Graham Dokkins is the boyfriend of Senta Bly, the main character in Senta and the Steel Dragon.  He plays quite a big part in Senta’s development throughout the series.

Spoiler Alert Starts Here!

The main thing I had to deal with in The Young Sorcerss, as far as Graham was concerned was what to do with him.  Senta is going through some stressful situations in this book and it’s taking her beyond her previous experiences, and Graham is a calming moderating force upon her.  I needed that calm and moderating force to be gone.  I did that by getting him involved with intrepid girl reporter Nellie Swenson, which was one more stresser for Senta to deal with too.

Senta and Nellie Swenson both get their name (and the latter, the inspiration for her origin) from real life intrepid reporter Nellie Bly, and this is a little clue about their relationship in the book as well.

Incidently, Graham isn’t named after anybody.  His is just one of those names that got pulled out of the air.  It just sounds like a pleasant kind of fellow that you’d like to know.  That works, as most people who’ve written me about the series tell me that Graham is one of their favorite characters.  How could he not be, really.  Here’s a kid who is brave and adventurous, fiercely loyal to his friends and family, knows more of the native language and culture than most adults, and gets to hang out with real live dinosaurs.