
Event Details
Join us for a reading, discussion and book signing of Stephen Billias' The Zen Time Traveler.
About the Author
Stephen Billias is a MacDowell Fellow, longtime practitioner of the esoteric Japanese martial art Shintaido, and student of Tai Chi and Zen. He is the author of seven fantasy novels, a short story collection, and the co-authored literary novel Pilgrim Maya. He sits with the Boundless Way Zen group in Massachusetts.
About the Book
For Zen student Stephen Maine, a single haiku is not just poetry—it is a portal. In a breath, the walls of his modern life dissolve, hurling him across the centuries into the heart of 13th-century China. Here, the legendary Chan masters are not myths, and the ancient koans are not riddles—they are lived reality. But Stephen is not alone in this timeline. He shares his physical form and mind with Wùkōng, a wandering Japanese monk destined to shape the history of Zen. When both men fall for Yabaku, a beautiful and fiercely independent maker of mystical swords, the fabric of time begins to fray. Torn between his present-day marriage and a growing, profound connection in the past, Stephen must navigate a maze of spiritual awakening and earthly desires. If he finds enlightenment, he may never find his way home…