New Update of Senta and the Steel Dragon: Brechalon

Brechalon: Nils Chapman & Karl DruryAs I write this, the latest update of Senta and the Steel Dragon book 0: Brechalon is now available at Smashwords and should be at all other fine purveyors of ebooks very soon.  The new update includes the correction of a few typos, as well as the inclusion of the Senta and the Steel Dragon Encyclopedia which has been posted in parts here over the past few weeks and a map of part of the Senta and the Steel Dragon world.

As always, Brechalon is a free download.

I have to say that I really enjoyed reading my book again as I was working on the encyclopedia.  That probably sounds egotistical, but I write for myself first and foremost, so it really only makes sense.  I do think that this story is very dependent on the rest of the series.  It’s really additional material, rather than a story on its own.  If you’ve read it, I’d really appreciate hearing what you think of it, whether you have read the rest of the series or not.

Princess of Amathar – $2.99 at Kobo Books

Princess of AmatharTransported to the artificial world of Ecos, Earth man Alexander Ashton struggles to understand the society of his new friends the Amatharians. As he does so, he finds himself falling in love with their princess and being thrust into a millennium-long war with their mortal foes the reptilian Zoasians. Princess of Amathar is a sword-swinging novel of high adventure.

Find Princess of Amathar wherever fine ebooks are sold, or follow this link to Kobo Ebooks.

The Voyage of the Minotaur – $2.99 on the Sony Reader

The Voyage of the Minotaur In a world of steam power and rifles, where magic has not yet been forgotten, an expedition sets out to establish a colony in a lost world. The Voyage of the Minotaur is a story of adventure and magic, religion and prejudice, steam engines and dinosaurs, angels and lizardmen, machine guns and wizards, sorceresses, bustles and corsets, steam-powered computers, hot air balloons, and dragons.

The Voyage of the Minotaur is book 1 in the Senta and the Steel Dragon series and can be yours on your Sony Reader or Sony Reader App by following this link.

The Many Adventures of Eaglethorpe Buxton $2.99 at Diesel Books

Eaglethorpe Buxton MiniEaglethorpe Buxton, famed adventurer and story-teller, friend to those in need of a friend and guardian to those in need of a guardian. He is a liar and braggart, not to be trusted, especially around pies. Who are we to believe? Buxton himself leads us through The Many Adventures of Eaglethorpe Buxton. This volume includes the previously published Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Elven Princess in which our hero comes to the aid of… a poor orphan? An elven princess? And Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Sorceress. When the sorceress, subject of Eaglethorpe’s play arrives with fire in her eyes, the hapless story-teller must pretend to be his good friend Ellwood. Will he pull off this charade and survive? And what happens when the real Ellwood shows up? One can never tell, especially when Eaglethorpe tells the story. Plus thrill to three all new Eaglethorpe stories. In Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Queen of Aerithraine, our hero is back in his homeland, just in time to stop a mysterious murder, meet the Queen, solve the mystery of his best friend, and face off against a zombie apocalypse! In Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Amazons, our hero and his new friend Percival Thorndyke tramp through the horrible, stinking, insect-infested land of Ennedi in search of treasure. Eaglethorpe must deal with man-hating Amazons, jungle-dwelling goblins, vicious centaurs, the dreaded and feared frog-bear, and a companion who seems determined to get himself killed. In Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Day of the Night of the Werewolf, the famed story-teller is sent to hunt down an unusual werewolf and manages to run into practically everyone he has ever met along the way. The Many Adventures of Eaglethorpe Buxton is a farcical fantasy of heroic proportions, sure to elicit more giggles than gasps.

Get the ebook by following this link to Diesel Ebooks, or look for it wherever fine ebooks are sold.

