Today I am pleased to be part of a blog tour for Alison Morton's latest release in her Roma Nova series, RETALIO. Alison has stopped by to answer some questions about her latest novel and talk about her love of all things Roman and her writing career.
RETALIO
Early 1980s Vienna. Recovering from a near fatal shooting, Aurelia Mitela, ex-Praetorian and former foreign minister of Roma Nova, chafes at her enforced exile. She barely escaped from her nemesis, the charming and amoral Caius Tellus who grabbed power in Roma Nova, the only part of the Roman Empire to survive into the twentieth century.
Aurelia’s duty and passion fire her determination to take back her homeland and liberate its people. But Caius’s manipulations have isolated her from her fellow exiles, leaving her ostracised, powerless and vulnerable. But without their trust and support Aurelia knows she will never see Roma Nova again.
A story of political and personal rivalry in an imaginary surviving state of the once mighty Roman Empire. But with a difference. Struggling to defend the tiny state and keep the families alive at the dissolution of the Roman Empire, Roma Novan women fought alongside their men. And they never forgot it as they rose to prominence through the ages. Now in the late 20th century the egalitarian state has been crushed into misery by a brutal dictator imposing male-only rule. Aurelia is their last best hope, but Caius who has longed to dominate and defeat her since childhood will do anything to stop her. Anything.
Paula - So, firstly, I'd like to welcome you to Paula's People, Alison. It’s been a while since I had you as a guest here, and it’s so nice to have you back, this time to ask some new questions because so much has moved on for you since then. I'm sure you'll have lots more to tell us!
Alison - Thank you for such a warm welcome, Paula. Yes, it seems like ages.
Paula - Tell us how the idea for your Roma Nova series came about and what inspired your vision of a new Roman state, and the whole idea of having women matriarchs as rulers instead of men.Alison - I was fascinated at age eleven with a beautiful mosaic in Ampurias, north-east Spain. As my father explained about soldiers and sailors, slaves and senators, traders and farmers, I asked him what the mothers did. He said they stayed indoors and ran the house and looked after children. I thought that was a bit odd – my own mother worked as the head of a department at a local school. So I asked him what a Roman society would be like if women ran it. Clever man, he replied, “Well what do you think it would have been like?”
Fighting danger side-by-side with brothers and fathers reinforced women’s status and roles. And they never allowed the incursion of monotheistic paternalistic religions; the traditional Roman gods were their inspiration. Women developed leadership roles in all parts of Roma Novan life over the next sixteen centuries.
Paula -You write alternative history, but your books are set in the alternative present, so to speak. I’d like to ask, what exactly does alternative history mean, and how does it correlate to the historical fiction genre?
Alison - In alternative history stories, the timeline has diverged at some point in the past from our timeline. It can be caused by a big event like the Norman invasion (see 1066 Turned Upside Down) or a smaller event as in the Roma Nova stories (Emperor Theodosius banning all pagan worship on pain of death in AD 395) but there has to be a definite trigger. Events then travel a different path from that ‘point of divergence’ and it’s a permanent change with no going back, no time travel, magic or fantastical creatures. Some stories are fanciful, but others are serious counter factuals. As a historian, I’m up at the historical end of that scale. And whether it’s historical fiction? Well, all history is a patchy record of past events and a lot of it is made up, haphazard or from dodgy sources. I argue my case here!
Paula -When did you first start writing?
Alison - I’ve written all my life; translator, copywriter, editor and produced government position papers, corporate documentation and pitches, and a couple of academic papers – one thesis and one dissertation, but the first novel INCEPTIO, began its life in 2009. It was the usual terrible first draft, but polished up to appear as a published book in 2013.
Paula - I recall you and I chatting about it when you came to my book launch signing at John Pye's Bookshop in East Grinstead. I remember being in awe at the idea of a recreation of Rome, with women as the matriarchs.
Paula - I see you have studied history at university and obtained a Masters! Can you tell us what eras you read, and what eras you like best? I think I may know the answer to that already, hee-hee!:)
Alison - I’m going to surprise you, Paula! Over the course, I studied medieval women, British Cinema and women in Third Reich Germany. The Romans made a brief appearance in one module. Why? I wanted to do something I didn’t really know much about. So my dissertation was about young German women who served in uniform with the German military equivalents of the ATS, WRNS and WRAF. They weren’t all fanatical Nazis; some were patriotic, some were just ‘doing their bit’, others weren’t that keen but got on with it, some hated it. I turned my dissertation (for which I gained a distinction!) into a little ebook – my first foray into self-publishing – called Military or Civilians?
Paula - Wow that was a surprise! I'd really be interested to read that. What a fantastic subject and to gain a distinction. I am in awe of you!
Paula - Can you give potential readers an overview of the Roma Nova series to give them an idea of what excitement awaits them?
Alison - I’d like to take you to Central Europe to an imaginary city state in the mountains. Its people are tough, its history long and its heroines valiant. Well, nearly always valiant; they do have their off days.
INCEPTIO focuses on New Yorker Karen Brown who is thrown into a new life in mysterious Roma Nova as Carina Mitela, and fights to stay alive with a killer hunting her. Helping her is a special forces officer; smiling, attractive, a tad condescending and hiding vulnerabilities of his own. In PERFIDITAS six years later, betrayal and rebellion are in the air, threatening to topple Roma Nova and ruin Carina’s life. When we get to SUCCESSIO nine years after that, she is well-established as a senior Praetorian officer with teenage children and young cousins. But a mistake from the past threatens to destroy that next generation including the young heir to Roma Nova itself.
