Category Archives: Writing

Brechalon Characters: Augie Dechantagne and Co.

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Brechalon (New Cover)Spoiler Alert

Augie Dechantagne
Augustus P. Dechantagne is the third of the Dechantagne siblings in the Senta and the Steel Dragon saga and is probably the least important. He is least important to the story and he is least important in his own life. Augie is a happy go lucky rake– the kind of guy that everybody loves and who can get away with anything.

Augie plays a big part in Book 0 and Book 1, particularly the latter. When we meet him in Book 1, he is in Birmisia. This is important because as a result of his knowledge, his family decides to build a colony there. Augie is a lieutenant in the artillery, so he is obviously intelligent, but being in the son of a wealthy family, he is generally unambitious (the exact opposite of sister Iolanathe) and is never serious about anything (the exact opposite of brother Terrence).

Lt. Arthur McTeague
McTeague was created for Book 0, and he doesn’t appear again in the series. He is Augie’s co-commander and friend. We don’t learn much about McTeague, other than he is a likeable friendly guy, like Augie. The name Arthur comes from my own family– a cousin and a grandfather, both of whom I am very fond. McTeague comes from the book McTeague by Frank Norris, about a sociopathic dentist. I read it in college and liked it.

Colour Sergeant Bourne
I needed a sergeant for my two lieutenants, and who better than Colour Sergeant Bourne. He is named of course, for the character (based on a real person) in the movie Zulu. This is especially fitting, since Zulu is not only one of my favorite movies of all time, but was an inspiration for the combat scenes in Book 1: The Voyage of the Minotaur.

Brechalon Characters: Nils Chapman and Karl Drury

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Brechalon (New Cover)Spoiler Alert

Nils Chapman and Karl Drury are characters in Brechalon, Book 0 of the Senta and the Steel Dragon Series. They were both created for specifically for this book.

They are both guards in Schwarztogrube, the ancient fortress in which the Kingdom of Greater Brechalon imprisons wizards and sorcerors who either break the law or defy the govenment. Chapmabn is a fairly innocouos fellow and Drury is vile and evil. Both have the misfortune of being on Schwarztogrube while Prisoner 89 (Zurfina) is there.

When I was writing this I was thinking specifically of one particular detail. Zurfina calls Chapman “my pet,” a name she later reserves for Senta. When we find out Chapman’s fate, it adds a whole new level to the Zurfina/Senta relationship.  It was one of those moments where I giggled madly as I was writing.

Both Chapman and Drury were names that have been floating around in my head for years. Nils and Karl were chosen to reflect their ethnicity and personality.

Brechalon Characters: Zeah and Yuah Korlann

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Brechalon (New Cover)Spoiler Alert

Zeah Korlann is one of the main characters in the Senta and the Steel Dragon story, and plays a prominent part in Book 0: Brechalon. When we first meet Zeah, he is the head butler for the Dechantagne family, having served in that position since he was a young man. His father and grandfather also worked for the Dechantagnes, as does his daughter Yuah.

Zeah is a member of the minority Zaeri religion and this defines him. He also, at least in the early books, has a pronounced stammer. This speech impediment is exacerbated by proximity to his employer, Iolanthe Dechantagne. Zeah is one of the few genuinely decent and nice people in the story and he makes a great foil to play off many of the others– Iolanthe, Terrence, and even his own daughter.

Yuah Korlann, Zeah’s daughter, is one of the most important characters in the series.  She has probably the most important arc for any of the characters and it is one of the most tragic in some ways.  It is a story of rise and then fall.

When we meet Yuah in Book 0: Brechalon, she is Iolanthe Dechantagne’s dressing maid, a position for which there is no up side.  She has grown up in the Dechantagne household and even attended lessons with Terrence, Iolanthe, and Augie when they were children.  She loves Augie like a brother, hopelessly pines for Terrence, and her relationship with Iolanthe is complicated to say the least.  Iolanthe seems to enjoy putting Yuah in her place.

Yuah is a Zaeri, the minority religion, and this poses problems for her, especially considering there seem to be few Zaeri of marrying age aroud.

