Eamon Shrubb is a character in the Senta and the Steel Dragon books. In The Two Dragons, Eamon is a police sergeant and there are quite a few places in this book that call for that role. One of my favorite little bits is how Eamon narrates himself, like in this scene where he finds Mayor Zeah Korlann facing off against a group of potentially violent protestors.
“What the bloody hell is going on here?” he asked, stopping one of the men. Zeah had never seen the man before.
“We’re keeping the zeets out.”
A second sign carrier, this man the mayor had seen before, but didn’t know, said, “We’re fine with you mayor, and your kind. But these foreign zeets are too much.”
“I’m so happy that you’re fine with my kind. Now take your signs and get out of here.”
Zeah had never thought of himself as courageous, though he recognized that he could be resolute. But then standing down half a dozen men with picket signs seemed so much less intimidating than standing off half a dozen deinonychus, at least until the men formed a half circle around him.
“We got a right to free speech,” said one man.
“Speak all you like, but this is an unlawful demonstration.”
Several of the men puffed themselves up, and for a moment, Zeah expected to get hit with a placard post, but then the men deflated and turned, dragging themselves and their signs away. Looking up into the sky, Zeah thought that maybe he had been the beneficiary of draconic intervention for the second time that day, but the sky was clear. Then he saw the three uniformed police constables behind him, truncheons in hand.
“Everything all right then mayor?” asked Police Sergeant Eamon Shrubb.
“Um… yes, thank you, police sergeant. What are you doing here?”
“There was a report of an anti-Zaeri demonstration. ‘That’s not very friendly,’ says I, ‘not what with a shipload of refugees from Freedonia coming into port’, so I brought the lads down for a butchers. Of course when I got here, I found my presence to be unnecessary.”
“Oh, I don’t think you were at all unnecessary, police sergeant. Thank you for your diligence.”
“Mayor,” said Shrubb, looking over Zeah’s shoulder. “Does this ship look as though it has more refugees than expected?”
Zeah turned around and looked at the railing of the black ship. It was lined with unhappy-looking people in bedraggled clothing. Though they looked as though they had been through something trying, they did not look like the typical Freedonian refugees. For one thing, their clothing though now limp and soiled, had once been the height of Brech fashion. For another, several clergy members, Kafirite clergy, could be seen among them. The mystery was revealed only a few minutes later, when a port authority officer came running up to the police sergeant and the mayor.
Graham Dokkins is a major character in Senta and the Steel Dragon. He plays a smaller but nevertheless very important role in The Two Dragons than in previous books. Here Graham pays the price for having ignored his girlfriend when she wanted him.
“Come in,” called Senta in response to the loud banging on the front door.
“St. Ulixes has been invaded!” Graham shouted as he burst in.
“Go back outside and come in again properly.”
“What?”
“Go back outside and come in again properly. This is my home. Show some respect.”
“Come on!”
She raised her eyebrow.
“Fine.”
He went back outside and closed the door after him.
“How long are you going to make him suffer,” wondered Hero Hertling.
“Until he learns to come when he’s called,” replied Senta as Graham once again knocked.
“Maybe he was helping Gaylene with her new baby.”
“No, he was playing around down at City Hall,” replied Senta. Then she said, “Come in.”
Graham opened the door and stepped in. He took a deep breath and smiled.
“Good day ladies.”
“Good day sir,” said Senta.
“Hey Graham,” said Hero.
“I, um… have some news.”
“What is it?”
“St. Ulixes has been invaded!” His self-control gave way like a dam bursting. “The Freedonians attacked it with a full brigade of infantry and steam powered war machines. They used their airships to drop bombs. It’s only a matter of time till they’ve completely taken over Mallontah. Then they have a straight shot on the train directly toward us. The whole city is going crazy over the news.”
“That is exciting news,” said Senta, though she didn’t seem excited at all.
“What are we going to do?” asked Hero, who looked not only excited but terrified as well.
“General Staff has ordered all the Colonial Guard out to Iguanodon Heath so they can be ready. The volunteers are going to start training at the guard base tomorrow.”
“Did you sign up?” asked Senta. “I won’t associate with a dastard.”
“I can’t,” Graham replied, with a frown. “I have to supervise the lizzie crews. We’re going out tomorrow to dig trenches and build an observation tower.”
“As long as you’re doing your part.”
