Tony Lyttle

“A Lyttle Goes a Long Way”
The Improbable Life of an Ulster Storyteller
gets my vote.

Improbable tale feeds into the stereotype of Irish blarney. That title tells the reader before they’ve turned the cover that what follows is not to be believed, so why bother buying the book?

Improbable life suggests a life fully lived, a life of intrigue and…[Read more]

I, too, think a subtitle (strapline?) works, though I’m rather partial to Kaz’s suggestion of ‘improbable’ which suggests an especially rollicking good story from an Ulster Storyteller.

Great idea for the competition, Raine.
Sandra – well deserved. Absolutely intriguing start.

Thanks for a good competition idea, Raine, and well done Sandra.

Great idea for the competition Raine, and a lovely selection of entries. Well done Sandra – worthy winner.

I apologise for not joining in btw. I fully intended to, but as I’m between WIPs I was going to have to start something new. I had some ideas but every little spare moment was taken up with other things and at twenty to midnight when I was…[Read more]

Has to be “A Lyttle goes a long way.” Excellent title.

Hi Tony,

For me, Unrelenting Limelight doesn’t appeal. The word ‘unrelenting’ suggests something burdensome and turgid, and it’s not a pleasant counter to ‘limelight.’

‘A Lyttle goes a long way’ is much more upbeat and inviting.

GG

Hi Tony,

Like Squidge and Bella, I prefer ‘A Lyttle Goes a Long Way’ because it’s a clever play on words and makes one wonder on the nature of ‘a long way.’

One phrase that sprang to mind was ‘jaw-dropping tales.’ Adjectives such as amazing / astonishing / astounding / incredible tend to be done to death and wouldn’t capture my attention.

Hope…[Read more]

AAHHH I need to keep up. Well done you two!

Many thanks Jane and Thea! If anyone who has read it could consider leaving a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads, that would be wonderful. Thanks for your review Squidge, delighted you liked it

Thanks, Jim. And I’m so glad you enjoyed the Oath and Crown duology 😊

Most probably true, Richard. There’s a great youtube video showing people wearing full plate armour doing somersaults. Squires were required to master all the courtly and manly arts – combat, riding, tumbling, swimming, dancing etc – and often practised all of them in full armour. (Well probably not swimming because then there would have been far…[Read more]

I think you’re probably right there, Daed. I doubted my own findings so I consulted a few horsey people (breeders, riders etc) A horse can comfortably carry a third of it’s own weight. You’re average destrier of 15 hands weighed 1200 lbs. So they could comfortably carry 360lbs.
Assuming the average height and weight of a knight was 5’7″ and 150lbs…[Read more]

I wonder if there was a bit of modern extrapolation going on with the notion of destriers being really huge, based on the misconception of the weight of armour? I admit I thought they were vast until I looked into it. If it was thought that armoured knights needed to be winched onto their horses, it would need to be a seriously hefty horse

Thanks, Sandra 🙂 re destriers – apparently the modern shire/ cart/ draught horses are descended from them. Basically they bred some warhorses too big to have enough speed for battle and that’s where the latter great horses come from. I too was surprised to learn that a Medieval warhorse was usually only 15 – 16 hands high. (Apparently I also…[Read more]

Thanks, everyone 🙂

I am just about halfway through writing the second book now so the encouragement is much appreciated.

@JaneShuff – that has to be one of the best TBRs 😀

@Bella – I thought I was being flippant when I spoke about lads marrying their mother-in-laws, but having checked, there were cases where families got split up and the…[Read more]