When I wrote the first draft of The Voyage of the Minotaur, Yuah was named Ewa.  I changed it to match her father’s name and because I kept mispronouncing it in my head.  I like the name though, so someday I’m going to have a character named Ewa.

Brechalon Characters: Senta’s Family

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Brechalon (New Cover)Spoiler Alert

Senta’s immediate family appears in Book 0: Brechalon and Book 1: The Voyage of the Minotaur. Some of them make appearances later in the series, including the upcoming Book 7: The Price of Magic.

Granny (Admeta Mae Goose): I didn’t use Granny’s name until book 5. I just liked that her name was Granny Goose. Granny loves kids and has cobbled together a family of her own grandchildren and the children of a couple of neices and nephews. All the kids in the household are related, but not necessarily siblings.

Bertice Haver is the oldest and is already working in Brechalon.

Geert McCoort is closest in age to Senta, and has to go to work in Book 0. His last name is a nod to author Frank McCourt, though I changed the spelling. His older brother is Maro McCoort.

Didrika Goose is a toddler who joins the family in Book 0 when her parents die. Her baby sister is Ernst Goose, and is still in a crib in Book 1.  By book 7, these girls are almost grown women.

Writing/Reading Update

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Tesla's StepdaughtersWow, between working, taking a three day business trip out of state, and physical therapy on my leg, I have had precious little time to write.  I’ve been way behind on my quota for over two weeks now.  I’ve got to get it together.

On my trip to California though, I did get some reading done on the plane and at the airport.  Did you know they have free airport wifi and usb charging stations now?  I don’t travel enough by air to have learned these things, I guess.

In any case, I started reading Tesla’s Stepdaughter’s again.  People always look at me funny when I tell them I’m reading my own book, but I did write it for myself.  I haven’t read this one for a while, and it’s pretty good, I think.  I’m not the only one that thinks so either.  This book sells better than any of my books, with the exception of the robot series.  It usually sells 1.5 to 2 times as many copies each month as Astrid Maxxim and about 4 times as many copies as any single Senta book.

Might I write a sequel?  I actually started on one once.  Now though, I get the feeling that it might spoil what I’ve already written.  I don’t know.  Hopefully I’ve got quite a few years left in which to decide.

 

Brechalon Characters: Iolanthe Dechantagne

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Brechalon (New Cover)Spoiler Alert
Iolanthe Dechantagne (pronounced Yo-lon-thee Day-shan-tane) is one of my favorite characters in the series. She is a strong woman and can be a real bitch. I hinted, when I wrote the series, that there was something in her past that drove her to be what she was, and in Brechalon, we see in flashback what that was. This is also something that is resolved in Book 5: The Two Dragons. Iolanthe really is the main character in Book 0: Brechalon and Book 1: The Voyage of the Minotaur. She drives the action and events, and in book 1, we see the beginnings of her growth as a person. This continues in Book 2: The Dark and Forbidding Land. She can be ruthless and mean, and at least in Book 0, cares nothing for anyone except her older brother Terrence.

By book 3: The Drache Girl, Iolanthe has kind of moved to the back of the plot.  The great moments that define her life are completed by this time.  She still remains a fun character though, and even in book 7: The Price of Magic, she continues to be a driver of story events.

Brechalon Characters: Senta

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Brechalon (New Cover)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.

Brechalon Characters: Meta Characters

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Brechalon (New Cover)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 four 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 Kristos! 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.

Voindrazius: Voindrazius is mentioned once in the early part of Brechalon, book 0.  Then I don’t think he’s mentioned again until he appears… in the upcoming book 7– The Price of Magic.  I’m not going to say anything more about him now.  You’ll have to read it in these two books.

His Robot Girlfriend – Politics

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His Robot Girlfriend is Free on iBooksPeople 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, and the inevitability of global warming. 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 30 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 first book, I wouldn’t give up either my iPad, my iMacs or my iPhone 6 for anything now.

Characters: Harriet Smith

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His Robot WifeHarriet 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.  I really want to expand Harriet’s role in a future book.