Divine is a short work with a larger story before its publication — and a tender real-life epilogue
The Divine Mind is a short work with a larger story before its publication — and a tender real-life epilogue since publication.
The book was first drafted by me in 1988, prompted by a request from my friend Ted Smith. Ted aspired to write a fantasy novel and asked me to help him by inventing a pantheon of human gods for his story’s background. It was a fun challenge. I created a collection of god-like characters loosely modelled on people I knew. The gods Sequorin and Allend were inspired by Ted and another friend, Jim. We were avid chess players, so I invented a cosmic game, Dasmark, to enrich the mythology. Other characters and their dynamics were based on vegetables in a garden and the turn of the seasons. Anticia, for example, is tall with silken hair like a corn stalk. Like the vegetables, each winter the gods retreat and renew.
I typed the manuscript on my Smith-Corona, photocopied and bound it at a local print shop, and handed out copies to friends. Ted passed away far too early, and the work slipped into obscurity.
Decades later, I found my only surviving copy gathering dust on a bookshelf. I scanned it into digital form—and in the process, destroyed the last printed copy. I dropped the file into a cloud drive, assuming that was where it would rest. But life has its own turns. Since my Parkinson’s diagnosis, I’ve felt a growing urgency to publish the writing I’ve carried for years. To that end, I founded Snail Books, an independent digital imprint for my original works. All I needed was a first release.
Lately, I’ve been writing essays about chess, and the connection with Dasmark resurfaced. The playful manuscript was already complete, so I revived it, gave it a thorough refresh, and—in a turn Ted would have relished—collaborated with AI on both text and images. The image of the god Sequorin looks strikingly like him.
Reading the original text again, I realized how much the times have changed. The gods reflected my own white bias and gender binaries. In this new version, I’ve spiced things up. The characters now show much more diversity in name, appearance, and gender identity. They are far more interesting.
As I mentioned, Ted passed away too early. I still have newspaper clippings from his obituary: Edwin C. Smith, born February 11, 1968, in St. Thomas, Ontario, to Robert and Mary-Ellen of Iona Station. It noted that he was the father of Scott and Tyler. I knew them both when they were young. Years later, when they were teenagers, we met and spoke about their connection with their dad through fantasy role-playing. I dedicated the new edition of The Divine Mind to Ted and his boys.
As I prepared this post, I reached out to Ted’s family to reconnect. Clearly, I had let too much time pass. I learned that Scott now identifies as Evelyn. I’m proud of her courage and was glad to tell her about the gender updates I had already made to the text. I learned, too, from their mother that both children, now adults, are brilliant. I updated the dedication to read:
For Ted Smith, and for his children, now adults, Evelyn and Tyler.
As an e-book on a digital publishing platform, anyone who has the old version will be invited to download the updated version. All future downloads will show the new dedication.
Last Updated on December 6, 2025 | Published: October 17, 2025