Topher Lydon

I understand, you might enjoy my other Western Buckshot, which is more action based. Odd, I use a 4-1 chapter style. Chapter 5 featured a fight on a stagecoach... chapter ten is the next action set piece. It's just a style I work with to keep flow. And I interspersed it with two antagonist raids. It's just a formula I use to pace my action. But seriously, if you want something a bit more... action based, Buckshot is the one for you.

I try to keep it Historical Fiction, and Historical Fantasy. I need room to work and strict adherence to the historical material would cripple the story.

Exactly this, they're friends. Devon doesn't want to be pampered, he wants the amazing mess of a human being that Alvarez really is. Not some fop, who treats him like he's glass. They've bickered almost since they met, and Devon likes that Alvarez, the one that challenges him and he can yell at. It makes him feel like a human being.

Those two needed a reminder to be more careful, they have been getting a bit too brazen

Ch10 The transition from the mud-soaked yard behind the Lemon Saloon to the boardwalk of Lanternlight’s main avenue felt less like a walk and more like a forced march into entirely uncharted territory. Devon stepped out of the heavy oak doors of the clinic and onto the wooden planks, the spring evening wind immediately attempting to bite through the unfamiliar layers of his new clothing. For the first time in his life, he wasn't shivering. The heavy charcoal wool of the custom

I mean, it would be BETTER :: Whistles and kicks Scarlett o'hara off the roof ::

Lord Julian is very young for the position he finds himself in, as Regent of the Levant. It does establish the role he steps into in the next book as Darien's Chancellor/Steward over the Vexin. Someone's got to manage all the money the Vanguard is taking home... and let's face it, between him and Libbet, the Vanguard's finances are in loyal and effective hands. Darien is many things, but having ANY idea what to do with money is not, exactly his forte. Val would buy swords, and more swords.... and a few more swords. Lloyd would grumble, horde it all like a dragon, and stab anyone that came close. Ashot... would rob everyone blind. Stephen would wail, and try to give it all to the poor. Wylan would be too focused on Darien to even notice the money. This is where I began to realize how VITAL Libbet was to the Vanguard. They simply aren't prepared for what comes next, and her and Julian are.

Butter Churner

Typical, can't get a moment to do naughty things to my Lord, Always interrupted, never a moment alone... I swear, Val put him up to this... or Wylan, Wylan's always up to something... Or Ashot... yes, now there's a squire who I can blame... extra latrine duty for him. Where was I... oh right Good Morning, my Lord.

The morning sun crested the shimmering expanse of the Mediterranean, sending bright, unforgiving shafts of golden light through the arched windows of the Genoese suite. The light did not bring warmth to the room; it brought a stark, terrifying clarity to the situation they found themselves in. Séb awoke with a sharp intake of breath, his dark, coffee-colored eyes snapping open beneath his heavy brows. He was slouched in the high-backed wooden chair near the heavy oak door, his broadsword r

The Mennonites, and the Amish still persist today. There are Moromon cults that are far FAR worse, the Branch dividians from a few years back... then of course there was the whole Reverend Jim Jones situation which decended into the death of a US Senator and the suicide of a lot of innocent people, it is where we get the phrase "Don't drink the Koolaid" from. I am not saying they are all evil, I am however, pointing to rigid doctrine of hate vs Love as being wrong.

and butter-churning hands

Alvarez just doesn't know how to do things any other way. i enjoy their shouting.

Ch09 The morning light that crept through the frosted windows of the Lemon Saloon was pale, watery, and entirely devoid of the warmth necessary to thaw the freezing mud of Lanternlight's main avenue. The raucous, chaotic energy of the Saturday night crowd had long since faded into the floorboards, leaving behind the ghostly, stale traces of spilled beer, cheap cigar smoke, and the faint, lingering jasmine perfume of Madame Genevieve's girls. The cavernous room, with its massive cr

two days until they can meet with Wylan's fisherman.

The waddle of shame. I was searching for something else, and got sidetracked by this

The Merchant that followed them from Nabalus. He followed them after Seb's bad dye job right to the Fondaco. And there is a second person that recognized him, but that will be revealed later.

When I wrote this, I needed a way to pin them and complicate the escape. Four chests of gold made perfect sense. You can't run through a city to a boat carrying that much wealth and not be noticed. Baldwin is not the ruler of Jaffa, yet, he needs time while Darien is laying dying (from his perspective) He is there to claim the city once that happens. Right now, Julian is the Regent of the Principality of Galilee. Lord Ibelin appeared out of nowhere historically, in Jaffa. It is an intriguing story. (This Ibelin being the father of the one from Kingdom of Heaven) Once you realize that Sebastian is Balian of Ibelin's father I encourage you to rewatch the film.

Dieter abandoned to the Seljuks by his father's cowardice, his ordeal in the dungeons of Antioch during the siege, followed by his journey to Jerusalem following the armies of Raymond, and later Godfrey, before eventually running from it all to Jaffa. A beautiful face, lost in the darkest places of the crusade, surviving whatever way he could, and living with the betrayal of the man that was supposed to protect him. A foul mouthed, spitting ball of rage trying to hide the scars. I don't think what he wants from Erik is sex (I feel that was bluster and swagger.) He's looking for someone to hold him while he comes apart.

The walk from the opulent Genoese suite to the war room felt less like a stroll through a palace and more like the long, agonizing march to a scaffold. Séb’s boots struck the polished marble floors of the Fondaco with a heavy, measured rhythm, each footfall echoing off the vaulted ceilings. The blue velvet doublet, tailored for a seasoned lord, felt like a beautifully constructed shroud. It fit him well enough—his shoulders and chest were broad from years of hauling crates in the neighborho

Of the four boys, Ephraim is the on that is truly evil. Jeb was a coward, Lum was used, and Devon was a victim, and Ephraim damaged each of them. I tried to write how the event in the barn changed all four of them in different ways. Each of them seeing the event, remembering it in different ways, from different perspectives.

I know there was a manuscript around in the 10-11th cent. Mainly Anglo-Saxon. HOW Dieter is able to read is a mystery that will be answered soon enough Everyone in that room was lying about who they are.