Monthly Archives: December 2011

Senta Bly

Posted on by
Reply

Spoiler Alert

In Brechalon, Senta is only seven years old.  Had she not been the title character of the series, I would have left her out, since the story takes place before she does anything of importance.  I’m glad that I put her in, because it gives me a chance to show a little of her world.  Senta lives with her Granny and five of her cousins in a tenenment apartment.  We see that even though she had no magical capabilities, she does have an affinity for magic and can sense it even at a distance.

Senta is described as an orphan in all the other books, but in Brechalon we get the hint that she may not be one in actuality.  It is possible that her parents simply abandoned her.  We find out the ultimate truth of this in Book 5: The Two Dragons.

Characters Outside of the Story

Posted on by
Reply
Spoiler Alert


There are quite a few characters who do not appear in the story of Senta and the Steel Dragon, but are only referenced.  Here are three big ones:

Magnus the Great: Magnus was king of the Zur two thousand years before the events in the story.  He was a conqueror who carried on his father’s conquest of the continent of Sumir, more or less unifying the culture of mankind.  He occupies a place in history much like our own Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great.  At the end of his reign, his empire fell apart, partially due to the antics of his daughter Zurfina, though no one has described the exact details.  Zurfina the sorceress is the namesake of Magnus’s daughter.

Kafira Kristos: Probably the most important minor character in the book is Kafira Kristos.  She occupies the place in the world of Senta and the Steel Dragon that Jesus Christ does in ours.  Her life and martydom just after the time of Magnus the Great creates the divide between the two religions in the story–Kafirites and Zaeri.

The idea for Kafira came from a theological paper I once read.  It wondered, assuming that life existed on countless planets of the universe, would Jesus have lived and died on each one of them, or would they have had their own savior.  I decided that for the story, this world similar but not quite our own, would have its own, and further decided that she would be female.

Kafira is also the basis for a great deal of blasphemous cussing in the story.  Kafira!  Kafira Kriston! Kafira’s Cross!  Kafira’s Tits!  Kafira in a Hand Basket! and worst of all, Kafira’s Bloody Twat!

Kazia Garstone:  There are many books and writers referenced in the story, because several characters are either writers, devoted readers, or book collectors.  I have a whole list of authors and their works, some of whom I never used.  Kazia Garstone is referenced more than any of them.  She was a muck-raker as well as an author and is considered quite scandelous in polite society.  Many consider her a socialist, but her books are widely read and early editions are very valuable.

Terrence Dechantagne

Posted on by
Reply

Spoiler Alert

I think all my character discussions for Senta and the Steel Dragon will have to carry a spoiler alert.  So much happens to all of them over the course of the series that, though I try not to, I might inadvertantly spill some secrets about one or two of them.  So, read this at your own risk.

Brechalon is a prequel.  I wrote it long after I had written books 1, 3, and 5, so it provides a look at some of the events of the past that are only hinted at in the other books.  I don’t know whether to recommend that you read it first or last.

Terrence Dechantagne is one of the major characters of the series.  As he appears in Brechalon, he is in the army, serving in the cavalry.  During the course of the story, he takes a furlough to spend time at home.  Terrence is a drug addict, addicted to the “See Spice,” white opthalium, a magical drug that transports him to a world where his troubles are all soothed away.  The ultimate cause of this addiction is his eyewitnessing the murder of his mother by his father when he was twelve.  Add to this, the generally unpleasant life that he has led since.

Terrence is a thoughtful man, a collector of rare books, but has been thrust into the position of a man of action and violence by the expectations of others.  His general self-loathing extends to anyone who cares about him.  In book 0, he is at his low point, spending most of his time under the influence.

Senta and the Steel Dragon – Characters

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve covered the characters in Blood Trade, Women of Power, Astrid Maxxim, His Robot Girlfriend, and His Robot Wife.  Now it’s time to look at the Senta and the Steel Dragon series.  This will be fun, because there are literally hundreds of characters in the six books.  I’ll give a full entry to the main characters and group minor characters into a single post, but I’m going to present them in the order they appear in each of the books. 

I’m looking forward to this because I get to read the books again.  I really feel like Senta and the Steel Dragon is my best writing, my best story, and my best characters.  Stay tuned tomorrow as we start with Book 0: Brechalon.

