a remarkable job of making this environment real through print, I felt as if I were there and to return a..."

Your video clip posted here shows many different tribes assembled, displaying their performances and costumes. I couldn't help but notice an alarming amount of exotic plumage, which I would usually rather see on the bird species to which they originally belonged. Do the people practice any kind of management policy to ensure that rare (and exclusive to the area) species aren't driven over the brink into extinction, courtesy of the pressure to deliver a unique spectacle at the big show?

I would have to say Timothy, that the only creature or creatures on the planet that I might fear more than the saltwater croc is the ones that can only be seen with a microscope. I've watched a show with my wife a few times now called Monsters Inside Me, and let me tell ya when you can't see what's attacking you and the fact that it can attack you much later on down the road, that is some scary stuff there. One guy's parasite invaded his body when he was a little kid but didn't start to effect him until he was in his 60s. I guess this can be looked at as scary but also amazing to know there are things like this on our own planet...so maybe we should really take a heck of a lot more time discovering what's on Mars before we land with people huh :o)

Darcia wrote: "Fascinating discussion! Timothy, what, in your opinion, has been the most adverse effect of global "civilization"'s intrusion on the tribes of New Guinea?"

Most adverse? Many young people have lost their traditions, lost their way, and turned to an aimless life of boredom, neglect and meaninglessness in the cities.

I would love to show them the same thing in North America at least - how our materialism hasn't solved the hunger in the heart and soul for purpose, for belonging.

It is so clear to me, when I remember the tribes of my youth, that they had so much by knowing who they were in their culture, and how they were related to all those around them.

Sure, I know there's a lot of things that are less than wonderful in primitive culture.

Having lived in such areas most of my young life, I have no illusions about Rousseau's "noble savage." While I loved "Avatar," I think James Cameron's view of the native people was just that - impossibly idealized. You have to experience real Stone Age tribes (as depicted in my book) to understand what it means to live without toilets except for a nearby bush (right near your house), and the stench of life without running water, or medicine even to treat the worms that distend your children's bellies. To quote Thomas Hobbes, the lives of such people is all too often, "nasty, brutish and short." Not that the Gadsup people I grew up with did not also have huge hearts, and a keen sense of humor. However, I am in my 50's, and I have probably outlived most of the native friends I once knew. They looked like old men last time I was there, some had already passed, while I am, of course, a healthy, fresh spring chicken, cock of the walk, and ready to rise and crow at the break of dawn!

This is a big topic, and hard to cover in a short answer. The ongoing debate about how much to interfere in, or change the way such people live, rages on.

In my "Valley of the Cannibals," for instance, based on a real nation called the "Dani," the men wear nothing but hollow gourds on their penises. And they were cannibals not so long ago. Now the gov't. is trying to get those men to change from gourds, to western-style underwear. So many of the men put on the underwear - with a gourd sticking through!

It's a total loss of dignity.

I know we live in a world of compromise, and you can't turn back time. So I say, stop cannibalism, but leave them their penis gourds!

Steven wrote: "I would have to say Timothy, that the only creature or creatures on the planet that I might fear more than the saltwater croc is the ones that can only be seen with a microscope. I've watched a sho..."

I lived all over the primitive world as a kid, Steven, so who knows what's going to come crawling out of me when I get to my 60's???

The "monsters within" also play a big part in my book: as you know, our 20-year-old hero, Johnny, already lives with incurable malaria in his bloodstream (that sometimes "came knocking so hard, his teeth rattled.").

Without giving too much story away, our men on the Big River are attacked by microscopic enemies at one point that almost cause their death.

Before I left on one of my own big trips to the region, I was in at a clinic of international medicine, getting all my boosters and batches of shots they recommended. There was a notice posted about quinine-resistant malaria (what a misnomer from the old Spanish days! It means "bad air").

The sign said this: "avoid being bitten."

A few weeks later, I was with the tribal people, traveling the Sepik River by dugout canoe (see the photo...) http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-med...

Out on the water wasn't a problem, but when we got to shore...! I had some insect repellent that was 90+% DEET. It was so stinking hot that I would sweat, and the hordes of hungry mosquitoes would line up along each rivulet and plunge in their feeders, where a little of the stuff had washed off. I got a hollow laugh at that one while being a pincushion for hundreds of insects: "avoid being bitten" indeed!

