With the huge number of characters in The Steel Dragon and the other two books of the series, it was always a challenge to find character names. A few of the names just popped into my head and one or two I made up. I wanted unusual names, because the story takes place in a fantasy world and not on Earth. On the other hand, I wanted them to seem real and organic. I made great use of Baby Name websites for most first names. In some cases I would look up historical people and use their last names. If I had a character who was a naturalist, I would find the last name of a nineteenth century naturalist.

I listed the main characters in the previous post. Here are some of the major supporting characters.

The Steel Dragon: He is a tiny little creature in the first book, but by the second has grown to the size of a pony and is speaking. By the third book, he is on his way to becoming a fearsome beast of legend.

Augustus Dechantagne: The younger brother of Iolanthe and Terrence is a happy-go-lucky rogue, and a suspect in a string of murders.

Pantagria: A mysterious angelic figure from a strange alternate world who visits Terrence when he is in drug-induced dreams.

Professor Merced Calliere: A scientist and inventor, Calliere has created the Result Mechanism, a steam powered computer.

Egeria Lusk: Professor Calliere’s assistant and programmer, Miss Lusk is probably the smartest person in the new colony.

Graham Dokkins: A boy the same age as Senta, Graham becomes her closest friend.

Hero & Hertzal Hertling: Twins from Freedonia and members of the ethnic minority, Hero and Hertzal are the same age as Graham and Senta.