His Robot Wife: Patience is a Virtue – $2.99 for Kindle

PatienceIt is the year 2037, when men are men and robots are cute. Patience, the robot wife, has a new friend– Wanda. Wanda, another Daffodil, has been having difficulty bonding with her human, the recently divorced Ryan. She hopes that with Patience’s mentoring, she’ll be able to help Ryan accept her into his troubled life. But even Patience isn’t prepared for what happens when they take a joint vacation cruise to Antarctica. His Robot Wife: Patience is a Virtue is a science fiction story in a world where technology is more than just a pretty face.

His Robot Wife is available for the Kindle at Amazon.com.  Follow this link, or look it up from your Kindle device.

Note: I wanted to recognize the anniversary of 9/11 yesterday, but I couldn’t think of anything to say that was original and wasn’t trite, so I decided to say nothing at all. 

The World of Senta and the Steel Dragon: X-Z

The Two DragonsXygia: About -2650, tribes from central Sumir migrated to the land of Argrathia, interbreeding with the remaining Argrathian stock.  Bringing new farming techniques, they prospered and formed a complex society.  By -2000 Xygia was a powerful empire.  By -1000 it had grown to cover most of eastern Sumir.  By year 0, most of Xygia was conquered by Magnus the Great.  After the death of Magnus in year 7, Xygia again became an independent kingdom, although Zaeri had become the dominant faith.  In year 9, Kafira Kristos began teaching in Xygia.  In year 13, she was tried for heresy and crucified.  Almost immediately her small cult expanded into a religion.  In 16, Kafirism became the dominant religion in Xygia.

Year: A year consists of 375 days.  The yearly calendar established by King Magnus the Great, consists of twelve 30 day months and one 15 day month.  The months are, in order: Restuary, Festuary, Treuary, Quaduary, Pentuary, Sexuary, Septuary, Octuary, Novuary, Decius, Magnius, Kafirius, and Hamonth (Half Month).

Year in Hell, A: A Year in Hell by Abban Keiman tells the story of a midshipman in the Brech navy.

Zaer, Kingdom of: The Kingdom of Zaer was one of the successor states of Magnus the Great’s Zur Empire.   Kafirism became the official religion of Zaer in year 129, and for 300 years, some of the worst persecution of ethnic Zaeri occurred there.  Zaer and neighboring Mirsa combined in 1744 to become modern Mirsanna.

Zaeri: The Zaeri religion began in ancient Zaerphon as an offshoot of the Ballar Pantheon.  In Neo-Zaerphon, Zaeri became a monotheistic religion and over the next two thousand years, spread over northwest Sumir.  One of the new converts to Zaeri was the Kingdom of Archero, where great works based on Zaeri themes were created.  This inspired King Marius of Zur to conquer Archero and to adopt Zaeri as the official religion.  When his grandson, Magnus the Great, conquered the known world, he spread Zaeri religion across the continent.  But in year 16, a variation of Zaeri, Kafirism, rose to replace the original church.  By modern times, Kafirites dominate the world.  Fewer than 5% of humans are Zaeri adherents.  Modern Zaeri worship in shrines, relatively small and unobtrusive houses of worship, and are led by a religious teacher called an Imam.

Zaeritown: The portion of any city that it predominantly Zaeri in population, the term Zaeritown may be fairly innocuous as in its use in Birmisia, or it may refer to ghettos as in Freedonia.

Zaerphon: A huge empire built from the ashes of Ballar, ruled by the priest-kings of the god Jormah (who had been a sky deity of the Ballar pantheon).  Over the course of 700 years from -2600 to -1900, the Zaeri (worshippers of Jormah) gradually became a monotheistic religion.

Zeets: A derogatory term for those of the Zaeri faith or ethnicity.

Zur, Empire of the: The most important ancient civilization, Zur was founded by migrants from the northern coast of Sumir.  From about -1100 until -180, Zur remained a small empire, copying the culture of the Olgons and the Zaerphon.  In -180, King Marius began expanding, conquering Archero (converting to Zaeri) and defeating the Tu-Riven.  When Marius died in -19, his grandson Magnus succeeded him and began a great journey of conquest around the continent.  When he completed, his “unification of the world,” Magnus declared a new birth of civilization, established a new calendar, and spread the Zaeri religion across the known world.  When Magnus died in year 7, his empire split into eight successor states.