I noticed that the natives got preyed on just as much as I did. They just took it more stoically than I did. I had to go hide under a mosquito net a few times.

That's true you did hit on that subject as well and what a scene it was. I guess with all the things we try to push on these native people to make them change with the times, I think the most important is medication for these types of parasites and the dangers of living in the wild over fancy Fruit Of The Looms. Of coarse as civilized people,we need to be careful with the medications the pharmasudacal companies keep coming out with that cause just a nasty list of bad side effects as well.

Deborah wrote: "All my brilliant questions have been asked, but love being part of this great interview! Looking forward to sinking my teeth into your new novel!"

Thanks Deborah! I'm hard at work on the 2nd and 3rd books of the Trilogy right now, and hope to have the next one at least for Kindle and other ereaders, before the end of the year.

Timothy wrote: "Darcia wrote: "Fascinating discussion! Timothy, what, in your opinion, has been the most adverse effect of global "civilization"'s intrusion on the tribes of New Guinea?"

Most adverse? Many young ..."

Well said, Timothy. While I've never had the pleasure (or displeasure) of meeting a so-called uncivilized tribe, I would think that our culture's materialism would be a detriment to them. There has to be a better balance in what we give to them and what we take away. Your last line said it perfectly!

Timothy, I've told you before and I'll say it again: I would love to read your memoir/autobiography! You can call it "Growing Up With Cannibals". Seriously, your experiences and insight would provide valuable lessons for "cultured" society.

Darcia wrote: "Timothy, I've told you before and I'll say it again: I would love to read your memoir/autobiography! You can call it "Growing Up With Cannibals". Seriously, your experiences and insight would provi..."

I second the motion. Much of what I love hearing from you has to do with your experiences as a child in these wonderlands. Write it, already!

Kathleen wrote: "I couldn't help but notice an alarming amount of exotic plumage, which I would usually rather see on the bird species to which they originally belonged. Do the people practice any kind of management policy..."

Kathleen - I'm not sure that there has ever been a definitive study of this. I know that, in some places, Birds of Paradise, and other species, have become very rare.

What I know is that the New Guinea of my childhood had people who wore feathers and other natural things (animal furs, etc)., and there were plenty of birds around. They used snares, and special pronged arrows, to bring them down.

What eventually caused real shortages were (at least) 2 things: 1) desire by outsiders to collect their artifacts. This creates market pressures of supply and demand. 2) Foreign-made traps and weapons, including nylon nets and shotguns. When you bring these things into the mix, shortages to the point of extinction can occur.

When the people were subsistence-living in their habitat, collecting enough feathers, tree bark, and so on just to make their own bilas, their costumes - generally, no problem.

By the way, this is the same pressure that is wiping out the crocodile populations: the desire, primarily by Asia, for the skins (or at least, the Asians process the skins into high-end purses and bags, for the international market. Thus the "demand" comes from many moneyed nations).

We get just a taste of the development of international markets in TEETH. You will find much more down that line - crocodile hunters, and the development of the Asian market after WWII - in the next books.

Kathleen wrote: "Darcia wrote: "Timothy, I've told you before and I'll say it again: I would love to read your memoir/autobiography! You can call it "Growing Up With Cannibals". Seriously, your experiences and insi..."

Thanks, Darcia and Kathleen! I have many other stories for other places I lived - including the Philippines (which show up in TEETH), India, where I spent three years, Mexico and South America.

I guess I got to be in the thick of some things on Planet Earth that are fading fast away, or have already disappeared.

You know, this is why I love reading Herman Melville, whose Moby-Dick when whales looked like they'd populate the worlds oceans forever, is a priceless window on another time. Same for Dickens, Tolstoy, Kipling, Conrad and so many others.

I once had a Professor of Physical Anthropology, Dr. Gordon Lowther, who argued that if you really wanted to get the spirit and texture of life of another time, you would read fiction by writers of the time, not textbooks and non-fiction.

I think there's something to be said for that.

Timothy,
Loved "TEETH" - what a fascinating story!
I have heard that how a native culture develops has much to do with how hard they have to work for food, and the quality (calories) of the available food. Do the natives of New Guniea spend most of their time finding food, or do they have plenty of time for other activities? Something in the middle?

Steven wrote: "That's true you did hit on that subject as well and what a scene it was. I guess with all the things we try to push on these native people to make them change with the times, I think the most impor..."