“Is Hertzal going with you?” asked Hero.
“Of course he is.”
“Well, enough of worldly matters,” said Senta. “Do you have my present?”
“I do.” Graham reached into his trouser pocket.
“It’s not your birthday,” observed Hero. Senta just smiled at her.
“Um, I have to give her a present every day for seven days,” said Graham, pulling out a tiny box. “This is number six.”
He handed the tiny box to Senta, who opened it and withdrew a small bejeweled key on a silver chain.
“It’s a skeleton key, so it opens all kinds of locks,” said Graham. “But the really brilliant part is that the handle is a magnifying lens.”
“Well… I don’t know…” said Senta.
“Oh come on! It’s the best one yet.”
“What other gifts has he given you?” wondered Hero.
“I gave her a fan, a kaleidoscope, and some gloves…”
“And a silver page marker,” finished Senta.
“Ooh, nice,” approved Hero, who appreciated book-related gifts above any others.
“All right, I think I like it.” Senta fastened the chain behind her neck, so that the key lay across her chest right next to the silver dragon that Graham had given her several years before.
Saba Colbshallow is one of the major characters in Senta and the Steel Dragon. In book 5, The Two Dragons, Saba serves as the police inspector of Port Dechantagne. Saba is a character who always seems to have more growing to do. He has gone in the series from a kid to a constable, and finally to police inspector. This trend continues in the forthcoming The Sorceress and her Lovers.
This scene from The Two Dragons shows us Saba in his everyday role as a leader on the police force.
The police station was almost four years old now. It had been constructed on what was at the time the edge of town, just east of the railroad yard. Now it was in the heart of the new business district and a short walk to the brand new rows of brownstone apartments or Lizzietown, depending on which direction you went. Made of sharp red brick, with white stonework at the corners and above the windows and doors, it was a square five-story building. On the arch above the door was carved in large letters “POLICE” and just below it, the police motto “punishment follows swift on guilt.”
The police sergeant on duty was not Eamon Shrubb, but Richard Butler who had just come on duty and was handing out assignments to six PCs in their bright blue uniforms with shiny brass buttons.
“You’re in early this morning, Inspector.”
“Anything exciting happening?” asked Saba.
“Nothing on the night blotter. I’m just sending the lads out. Are there any areas you would like them to keep an eye on?”
“Just the usual—the docks, Lizzietown.”
“Right. Did you know that Tabby Chesterton is in the holding cell?”
“No. When did that happen?”
“She came in yesterday about dinner time, I’m told.”
“She’s not here for soliciting?” asked Saba.
“No. I understand she poked her husband on the noggin with a frying pan.”
“He’s not dead is he?”
“I don’t think he’s badly hurt.”
“Toss me the key then.”
Butler threw a six-inch ring with a dozen large steel keys upon it to Saba, who caught it in the air. Then he stepped into the elevator, just past the sergeant’s station and closed the cage after him. Turning the lever, he sent the elevator car downward to the basement where the holding cells were located. In the first cell, he found the former Miss Malloy sitting on the cot, wearing a blood-spattered brown frock dress, her brilliant red hair a disheveled mess.
“So what happened, Tabby?”
“That no good husband of mine came home pissed again.”
“So you clubbed him?”
“I just gave him a love tap. Am I going to have to go before the Justice of the Peace?”
Saba placed the key in the lock and turned, then opened the door wide. “What’s the point in having a friend on the police force then?”
Tabby stood up and walked out of the cell. She stopped in front of Saba and leaned close to him, pressing her palm against his right cheek.
“I can think of several ways that I could express my appreciation,” she said.
“You’re a married woman now, and I am a married man.”
“Aye. And your wife is just lovely too. You made a good match.”
“Maybe. But speaking of matches. Are you going to have any trouble at home? I could come along and give him a talking to.”
“No. He’ll forgive me for clocking him. And it’s not as if he beats me. He just likes to come home ass over tit on payday.”
“So why did you marry him?”
She gave him a sweet smile. “How often do you suppose I’d been asked? It wasn’t as if I was an unplucked flower.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t get to be happy, does it?”
“I’m happy enough,” she said, sounding as though she meant it.
“Come on. I’ll walk you up.” Saba led her into the elevator and pulled the lever, taking them to the ground floor. He opened the elevator door and escorted her out.