Zurelendsviertel: A Zaeri ghetto in the Freedonian city of Gartow, Zurelendsviertel was home to as many as 100,000 ethnic Zaeri crowded together at gunpoint by order of King Klaus II.  Many thousands died of starvation, while others were murdered by Freedonian soldiers.

Women of Power – free this month at Smashwords.

Women of Power NewThe life of a superhero is tough. All American Girl fights supervillains, alien invaders, and terrorists as she tries to get product endorsements and a magazine deal. That’s nothing compared to her private life though. She’s only just broken up with her super boyfriend Perihelion when he’s scooped up by Omega Woman, and now rival Skygirl has moved into her territory.

Women of Power is a superhero adventure and you can pick your copy up at Smashwords free all during the month of September if you use the coupon codeCG55A at checkout.  Follow this link to Smashwords.

Well, crap!

IMG_1749The first two weeks of school are over and I haven’t written anything at all– except lesson plans.  I was hoping to keep up a little bit, but getting started with the school year has really taken everything that I have.  Well, now that I’ve got everything rolling, maybe….

There is so much to do, including getting two weeks ahead with lesson plans and keeping tabs on everything as department chairman.  Add to that meetings– lots and lots of meetings.  Well anyway.  That’s just the way things are.  No sense whining about it.  I’m just looking forward to getting at least a little writing done now.

Nope.  Still not done with the draft of Love and the Darkness.  If I get a chance to just do it, I can whip it out in no time.  We’ll see.

The World of Senta and the Steel Dragon: U-W

youngsorceressformobileread1Uarm: The Uarm were an ancient people from the interior of Sumir who migrate north to the coast about -4400 into the land of Trippia.  They were a matriarchal society who built cities around strange temple towers.  They were conquered by the Ballar about -3350.

Unenlagia: A dinosaur/bird of Birmisia, the unenlagia is very similar to the velociraptor and deinonychus, closer in size to the latter, but features much longer and more colorful feathers.

United Kingdom of Greater Brechalon: The Kingdom which encompasses the five major islands of Greater Brechalon as well as the many smaller nearby islands.  Greater Brechalon was part of Rundaria after the death of Magnus the Great, and became an independent kingdom in 461 with the crowning of Harold I.

Unterirdisches Esser:  A magical creature living underground, the Unterirdisches Esser is created by exposing a normal creature to magical energy over a long period of time.

Utahraptor: The utahraptor is the largest of the predatory Birmisian “birds.”  Standing six feet tall and up to twenty feet from nose to tail, the utahraptor has an eight inch claw upon each foot and is covered in feathers of dark blue to turquoise.  Utahraptors usually hunt in pairs.

Uuthanum: Magic spells, whether cast by a wizard or a sorcerer, must have an incantation to trigger the magic.  The more complex the spell, the longer and more complex that the incantation must be.  However the magical word “uuthanum” is always a part of the incantation.  For simple spells, it may be the entire incantation in and of itself.  The word predates all presently known languages and its original meaning is lost to time.

Vaterland, S.S.: One of a number of Freedonian ships hired to deliver Zaeri to Birmisia.

Velociraptor: The velociraptor is the most common of the predatory Birmisian “birds.”  Standing two and a half feet tall and up to five feet from nose to tail, the velociraptor has a three inch claw upon each foot and is covered in feathers of greenish, with color details that vary from group to group.  Velociraptors usually hunt in groups of seven to nine, and are happy to scavenge from human garbage.

Villa Cochon: A small village just east of Port Dechantagne in Birmisia Colony.

Villa Colonie: Villa Colonie is a small town on the Isle of Petitt Elvert, in the channel.

Virgin, Argrathian: Priestesses of Siris in Ancient Argrathia, the Virgins became legendary for their adherence to a life of chastity.  Indeed the penalty for not doing so could in some cases be death.