With AURELIA we begin a second trilogy and go back to 1960s Roma Nova and a Europe very different from our own. Aurelia Mitela, Carina’s grandmother in the first trilogy, but here a 28-year-old Praetorian major, battles silver smuggling and illegal trading. In her pursuit of the amoral Caius Tellus, she must make the heart-breaking choice between her love, her child and her country. In INSURRECTIO, thirteen years later, we see Aurelia struggling against a manipulative tyrant grabbing power. This is the Great Rebellion that threatened to destroy Roma Nova in the 1980s. RETALIO (just out!) tells of resistance and retribution and the endgame between Aurelia and her nemesis, Caius.
Paula - So far, I have read books 1&2 and am currently listening to the audio of SUCCESSIO which is the third in the order of books. Book 1 INCEPTIO was enjoyable, and PERFIDITAS, the second was wicked! Which book would you choose as your favourite of the series and why?
Alison - I really, really don’t have a favourite! INCEPTIO was my first book and I suspect all authors love the first baby, but honestly, they’ve all given me something different and I hope I’ve given readers a different aspect of the Roma Novans and their country in each one.
Paula - So, RETALIO is now available as an ebook and paperback. Tell us about this sixth instalment of your Roma Nova books and just where it all fits within the series.
Alison - RETALIO is the third book in the second trilogy,which features Aurelia Mitela.
Early 1980s Vienna. Recovering from a near fatal shooting, Aurelia Mitela, ex-Praetorian and former foreign minister of Roma Nova, chafes at her enforced exile. She barely escaped from her nemesis, the charming and amoral Caius Tellus who grabbed power in Roma Nova, the only part of the Roman Empire to survive into the twentieth century.
Aurelia’s duty and passion fire her determination to take back her homeland and liberate its people. But Caius’s manipulations have isolated her from her fellow exiles, leaving her ostracised, powerless and vulnerable. But without their trust and support Aurelia knows she will never see Roma Nova again.
Paula - Carina, the main character of the first trilogy, is a sassy woman with guts and the courage of a she-lion protecting her cubs. She can also be compassionate and tender, as both mother and wife to the gorgeous Conrad. Knowing that you come from an army background, is there anything of you in Carina that you recognise, or have deliberately put in there, or is she based on someone/s you know?
Alison - If that isn’t a leading question, I don’t know what is! Inevitably, I’ve used some of my military experience in the stories. Nobody is a direct reflection of anybody I knew or know, but I’ve pinched a few characteristics here and there…
Paula - Tell us about briefly about some of your favourite characters in the series, not Carina or Conrad, but some supporting actors so to speak.
Alison - Well, I was so fascinated by Aurelia and wanted to know her secrets that I ended up writing a whole second trilogy!
I do like Lurio in the first series; he was fun to write as a roughie-toughie cop with a soft heart. Carina’s comrade-in-arms, Flavius, is an interesting character as he’s always on Carina’s side, but gives her quite a hard time sometimes.
Paula - I quite liked Daniel, too.
Alison - In the second trilogy, apart from the vile Caius who was fun to write as a villain with an obsession, the stand out secondary characters are the tough soldier, Volusenia, and the young Silvia, the heir to Roma Nova.
Paula - Who are your current favourite authors and has there been a big influence on your writing, whether it be style, structure, or genre from them?
Alison - Currently, William Boyd who wrote Restless, a spy thriller with women protagonists, and Douglas Jackson whose Verrens series about a young Roman soldier who survived the Boudiccan rebellion and is going on to further things is very vividly and accurately written. Robert Harris remains the godfather of alternative history written cleverly and succinctly in Fatherland.
Paula - Some new authors there for me to get to know.
Paula - And now for the penultimate question, what are you reading now, or just recently?
I’ve just finished Anna Belfrage’s, Under the Approaching Dark (excellent!) and am currently enjoying Helen Hollick’s, Pirates: Truth and Tale, a non-fiction book about, er, pirates and our perception of them. Next up is Douglas Jackson’s Defender of Rome, the second Verrens novel.
Paula - To wrap up the session, I’d like to say it’s been fabulous having you on the blog, and I wish you the best of luck with all your future endeavours but just to ask one more question, what next for Alison Morton?
Alison - Several things! I’m hoping to finish a novella about Carina this summer, then I might look at a book of short stories and there’s always the foundation story of Roma Nova waiting in the wings…
Thank you SO much for inviting me onto your blog, Paula and letting me run on about Roma Nova and its people.
Paula - It's been an absolute pleasure Alison. My very best wishes!
And you can read my recent review of Alison's second in the first Roma Nova series
PERFIDITAS here
About Alison
Alison Morton, writes the acclaimed Roma Nova thriller series featuring modern Praetorian heroines. She blends her deep love of Roman history with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, adventure and thriller fiction.
The first five books have been awarded the BRAG Medallion. SUCCESSIO, AURELIA and INSURRECTIO were selected as Historical Novel Society’s Indie Editor’s Choices. AURELIA was a finalist in the 2016 HNS Indie Award. The sixth, RETALIO, is out on 27 April 2017.
A ‘Roman nut’ since age 11, Alison has misspent decades clambering over Roman sites throughout Europe. She holds a MA History, blogs about Romans and writing.
Now she continues to write, cultivates a Roman herb garden and drinks wine in France with her husband of 30 years.
Connect with Alison on her Roma Nova Website
Alison’s Amazon page: http://Author.to/AlisonMortonAmazon
Buying link for RETALIO (multiple retailers/formats):
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