Yes - seeing the ads on TV for the latest drug - that might reduce cholesterol, for example - but just may damage your liver and stop your heart - make me shudder!

My parents were anti-medicine and hospitals as much as possible, and I retain that. Let's face it - why go to a hospital unless you absolutely have to??? That's where all the sick people are!

· After reading your prologue, you definitely “show as opposed to tell” with your descriptive writing. Did an editor help with the writing of your book?

Charles wrote: "After reading your prologue, you definitely “show as opposed to tell” with your descriptive writing. Did an editor help with the writing of your book?"

Hey Charles! Well, I've taken creative writing courses from graduate school on - never stop learning, I say! I think my work as a documentary maker, and television writer/producer, helped a lot as well. I've made my living first as a writer, and then producer/director/host/editor, for thirty years. That means I'm an editor of copy as well.

I learned from all that to SHOW the action.

When I write, I see the story like a movie in my head, complete with full color, a cast of thousands, unlimited special effects budget, and an award-winning soundtrack!

That said, I love books because we can write 400 or 500 pages, and really get inside our characters, and live in the inner worlds of their minds. A movie, of course, starts with a 100 page script, and is all action.

I didn't have an editor, per se, but I do have a circle of colleagues and friends, some of whom are advanced English degrees and teachers, and others who are experts in their own field (all of whom are avid readers) They form the amazing, unpaid, unseen heroes of this process!

I do thank them in the Afterword, but I'll take this opportunity to say, thanks to all of you - I couldn't do it without you.

That said, I'd love to have a really good editor to work with, someone I could trust. Someone who would only massage the parts that required help, and would not try and fix what ain't broken.

But when you're publishing on a shoestring, on a multi-year writing plan, you just don't have the big bucks to lay out for such services.

In addition, it is difficult to get back from sales what you do lay out, so I think one of the big things to learn in this brave new world of book creation and distribution, is to be careful of every dollar you spend.

Thanks for asking!

Donnie wrote: "Timothy,
Loved "TEETH" - what a fascinating story!
I have heard that how a native culture develops has much to do with how hard they have to work for food, and the quality (calories) of the ava..."

Hey Donnie! You wrote one of the best review of TEETH I've read, so thanks for that!

Most people on the island of New Guinea have extensive gardens (and the women do all the work in most cases, while the men look after the "important" things, like politics, philosophy, and warfare).

On the fruit-and-vegetable side of life, therefore, most never go hungry. Their problem is protein. They raise pigs, but only enough to eat now and then, for special occasions. Same with trapping crocodiles and other animals - they just don't get enough.

It is possible that this is one of the reasons cannibalism became so widespread across New Guinea. There are many contributing factors - but one may be a deep-seated craving for meat!

Grisly, but true.

PS They also eat insects! One of the popular items is grubs. There's something about popping a writhing, fat white grub in your mouth, and feeling it burst between your teeth, that beggars description!

As well, there was a time of year when the June bugs would come in such droves, you could pick them off the trees by the bucketful.

The people would pull of the heads, legs and wings, and throw them in a pan, with a little grease or butter, salt and pepper. I ate them many times - and they tasted a little like a roasted peanut, BUT with a peculiar, unmistakable, unforgettable essence-of-insect in the middle that still makes my skin crawl!

Of course, I've also eaten crocodile, snake, eel, and many other things.

Hi Timothy,

Many thanks for this talk with a lot of ecological and anthropological informations.
A question was added yesterday by Brian about the resources you have used or uses for your trilogy, "TEETH ".
Among James Clavell which others writers inspires you in your writing process?

Timothy - I have another question from TEETH! I have heard that over 1,000 languages are spoken on the island. Each tribe having an entirely different language. Can you tell us how the "trade language" works on the island?

· What marketing approaches have you found most successful in promoting your book?

Michelle wrote: "Hi Timothy,

Many thanks for this talk with a lot of ecological and anthropological informations.
A question was added yesterday by Brian about the resources you have used or uses for your trilogy,..."

Hi Michelle! I am truly a lover of books, and an avid reader. While I've been fortunate enough to travel Earth all my life (and the other planet just offshore, the one I call the "aqua planet"), I have wandered through the vast panorama of worlds contained between cardboard covers - the places conjured by human imagination in books.

I suppose every one of them, either in a positive or negative way ("don't write like that!") influences my writing.