Virgins in Spring: A novel by Sable Agria, Virgins in Spring concerns the fall of the main character after she gives away her virginity before marriage.

Visio: (See White Opthalium.)

Voindrazius: A red dragon who made his home in Sumir, Voindrazius was first mentioned in Misoan records dated 480, though it is believed he was old at that time.  The last recorded sighting was in 1819 north of Bangdorf.

Volcano in Winter: The most popular book by Freedonian writer Angana Hedrick.

Wahlstedt: A small town in Freedonia near the port city of Friedaport.

Waif des Vaterlands, S.S.: A smaller cargo/passenger vessel traveling from Friedaport to Mallontah.

Warlick, Lamis: A modern Dallorian writer.

Way of Life, The: A long novel by Indrajit Klumb, The Way of Life is an indictment of socialist principals.

Weevoc, Orian: A Brech author who emigrated to Forland.

West Brumming: West Brumming is a small town about fifty miles north of Brech City.

Westmacott, Dillan: A popular Brech writer.

West Wills: One of four district areas in the port city of Redgepool.

Whale, Common Brech: Found in the waters around Brechalon, Mirsanna, and Freedonia, the common Brech Whale or White Whale grows to the length of ten feet, and is a slender torpedo-shaped aquatic animal.

Whale, Great: More than thirty feet long, and weighing up to fifty tons, the Great Whales are common to the cold waters around Enclep and the Mulliens as well as the far north.

Whipple Avenue: One of the east-west roads in Port Dechantagne.

Whispy: Whispy is a classic Brech trick-taking card game.  Although the rules are extremely simple, there is enormous scope for scientific play.  Unlike Canals, it can be played by any number of players.

White Opthalium (Visio) (See Spice): Also known as Visio or See Spice, White Opthalium is a magical drug produced largely in Enclep.  It is made of enchanted lotus blossoms and a rare blue fungus native to that land.  It is used by rubbing it directly onto one’s eyeballs.  All users of White Opthalium share a fantasy vision of a land with bizarre purple flowers and a perfect fantasy lover.  The drug is highly addictive.

White Sea: A novel by Freedonian author Owena Frylander.

Whitney, Samson: A Brech novelist and poet.

Who Live in My House?: This novel by Abel Bonaventura tells the story of a man dying and looking back on an empty life.

Wide Open, The: The Wide Open is a novel by Tracy Burson which extolls the principals of conservation and care of natural resources.  It is popular for its sweeping descriptions of the wide-open lands of central Sumir.

Wild Woman, The: The Wild Woman is a pulp adventure novel by Rikkard Banks Tatum.

Windemere, S.S.: One of the transport ships making the run from Brechalon to Birmisia.

Wise Little Children: A novel by Samson Whitney.

Wise men: A novel by Freedonian author Owena Frylander.

Wissinger, Isaak: A Freedonian Zaeri writer, Isaak Wissinger was imprioned in the Zurelendsviertel ghetto along with tens of thousands of other Zaeri, where Zurfina the Magnificent rescued him.  He then relocated to Birmisia.

Wizard: One of the two types of magic users, Wizards tap into magic by using mathematics.  They create long and complex equations to create magical spells.  Each time they cast a spell, it is lost and they must reset their minds to be ready for it, by studying their equations once again.  Wizards may compensate for this by recording equations which can be cast by igniting them with very small spells (cantrips).  Wizards can be either male or female, though historically women have had less access to the education required.

Worron: Worron was one of a pantheon of deities worshiped in ancient Donnata.  Worron was the death god and along with the other gods of the pantheon was adopted by the Mersh and the Rundak.

Wyvern, H.M.S.: The HMS Wyvern was a Brech Galleon (sometimes called a battleship in the Brech histories).  It was sunk off the coast of Brechalon in a storm in 1574 in a storm.  Timbers were later recovered and built into a pair of desks.  One desk is in use by the King and the other by the Prime Minister.

Author Interview at Smashwords

Smashwords has a new author interview feature and you can find my author interview by following this link.

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