There some entries in here which might be interesting to those concerned with in the difficulties of developing a book structure in this way but for casual visitors they should regard this Segment as “under construction”

Well! I am in the hands of editors! once again this is complete , but all the emphasis is on volume three! Keep visiting, I think volumes one and two are must reads and I will continue to develop them regardless.

Quick ID

Ivanhoe meets Wonderwoman

Gendre

Historical Romance

25 Word Pitch.

Teenage rights of passage; nurse a mortally wounded soldier, train as a knight, be condemmed as a witch and find Europe’s richest treasure.

Logline

Ximene and John Stanley find adventure and romance but place such expectations on themselves that they ultimately decide to lead separate lives. f

Tagline

Beliefs and desires, pleasures and skills must be honed together, and shaped to be shared

or – We will gain in power and influence until we are able to influence Kings.

or – We will be powerful together, and though we may travel different paths we will never be apart.

150 Word Pitch 1

John Stanley, is left on a battlefield, mortally wounded and but for Ximene would have surely died. Ximene nurses him back to health in a secret room in a remote Château. John commences a training programmme to recover his full health and Ximene decides to join in. She learns the full range of knightly skills and before long has to usethem when she is captured by

500 Word Synopsis

Ximene Trencavel is trapped; incarcerated in a Château whose defenses have never been breached, surrounded by deep valleys that are manned as intensively as conventional fortifications.

Her uncle and guardian, Gaston, Compte de Foix expects to become rich and powerful by controlling negotiations for her marriage. There is a lot of interest for what is essentially an auction as Gaston declares Ximene to be the rightful heir to the lands of Occitan.

One of the bidders for Ximene’s hand is the Black Prince, son of King Edward III of England. The Prince, however makes the avoidance of marriage an art form because of his long-standing affair with his cousin, JOAN OF KENT.

Ximene’s personal objective is to create a haven for those who share her belief in the Cathar religion. She believes that she must escape from Gaston’s control to make this possible. Arrangements are made to meet the Prince during Gaston’s summer hunt at Muret, on neutral ground outside of the tightly guarded valleys surrounding Foix. Ximene identifies the Hunt as an opportunity to escape.

King John of the Franks comes to believe that the Prince is now the favoured candidate and assigns Bertrand du Guesclin, who uses terror as his secret weapon, to hunt down and murder Ximene before she can marry the Prince.

Meanwhile in England, John Stanley, a forester’s son, joins a small expeditionary force formed to protect the Prince during the journey to Muret. John learns about the purpose of the journey. He fantasises about meeting Ximene. Then as a result of his good performance he is appointed to the Prince’s personal bodyguard. This appointment makes it virtually certain he will meet Ximene.

During the hunt at Muret, Ximene’s escape plans go badly wrong and Du Guesclin takes the opportunity to strike.  John intervenes and rescues Ximene but to little avail as Gaston immediately removes Ximene to protective custody in Foix.

Ximene sets out to seduce John and win him over to her cause but quickly decides that he is totally lacking in any sexual knowledge or technique. She arranges for John to participate in a Cathar Transition, the process by which all young Cathars are given practical experience of sexual activity.

Ximene becomes convinced that Gaston’s real plan is to keep her a prisoner at Foix and gradually force himself on her. With the Prince’s help a successful escape plan is formulated and executed. The Prince allows John to travel with Ximene to act as a conduit for future communication.

Inspired by a visit to Monsegur, a Cathar Holy Place, Ximene overcomes her  inhibitions and decides she must consummate her relationship with John. They are however interrupted when the expeditionary force comes under attack from a small army, led by Du Guesclin.

In a pitched battle, the Prince’s superior tactics win the day. The expedition force looses not a single man and the field of battle is littered with the opposition’s dead and dying. However at the completion of hostilities, John fails to return to where Ximene are waiting.

Ximene insists that she must find John.  She decides that if her duty to Occitan and the Cathar religion mean that she must abandon a man who has already risked his life three times on her behalf, then they are worth nothing. As she slowly climbs the hill towards the battlefield she feels no fear, only the exhilaration of freedom; freedom to live her life as she wants to live it, freedom, if necessary, to risk her life for a just cause, freedom to give her love without consideration of cause and effect.