I just finished chapter 7 of Kanana the Jungle Girl. I’ve plotted out a story that is 18 chapters, 49,000 words, but that may change as I go along. I had a weird dream last night that I think might become a new chapter 12.
I’m having a lot of fun with this story and I hope people enjoy it. It’s very 1910-1920s pulp, but with quite a few surprises.
Eamon Shrubb is one of my favorite characters. He’s just a big lovable lug. When I originally plotted out the story, he was only in the second and third parts (which became books 3 & 5). When I spread it out to five books, I didn’t really have much for Eamon in The Young Sorceress, but I got to write his meeting with Saba in book 2. I had a great time doing that.
Wow, in their hurry to convert to their new interface (which I hate), blogger has totally screwed up my posting schedule. Two blog entries that I had scheduled didn’t appear and they budged up my logo and title too. Let’s hope this doesn’t continue.
Yuah Dechantagne is a character in Senta and the Steel Dragon Book 3: The Drache Girl.
Spoiler Alert.
Book 3 is the mid-point for Yuah’s story arc. In many ways, it is for her, the high point in her life. She has married into a high position in an extremely wealthy family. What’s more, she actually has a position that puts her above Iolanthe in some ways (because she’s married to Iolanthe’s elder brother, and therefor first female in the family). This was a fun turn of events for me, because in the first book, Iolanthe is so horrible to her. On the other hand, Yuah’s low point comes at the end of the book as the only thing she has ever wanted is taken away from her.
Yuah appears only a little in book 4, not because her part isn’t important, but only because book 4 is very Senta-centric. In some ways her story carries on further than anyone else’s, but you’ll just have to wait for book 5 to see what I mean.
Books play an important role in Senta and the Steel Dragon, and quite a few fictional authors and their books appear throughout the series. One author mentioned in a previous book actually is a major character in books 4 and 5. ::grin::
Phoebus Dodson is the author of several scientific works that we usually see Hero enjoying or Senta dreading. I imagine his books are huge, with heavy leather bindings, and are usually dusty because nobody wants to read them. His books include: Time and Space, Matter and the Elements, Gravity and Light, and The Contracting Universe.
Dillan Westmacott is the author of a racy novel entitled The Pursuit of Perfection. (Spoiler Alert) This is of course also a reference to the relationship between Terrence, Yuah, and a certain otherworldly winged woman. (End spoiler)
The most often referreed-to author is Kasia Garstone. She is a scandalous muck-raker (and some say socialist or communist. Her books include Steam, Revenge, Sacrifice, and Privilage and Sacrifice. Practically everyone reads her works, but almost nobody admits to it. My favorite line about Garstone actually doesn’t appear until book 5, but I’ll give you a little preview.
“Kasia Garstone says wizards are tools of the oppressors.”
After a marathon editing session over the weekend, The Two Dragons is now available at Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/152056 or Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007UJED16 or of course, Amazon Britain https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007UJED16.
I was making changes on the manuscript right up until the last minute, interesting since the first draft was finished in 2008. I also had to change the cover. The orange and red backgrounds had an awful bleed-through on thumbnails.
I am incredibly happy that Senta and the Steel Dragon is now done– happy, relieved, sad, tired, and about 27 other adjectives. I hope you all enjoy it.
Mr. Vever is one of those characters who are just around in the background, though he has a fairly large part in Book 5: The Two Dragons, and even gets an action scene. His part in Book 2: The Dark and Forbidding Land is mostly as the jeweler who sells Terrence Yuah’s engagement ring.
“We bloody well do,” said Yuah.
Twelve of the 21 chapters of The Two Dragons have gone through final editing as I write this. I keep making changes though. I re titled the last chapter. It was originally called “What Happened in the Years the Followed.” Since I ditched the long epilogue though, it doesn’t make much sense anymore. Anyway, here are the chapters.
1. The Social Event of the Season
2. Zurfina’s Past
3. Mayor Korlann
4. Cousins
5. The Problems at Home
6. The Long Way to Tsahloose
7. Beneath Ancient Stones
8. Inspector Colbshallow
9. City of the Dragon God
10. Tsahloose
11. War!
12. Troubled Times
13. The Green Dragon
14. Father and Grandfather
15. Their Future Together
16. Sabotage and Murder
17. What She Thought was the Case
18. Panic and Despair
19. War Comes to Birmisia
20. What Happened at Iguanodon Heath
21. Return to Brechalon
As I write this, I have just finished the final editing of chapter nine. I’ve been able to edit a chapter a day, so as there are 21 chapters, it should be about 12 more days until done. I might be able to speed that up by working longer on the weekends.
The beta readers unanimously preferred the new ending. The original chapter 21 was a long epilog, but I pulled it off and instead wrote a series of vignettes that just hinted at what happens in the following years. This is so that I can write a second series at some point.
“Well that will bring you total to ninety seven P.”
Mr. Parnorsham is around in all the books, a comfortable background character.
City of Amathar 