A young boy named Marcel meets a strange lady who, with his father’s help, whisks him away to medieval Ireland to save the last dragons from extinction. But when Marcel arrives, he discovers that the world he and his guardian expected to navigate has been dramatically altered. Purchase “Incubation”

  • Inspiration for the location includes beautiful Trim Castle, the largest Norman castle in Ireland. It’s located about 30 miles west of Dublin, on the Boyne river (the lovely mist reminds me of the Missouri river some mornings). Also, the cliffs of Benbulben (or Benbulbin).
  • One of the many surprising details about Irish history: The Irish Wolfhound
  • An ancient, popular game: Nine Men’s Morris
  • Before and during the writing of “Incubation,” I spent about a year researching Ireland. If I had to summarize its extremely complex history in one sentence, I’d say it’s a green middle-east, and its history proves that peaceful freedom is possible anywhere. Some of the books and videos I used.
  • My quick personal summary of Irish history that’s especially relevant to the setting of “Incubation” and the next two books.
  • Common languages at this time were Latin for the erudite, and Irish (Gaelic) or English for everyone. If you’re worried that the characters don’t all talk like Geoffrey Chaucer, you can imagine that some changes crept in because people began imitating the speech of the king, whether consciously (sycophants) or unconsciously (you spend all your time with someone, you’re going to start sounding more alike).
  • Cover art: stones in the castle ruins at Ha Ha Tonka framing original art by Arcanadragon.