Topher Lydon

XXIV. The chemistry laboratory smelled of sulphur, damp wool, and the bone-deep exhaustion of the morning’s five-mile run. The boys of the West Wing sat at the scarred wooden benches, their muscles screaming from the forced march, but their eyes were strangely bright. The phantom echo of the overnight radio broadcast still hummed in their blood. At the front of the room, Carter did not write chemical formulas on the blackboard. Instead, he drew a stark, thick-walled cylinder. He

Andrew Carter survived Libya. He brought his family home. But some wars follow you. On a freezing rural road, he watches his friend—an OPP detective—get executed during a routine traffic stop. The killers are gone. The only survivor is a child, dumped in a bag and left for dead. Andrew can't let it go. He's CSIS. He should stay out of it. But he was the only witness. He saw the killers' faces. And he knows Morrison died for something he wasn't supposed to see. A high-end adoption ring. Wealthy clients paying for children stolen to order. And when the deals fall through, the children are disposed of. Andrew is an Attorney turned intelligence operative. He knows how to build a case. He knows how to dismantle a criminal network. And he's not going to let Morrison's death be for nothing. Carter's Witness—the new chapter in the Carter series.

When developing this story, I was putting it together around Master Carter. I was curious as to Will's Grandfather, and what he would be like. I was originally envisioning a POW camp story, and I had written waaaaaay back in the late 1990's a POW story called Clipped Wings... it never went anywhere and is still sitting on my hard drive. (I throw nothing away) But I looked at it, and realized that the people who ran POW camps after the war would have transitioned into the Penal and Reform school system. ergo: Blackwater

It goes back to what Andrew said to Peter outside the medical tent in Basra. Andrew can control the vectors and threats in his life. He cannot, however, protect Will from the inheirant danger of Will's job. All it takes is one crazy person, someone with radical view points on either side of the political divide. Will is a staunch Centerist, his opposition to the War in Iraq, his voting record of defying the whip. The fact that he is Interim leader of a political party that (at the time) many considered responsible for the Finacial crash in Canada... When you lose your home, your job, your savings, and the man representing the party that did it is standing right there... Andrew is terrified. Will has already been shot once and Andrew could do nothing to stop it.

Miller is a break out character. He's a boy who cannot hide what he is, effiminate, delicate, the lisp. The kind of boy that you know within seconds. That does not, however, make him weak. His standing up to, and taming of, Kaxe is proof of that.

The motor pool at West’s Contingency Operating Base was a chaotic, vibrating symphony of organized military departure. The morning sun had barely crested the horizon, casting long, pale streaks of light across the desert, but the air was already thick with the smell of burning diesel, hot canvas, and the metallic tang of weapon oil. The extraction was finally happening. The bureaucratic red tape had been slashed, the diplomatic corridors had been temporarily pried open, and the British Qui

For Angelo, the happiest Cherub in the Choir, heaven is sitting in his Pater's arms.

And old Master Carter's lessons in discretion amounting to "Stop being noticeable dumbass"

Vane is a particular breed of evil. That hold-over from the Victorian puritanical era that saw waves of men advancing into machine-gun fire, that denied the existence of shell shock as nothing more than cowardice. pseudo-science taken as fact, like measuring the skull to determine defects in character. And Blackwater is his petri-dish.

XVI. The bell for lights out didn't signal sleep. It signaled the shift. As the heavy oak door to the Masters' quarters clicked locked for the night, the atmosphere in the West Wing underwent a chemical change. The rigid, terrified silence of the day—the Day Face they all wore like armour—dissolved. In the gloom, the barracks came alive with the "Pact." It was a society built in the shadow of Vane's discipline. A fragile, desperate ecosystem of comfort. Boys who had shove

Elias is certainly confused by his attraction to Calloway, who is, as written, somewhere on the spectrum. Part of his inability to hide himself properly and thus causing scandal.

Yani sort of told him a lot of what was happening. Will doesn't have the full picture, but you are right, he's putting it together. He just needs proof. With proof he can launch his run, without it he's helpless.

Andrew can't, Lucy can. Which is why Andrew has to get her back to Will

Forward Operating Base Delta was a masterclass in the chaotic, deafening aftermath of a prevented catastrophe. The sprawling logistical compound, normally a relatively quiet hub for the 1st Infantry Division’s supply chain, was currently vibrating with the adrenaline-soaked energy of two allied armies converging. The massive, twenty-four-ton British FV510 Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicles were parked in a defensive perimeter just inside the heavy steel gates, their diesel engines idling w

I adore Barnaby!

Carter's Revolution is the first time I have ever attempted an hour per chapter style The whole story takes place over 12 hours. 24-style of format. It's relentless, which is new for me. i am going to enter my revision and editing phase on it. But I am rather happy with the pacing. West, Peter, Andrew and Will all get their moments. Andrew impersonating Peter is a treat (Will is NOT allowed to ever tell Peter about) Jacob and the Rubber Giraffe provide much needed levity. Synopsis:

Remember there are three sides in this. Will's, Dufresne's and the Emmerson's. Each needs that evidence/Lucy.

Angelo is rather fond of both Simon and Matt... they let him get dirty and play

Vane arrogantly doesn't realize how vulnerable he is, and how ANGRY some people will get when they learn what he's up to.

I dunno, when I am in a flow state, I don't have a chance to think names... we end up with a lot of Matt's (as a personality type) Millers as a generic filler name... and a few others I tend to use. Declan's been a go to of late. Just easy names to find and replace... that won't break other words. Elanor and Evelyn are the female ones I use. I don't know if it is the same for other writers, but I tend to shut my brain down when writing, and just type. Sometimes it works, and some days (like today) I just can't get settled.