His Robot Girlfriend — Politics

Posted on by
3

People accuse me of having all kinds of hidden agendas in the robot books, both political and otherwise.  Some have suggested that I’m a radical environmentalist because of the prominance of the Green Party in the story.  I do care about the environment, but the reason that the Green Party plays a part is that I thought it would be more fun to have three parties vying for the presidency than two. 

Others have said the story is a thinly veiled treatis on same-sex marriage.  There is a reference to the fact that same-sex marriage is more common in the future of the story.  That is not an endorsement by me.  I don’t have really strong feelings about it one way or the other.  I do think the institution of marriage is being damaged less by same sex couples than by people (either gay or straight) who practice serial monogamy– getting married and divorced over and over again.  I’ve been married to the same woman for 26 years. 

One area that few people get is the parallel of Apple Computers.  I tried to parody and reference Apple in a number of ways.  I find Apple and Apple fandom both interesting and humorous.  On the other hand, though I wasn’t part of it when I wrote the books, I wouldn’t give up either my iPad or my iPhone 4S for anything now.

Harriet Smith

Posted on by
Reply

Harriet Smith is a character in His Robot Girlfriend and His Robot Wife.  She is the daughter of the main character– Mike Smith.  Harriet is very loosely based on my own daughter, but as my daughter has happily pointed out, she would never put up with such a jerk of a husband as Harriet has, and quite honestly, unlike Mike, if my daughter did, I’d put him in the ground myself.

There are a few little inside stories that are taken from my own life with my daughter, such as her ability to talk a subject to death until my eyes glaze over, and the remembrance that they have of the time that Mike threatened to kill a kid who was bullying Harriet and almost lost his job because of it.

On the other hand, Harriet is a dental hygienist, and is fascinated with teeth, something my daughter has never shown any interest in.

Lucas Smith

Posted on by
Reply

Lucas Smith is a character in His Robot Girlfriend.  He is the son of Mike Smith and his deceased wife.  While I was writing His Robot Girlfriend, my son was participating in Jr. ROTC at his high school.  Because of this, I made Lucas a soldier.  Other than that, he bares no real resemblance to my son at all.  In fact, Lucas has a relatively small part to play in the story, so his character isn’t really all that fleshed out.  He doesn’t appear in His Robot Wife at all.

I’m Over the Cloud

Posted on by
Reply

I am over cloud computing.  This was supposed to be the wave of the future, helping us keep organized.  Now I have media spread out over at least seven different clouds and I can’t find anything I want to find.  I’m also done with the vaguaries of having something I’m supposed to own, in the hands of someone else who can cancel my access any time they want, and only let me know this somewhere in their 500 page user agreement.  I’m done with it.  Having it available for download is fine, but from now on, if I can’t back it up on my own hardware and play it on at least two different players, I’m not spending my money on it.

Update: The Young Sorceress

Posted on by
Reply

I got the following message on the blog, but I can’t seem to find it now.  “Is either the Young Sorceress or The Two Dragons part of the Senta and the Steel Dragon series, perhaps?”

Yes.  The Young Sorceress is part 4 and The Two Dragons is part 5 (the conclusion) of Senta and the Steel Dragon.

Chapter 7 of The Young Sorceress is now done and it’s on to chapter 8.  I expect 15-16 chapters total.  I’ll keep you up to date. In the meantime, I’ve been thinking of the blurb for the book back.  It might go along something like this.

The young sorceress Senta Bly can get into all kinds of trouble.  Imagine the trouble when there are four of her, one extremely secretive and cunning, one giddily happy, one paranoid and frightened, and one apparently intent on murdering her boyfriend Graham and the new girl he’s been seen around town with.  Which if any, is the real Senta?

Astrid Maxxim is Coming to Paperback

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been vascilating over which if any of my books should go to paperback.  I don’t really sell any, though I do give some away.  On the other hand, my ebooks are starting to sell.  Still, I thought of all my books, Astrid Maxxim deserved a paper treatment, as it is aimed at young readers, who might not have access to an ereading device.  I chose an unusual format– 8 1/2 x 11 inches, 98 pages.  I did this for a couple of reasons- 1) it just works better with the cover illustration, and 2) I wanted it to be different than my other books, since this one is aimed at children.  As I write this, the proofs have already shipped and I should have them by the time you read this.