“Be careful with the frying pan,” he told her. “You might accidentally kill him.”
She smiled at him. “Have a lovely day, lad.”
When Saba turned around, he saw several of the PCs watching him. He raised an eyebrow and they conspicuously found things to do. Tossing the keys back to Sergeant Butler, he stepped back into the elevator and pushed the lever to the other side, taking the car and himself up to the second floor, where his office was located.
When I was planning Senta and the Steel Dragon, I made a very complicated calendar system. I felt I needed it because I had created a world that was much larger than Earth. In the end, I threw most of that out. I was afraid I would forget how many minutes in a day and how many days in a week etc. I did keep a longer year, though I simplified it.
In the world of The Steel Dragon, they have 12 months of 30 days and a month of 15 days. I named some of the months for the number of the month (just as they are in our world) and a few for the mythology of my world. The 30 day months are as follows: Restuary, Festuary, Treuary, Quaduary, Pentuary, Sexuary, Septuary, Octuary, Novuary, Decius, Magnius, and Kafirius. Hamonth is the 15 day month (half-month). Because of the uniformity of months and years, I could assign the same dates as the starts of the seasons.
Treuary 21st is the first day of spring. Sexuary 24th is the first day of summer. Novuary 28th is the first day of fall. And Hamonth 2nd is the first day of winter.
I haven’t defined many holidays. Karfira Mass is Kafirius 25th. Accord Day is Septuary 30th.
Today sure seemed to go by really fast. The second semester has begun at school, so the kids are learning about Reconstruction and we’re moving on through History. The cool thing about teaching History is that you can judge how much of the school year is left based on what you are teaching. Our course starts with colonization and ends with World War II. So the end doesn’t seem that far off.
At the same time I start my post-graduate classes this week. So far I haven’t been able to log onto the class, but the university had no such problem logging onto my bank account to get payment for said class. This series of classes is going to run through August, so I won’t have as carefree a summer as I did last year, but there you go.
It’s funny to be already thinking of summer, but to tell the truth, I started thinking about it in September.
Wow, it was only a few days ago that I was working on chapter 13. I’ve just paused in my work today, and I am finishing up chapter 20. What’s more, I’m a little further along than it might seem. My original outline was for 25 chapters, but I’ve combined a few things (as I almost always do) and my new, revised outline is 22 chapters. I might even shorten it by one more– it all depends on how I work out one of the main climactic scenes.
If I finish the draft before the end of January, as seems very possible right now, then the release might be April Fools Day. That will give me time to get it revised and edited.
One of the main things I want to do in the revision is make sure that the tone is the same throughout the book. I have to do this with every book I write. My emotions, both as a writer and as a guy living my life, change over time and it is reflected in the book. Sometimes this is a bigger job than others. The Senta and the Steel Dragon are maybe less of a problem in this regard than some of the others I’ve written.
Anyway, hopefully my next update will say that I’ve finished the draft.
I started blogging about my writing a little over five and a half years ago. The reason was to connect with some of my readers and I have to say that I consider it a great success. Over the past year especially, I’ve gotten emails and posts with comments, questions, and words of encouragement. It’s very gratifying.
During the first four years of blogging, I sometimes felt that I was my only audience. On my four year anniversary, I had 18 official followers. Of course I realize that many people visit a site and don’t click the “follow” button for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, I was very excited today when I looked at my home page and saw 201 followers!
Thanks to all of you who follow this site and thanks also to anyone who occasionally visits.
The other day I blogged about Scribd, the online service that lets you read as many books as you want for a single monthly fee. Well there is more than one such service. Oyster is another (oyster books.com). Oyster seems to have a very large library and they have reading apps for all IOS 7 devices.
Happily, you will soon be able to read all of my books on Oyster as well as Scribd. If anyone out there is trying them out, let me know. Happy Reading.
Zeah Korlann is a character in the series Senta and the Steel Dragon. I really created him for the first book in that series. His story arc was one of an older man pursued by a younger woman. He and his young lady Egeria really parallel Mike and Patience in His Robot Girlfriend, and its no surprise that I put that book together from some earlier pieces, right after I had written The Voyage of the Minotaur.
