Senta and the Steel Dragon: Setting Part 2

My novel The Voyage of the Minotaur and the subsequent books in the Senta and the Steel Dragon series are set in an alternate world based very loosely on our own Victorian/Edwardian age. I wrote a bit before about how I came up with the map. Let me now tell you a bit about how I came up with the concept. Originally I was thinking of creating a role-playing game setting. I had seen a few Steampunk campaigns, but none of them really fell in line with what I would have wanted to create. I want my campaigns to be unique. I invisioned a world that was so large that the age of exploration would have taken longer, and it would only be in the nineteenth century when people from Sumir (my Europe equivalent) would venture forth to discover the world. In the distant lands would be primitive tribes and savage civilizations. They would not be human, but other forms of intelligent life. The lower forms of life would match as well. There would be a continent with reptilian people and dinosaurs. There would be a continent with insectoid intelligences and giant monster insects. When the story came to me, and the world became the setting for the story rather than for a role-playing game, I kept the reptilians and dinosaurs and pushed everything else to the back burner.

April Contest

Congrats to CR, who will soon be recieving an authographed copy of Princess of Amathar.  The august contest prize is an ebook edition of The Voyage of the Minotaur in your choice of formats from Smashwords.  Click on the contest button to the right to enter.

The Voyage of the Minotaur– Characters

My novel The Voyage of the Minotaur, currently in the ABNA contest, and the sequels I ahve planned and some already written, tell the story of the creation of a colony. Because of this there are many characters in the story– somewhat over two hundred named characters. I can put them into three main categories: main characters, major supporting characters, and minor supporting characters. In each of the three books, I follow four main characters, though not necessarily the same four as in the previous book. These are the characters into whose thoughts and emotions we see.
Senta Bly: Senta is a major character in all three books. She is a young orphan girl who becomes the apprentice to a powerful sorceress.

Iolanthe Dechantagne: The head of a powerful and wealthy noble family who leads the expedition to found a new colony in a mysterious land.

Terrence Dechantagne: A main character in book 1, Terrence is Iolanthe’s older brother, who everyone looks to as a heroic leader, but who harbors deep doubts about himself and lives with a dangerous addiction.

Zeah Korlann: Originally the Dechantagne butler, Zeah is a major character. He realizes his potential along the way to be more than a servant.

Yuah Korlann: Zeah’s daughter is a main character in book 2 and 3, but is a major supporting character in the other books. Hopelessly in love with Terrence, she struggles with her place in the world, and deals with ethnic prejudice.

Radley Staff: Radley is a main character in book 3. He is a naval officer on the battleship which transports the colonists. Later, after he retires, he returns to the colony.

Saba Colbshallow: Saba is a minor supporting character in book 1, a young man who works as a gopher for the Dechantagnes. By book 3, he has grown up and become a policeman. He is a main character in books 2, 3, and 5.

Senta and the Steel Dragon – Characters


My new series, Senta and the Steel Dragon tells the story of the creation of a colony. Because of this there are many characters in the story– somewhat over two hundred named characters. I can put them into three main categories: main characters, major supporting characters, and minor supporting characters. In each of the three books, I follow four main characters, though not necessarily the same four as in the previous book. These are the characters into whose thoughts and emotions we see.

Senta Bly: Senta is a major character in all books. She is a young orphan girl who becomes the apprentice to a powerful sorceress. (She is the title character for book 3 and the series)

Iolanthe Dechantagne: The head of a powerful and wealthy noble family who leads the expedition to found a new colony in a mysterious land, she is a main character in books 1 and 5.

Terrence Dechantagne: A main character in book 1, Terrence is Iolanthe’s older brother, who everyone looks to as a heroic leader, but who harbors deep doubts about himself and lives with a dangerous addiction.

Zeah Korlann: Originally the Dechantagne butler, Zeah is a major character in books 1 and 5. He realizes his potential along the way to be more than a servant.

Yuah Korlann: Zeah’s daughter is a main character in book 2, 3, and 4, but is a major supporting character in the other books. Hopelessly in love with Terrence, she struggles with her place in the world, and deals with ethnic prejudice.

