When 16-year-old Winifred determined that she was pregnant, she knew she had to take action immediately. It would not be long until her mother would start asking questions. Her mother, in turn, would doubtless tell either Winifred’s father, or her maternal grandfather, depending on how angry she was. If she was really angry, she’d tell…
“We’re not going to bother with any of that marching crap,” said Jeffords to his troops. They were his because he was the only one in town with experience in combat, little as that was. The villagers were lined up, sort of, in front of him. The idea was that he would prepare them to…
It all started with the resolution passed by the town council. No, perhaps not. That might be giving it too much weight. It really started when Tomas got stinking drunk that evening. But since the council resolution comes into it, we’ll just have to start there. It was passed unanimously, and was short and to…
“And then I let go when I’m at the farthest point out, drop into the river and swim to the far shore. The current will be helping me.” “And if you can’t make it?” “I’ll come up against that rock.” “What rock? I can barely see anything.” “There’s a rock in the water just where…
[Note: This is one of my attempts to tell either a different part of a Bible story, to tell the story from a different perspective, or to get a similar point across in a different way. I will quote the related scripture passage at the end. Besides the general fun of setting myself the assignment…
[Note: This story gives some idea of the imaginary Jevlir Caravansary, after which this blog was named.] The Jevlir Caravansary is just across the river from the small, but well-fortified town of Jevlir. Immediately to the west, the great east-west caravan route enters the pass of the mountains, variously known as the East Enzar range,…
Well, eventually the day comes when I get around to reading even really popular literature and so it arrived for this book. A friend loaned it to me and it took some time for it to rise to the top of my reading list. I’m a bit slow to grab things that have a immediate,…
I’m not a reader of the Harry Potter series, but I really like this note from Laura of Pursuing Holiness. (I worked together with Laura in forming the Philophronos Blogroll which can be seen on my threads blog. This is my “fun” blog.) To a large extent I think the difference in people’s reactions to…
I actually thought I was reading a book by an author I’d never read before, and I still can’t remember what book I read by Harry Turtledove before, but I have a feeling that I have. Beyond the Gap is what I call good fantasy writing. It’s not action packed from start to finish. It…
“Books!” muttered Bryan. “I’m hanging from this rope to get books.” Bryan was a professional caravan guard, used to crossing these mountains with expensive cargoes. Generally, he expected substantial bonuses for ensuring the safe passage of his employer’s goods. The bonuses were guaranteed by the sale of the expensive cargo. But times were hard, and…