After that, I didn’t have much for Zeah to do, but I used him as an observer. He really is a stand-in for me in the Senta books. In The Two Dragons, his chief occupation is to observe the three women revolving around his life: his daughter Yuah, their shared nemesis Iolanthe, and Zeah’s wife Egeria. At this point in the story, he watches the conflict between Yuah and Egeria.
The children had already gone through the house and come out in the garden. Egeria had ordered the dining room table set up in the backyard, and Chunny was already covering it with fancy dishes filled with delicious looking food.
“Can we play games?” shouted Augie.
“We will play after lunch,” said Egeria.
“What games can we play? We don’t have enough people to play Doggy Doggy.”
“Perhaps we could play Honey, Do You Love Me.”
“That’s no good,” said Terra, in her squeaky voice. “Everybody here already knows who loves who.”
“You mean ‘who loves whom’,” corrected Egeria. “I have a new game I think you will enjoy.”
She made a sweeping gesture to indicate that they should all sit, and insisted that Zeah sit at the head of the table. He was still dressed in his suit, so he still felt rather formal. His wife certainly seemed formal as well. Her white day dress made her fiery red hair stand out all the more. Yuah’s dress was, in Zeah’s opinion, slightly scandalous. It showed entirely too much back. She sat at the opposite end of the table, while Egeria and the children stared at each other from either side. Both women sat with a posture that could only have been achieved by rigid corseting.
“Pass around the chips,” ordered Egeria.
“I want a biscuit,” said Augie.
“Not till after.”
They passed around golden fish, beans, cheese, fruit, and of course crisp, beautiful chips. Augie wanted nothing but chips and beans, and Terra wanted only fruit. As the little girl used both tiny hands to hold the platter loaded with grapes, sliced apples, pear halves, bananas, and strawberries, she dropped the edge onto her plate. With a loud crack, the plate broke into two pieces. With a little cry, she dropped the platter, and although it didn’t break, fruit went rolling in all directions. Zeah caught his breath. Here as everywhere, Egeria employed dishes that were far too valuable to be used by normal humans, let alone children.
Egeria made no sound or expression that could be construed as any kind of admonishment. She simply got up and gathered the stray fruit. Yuah was upset though, probably with the same thoughts in her head that Zeah had in his.
“What kind of fool leaves out dishes like this for little children,” she said.
Egeria didn’t reply, but both her mouth and her eyes grew small.
Chunny came out to the table and removed the two plate halves, replacing them with a plate that to Zeah’s mind looked even more valuable than the one that had broken. A few moments later, the lizardman returned with another platter loaded with butter biscuits. These were the neat, perfect biscuits that Egeria bought in a tin, preferring them over homemade ones. Now that his duty had been done by eating his chips and beans, Augie set to work ridding the property of buttery desserts.
When they had all finished, Egeria led the children around the house to the side yard. Set up across the green lawn was a net for badminton, and four light rackets had been placed on a small occasional table that had been brought down from the upstairs hallway. Zeah went to the gazebo near the edge of the yard and picked up the wicker armchair, bringing it back. He intended to be a spectator in this sporting event. By the time he had made himself comfortable, the sides had already been chosen. Yuah and Augie were set up on the east side of the net, while Egeria and little Terra, whose racket was almost as large as she was, were arrayed on the west.
Yuah served first, taking the bright yellow shuttlecock and whacking it with a force that should have knocked it clear to the ocean. The feathered birdie lost its steam though just above Egeria and wafted down right in front of her. With a mighty backhand blow, she sent it soaring back again over the net. Despite the fact that neither woman, with their corseted waists, long dresses trailing upon the ground, and voluminous hairstyles seemed ready for athletics, they pummeled the hapless cork and feather device back and forth.
Thwack! Egeria smashed the birdie directly toward Yuah’s face. Thwack! Yuah sent it back. Thwack! This time Yuah had to reach around. Thwack! It went toward the back end of the court. Egeria, a good four inches shorter than her opponent was unable to reach it, and the birdie alighted gently upon the grass.
“Ha!” cried Yuah. Then her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell to the ground in a faint, an often enough occurrence for women walking in corsets, let alone participating in sporting events.
Egeria smiled triumphantly. She wobbled for a moment and then she too fell down into the grass, gulping for air.
“Hey, I want to play!” shouted Augie, but Terra had already lost interest and was busy chasing a butterfly.
“Grandpa will play with you,” said Zeah, “as soon as we clear the court.”
City of Amathar 