However, for TEETH specifically, I have to give credit to my mentor, James Clavell, whose Asian sagas, including Shogun, Tai Pan, Noble House, Gai Jin, and King Rat, had a huge impact. (I must mention Homer's Odyssey, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and most assuredly, Melville's Moby-Dick).

I grew up reading all the books by the British author who spent time in India, Rudyard Kipling. Jack London's Call of the Wild, White Fang, and more, were an early influence (did you know that he was a huge fan of the then-little known Hawaiian sport of kings, surfing - which plays a big part in TEETH?). I have enjoyed, as well, much of the writing of Michael Crichton - from his non-fiction travel book, to the Jurassic Park series. Then, of course, there was Jaws - but I liked the way movie-maker Spielberg rewrote the story for the silver screen, more than Peter Benchley's original.

Then there's the thinking, breathing crocodile! I was inspired to take the reader inside his head (to the best of my ability), by the works of CS Lewis in the Narnia books, Richard Adams in Watership Down, the Plague Dogs, and others who have "channeled" animal characters.

I know crocodiles can't think in words! - but it's the best this human can do!

Donnie wrote: "Timothy - I have another question from TEETH! I have heard that over 1,000 languages are spoken on the island. Each tribe having an entirely different language. Can you tell us how the "trade lan..."

There are several trade languages. The one I grew up with is a bastardized form of simple English, called Melanesian Pidgin English - more commonly known as "tok pisin" (talk pigin). As in the Caribbean island, or many other places in the world where indigenous people were exposed to English, the patois becomes virtually unintelligible to "normal" English-speakers when the locals speak it quickly.

I try not to overburden the book with pidgin, but there are some fascinating phrases! For example, "long way likilik" means "a little bit of a long way," and can cover anything from a half-hour walk, to a trek that will end up taking many days!

The name of the village where our heroes are sent on the rescue mission, "Operation Teeth," is "Kissim." This is my little inside joke: in pidgin, "kissim e come" means "bring that here," so "Kissim" is "bring it!"

If you hit someone in the head, you "break im coconut!"

Thanks. I agree with Darcia and Katleen, Timothy. I would love to read your memoir/ autobiography !

I'm a book's lover and an avid reader. I have recently follow a chat online with the International writer Margaret Atwood. I have noticed among all her relevant thoughts on writing, on books this sentence:

" You have to leave peace for the readers to make his or her own jugements. They are participants and their are individuals which is why, each reading of a book is unique "

What's your thoughts about this sentence?

Charles wrote: "· What marketing approaches have you found most successful in promoting your book?"

Marketing: word of mouth, sites including Goodreads, online relationships with readers and other authors, marketing sites including amazon. For me, as a TV producer, I've used You Tube a lot as well:

millions of people watch clips!

Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQZyTT...

Michelle wrote: "...Margaret Atwood. I have noticed among all her relevant thoughts on writing, on books this sentence: You have to leave peace for the readers to make his or her own judgments. They are participants..."

I met the Canadian author Margaret Atwood several times over the years. Once, at a party, she was the guest of honor, and she chose to read the palms of anyone who would line up. I let several people go ahead of me, and when I finally had my turn, she said I should take an assertiveness training course!

I've enjoyed a lot of her books, although I don't much like her male characters. She is an excellent writer!

But in this case, I agree with her. The author must leave space for the reader to participate in the story. This is why a book can be so much more a creative process for the recipient than a movie! On the screen, you know exactly what a character looks like. In the book, the reader pretty much creates him or her from a few deft strokes provided by the author.

Of course, all major threads of a story must be tied up - but it's good to have many things ambiguous, as well (in my opinion), for the reader to puzzle out on their own. This more closely resembles the way life works.

I've been criticized (in a nice way) in a few reviews for leaving TEETH with such a big "cliff-hanger."

Well - this is deliberate, since it's the first book of the Trilogy (what? You didn't expect a tease into the next book???). BUT, having said that, there's a part of me that is quite satisfied to leave the story at that place - and let the reader fill it in, in their own imagination.

I think that a really good book should (after its been read), come up time and again, over a period of months and even years, with observations, questions and resolutions, in the reader's own mind.

Then the author has done a good job, and written something of lasting value.

Timothy you described the New Guinea phenomenon of "the Cargo Cult" - will you comment on that?