Foresters Miniseries - The Bottle Episode

"Just tell us how you came to be in possession of all that money” Goddard tried. 
“Go fuck yourself”  Rank Cynrid’s witty rejoinder. 
 She could see that this line of questioning wasn't going anywhere and tried a different tactic: 
“Be reasonable; tell us where you got the money Cynrid” Goddard asked in as diplomatic a tone as she could manage, “you cunt”. 
That ruined it.

So here's another episode of my nasty, irreverent, stupid medieval cop-show: 'Foresters'
It continues to follow three Lawmen as they go running after scum in Norman-Era Nottingham. 

I've always wanted to write a 'bottle episode' - you know; where the characters are stuck in one location, they can't leave and tempers are running high. It happens often enough in real policing; just ask any custody Sgt.

I hope you'll find it as big and brash and dumb as the previous one, and it may feature at least one of the characters getting chewed out by their superior: the Reeve of Nottingham.

Oh, and for the record; I've never just found a finger in a custody suite.

Episode 1 can be found in 'Sample Scribbles' over on the right.

Click here for episode 2 and enjoy, share, comment.

 -Tom

photo by Roy Smallpage

Foresters Miniseries - Pilot episode

"Goddard leapt the ale barrels without breaking stride, vaulted the first table, dodged a chair in her path and slammed a drunk out of her way. 
‘Foresters’ she shouted, as if the mail and the harness didn’t give it away. She received a growl from the assembled, but no one blocked her. They knew better, spilt beer or no. She was the fucking law"

You'll recall that I was kicking off a new project - a bit of fun I'm calling 'Foresters'.
It's an episodic miniseries featuring a grubby trio of Nottingham lawmen, working one of England's most dangerous beats in 1191AD.

The Extract is the slightly longer-than-usual pilot episode to introduce a few recurrent characters.
It's big and brash and stupid but hopefully you'll agree that it's also a lot of fun.

It's a lot more 'police' than my Novel about Robin Hood, and this makes it a little more fantasy, a little less history, but think 'medieval cop-show' and you've nailed it.

As before, I feel the sudden need to mention that it is in no way a thinly veiled ramble through some of my own police experiences, seen through a flimsy historical filter (no, wait, that's exactly what it is).

Click here for Extract and enjoy, share, comment.
-Tom

photo by Roy Smallpage

Kirklees Priory - an Extract from Cutthroat.

'Cutthroat', was my first full-length book. It's something I threw together as a re-imagining of the Robin Hood ballads, portraying Hood as an enterprising career criminal on the way up. 
I re-wrote the plotlines from the Robin Hood ballads to correspond to the attitudes of the violent criminals I saw in my time as a police officer.
This extract (Chapter 10 of the book) is a reworking of  'Robin Hood and Alan Adale' into a heist, or a rescue, or a kidnapping (depending on your point of view). 

No heroes here; just half a plan and half a chance...getting worse with every line. 

It's in 'Sample Scribblings' (over on the right). 

Take a look, and if you want to, leave a comment, like or share. 
-Tom

photo by Roy Smallpage

No Truce in Old Age

I've uploaded an old backstory piece to the blog and thrown it into the 'Sample Scribblings' section (over on the right).

'No Truce in Old Age' was written for a group of Norse Historical Roleplayers who wanted a quick and dirty backstory to provide a shared history for the group.
The woman who leads them is fierce, wild and more than a little bit like Aude the Deep Minded (who I mentioned in an earlier post).
They wanted a grim little tale of shieldwalls and viking-era violence. Nothing complicated or clever, just a violent scrum, scribbled by a guy who knows what it's like to stand in one

Take a look in 'Sample Scribblings' on the right, and share it if you like it.
-Tom

photo by Roy Smallpage