Radley Staff: Radley is a main character in book 3 and in one chapter of book 5. He is a naval officer on the battleship which transports the colonists. Later, after he retires, he returns to the colony.

Saba Colbshallow: Saba is a minor supporting character in book 1, a young man who works as a gopher for the Dechantagnes. By book 2, he has grown up. He is a main character in books 2 and 3.

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest

Hi Wesley,

Thank you for participating in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award!

We’ve received your entry, “The Voyage of the Minotaur.” Your unique ABNA ID is: YWRGPU4J

On February 25, Amazon will announce the round two entries at http://www.amazon.com/abna.

Good luck in the contest!

Need to update your contest information?

– To update your name and e-mail address, log into your CreateSpace account at:
https://www.createspace.com/Member/EditAcct.jsp

– To update your contest entry, including the author name that will appear on Amazon.com if your entry is selected as a quarterfinalist, log into your CreateSpace account and click “Edit Entry”:
https://www.createspace.com/pub/member/dashboard.abna.do

You may update your entry until 11:59 p.m. eastern time on February 7, 2010, or until the first 5,000 entries have been received for your category, whichever comes first.

Connect with other contestants! The Amazon.com forums are a great way to meet other entrants:
http://www.amazon.com/b?node=332264011

Review contest key dates:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200291680

Read the official contest rules:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200291720

Browse the contest FAQs:
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Get more information on the contest prizes:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200291700

Interested in self-publishing? CreateSpace offers services and tools to help you distribute your book on Amazon.com and through other sales channels. Start publishing with CreateSpace:
https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest

Ihave entered The Voyage of the Minotaur in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest of 2010. The grand prize is a publishing contract from Penguin. Part of the process is a vote by readers who visit Amazon. If I make it that far, I’ll be sure and let you know where you can go to vote. In the meantime, wish me luck.

Senta and the Steel Dragon – Setting

Senta and the Steel Dragon is the story of a world not too different than our own Victorian/Edwardian age of Colonial Imperialism. This world however is different because in the past, mythic creatures like dragons were common. Magic is still present. In an age of steam power and rifles, wizards are sought after for service in the army and navy. In this world, the continent of Sumir is the place of origin and primary home of humanity. The people of Sumir have begun to colonize the rest of the world, which up until now, was dominated by non-human creatures.

I began creating this world, by imagining a world larger than our own, with more land as compared to ocean. I cut out a shape that I imagined as this world’s Pangia, then tore it to pieces and moved them around to simulate continental drift. When I was done, I set another piece of paper over them, and traced the outlines of the landmasses. Then I made several more drawings, attempting to make each of them more true to life. It helped that as a child, I liked to sit and look at the atlas.

The Voyage of the Minotaur – Another Rejection

I got my rejection letter from Baen books today. I have a list of about 5 more literary agents and a dozen or so publishers who will be getting queries from me next. If I haven’t got a positive response by summer, I’ll self-publish it, so I can move on to the next project.

The Voyage of the Minotaur – Update from Baen Books

I got an update from Baen Books:

We’re running behind, but should read your manuscript within a month.

In the meantime I am working on a new draft and should be ready within a few weeks so I can either send it to Baen or submit it somewhere else.

Brechalon: Second Draft Finished

I finished the second draft of Senta and the Steel Dragon Book 0: Brechalon. The only thing is to give it a final edit and publish it, but…
I don’t want to publish it until I know something about the disposition of Book 1: The Voyage of the Minotaur. I haven’t heard back from Baen Books. I’d like to know if I can get it published, or if I’m going to do it myself. The whole purpose of Book 0 is to build up interest for Book 1, 2, 3, etc.
So, I’ve decided to contact Baen and see if they have anything for me, then do one more edit of book 1 and send it to as many other potential publishers as possible. I’ll send it to some agents too, those I haven’t already approached.
I feel like I have to have some resolution, before I can move on, even though there are three projects that are begging for my attention. I woke up thinking about things to add to Nova Dancer. Women of Power is sitting there with three full chapters, as is Knights of Amathar. Any of these, I’ll self-publish.