I was able to sit down (figuratively) with Alison and ask her a few questions about writing and such. I’m happy to share the outcome of that discussion with you today.
What inspired you to start writing/become a writer?
I’ve written more or less all my life from my first play at age 7 to academic and business writing, articles and stories. And I’ve been a professional translator for many years – a place for juggling words and concepts until you find the absolutely right meaning.
But the trigger for writing novels? A really bad film. The cinematography was beautiful, but the narration and dialogue stilted and clichéd. “I could do better than that,” I whispered to my husband in the dark cinema. “So why don’t you?” he replied. Ninety days later, I had written the first draft of INCEPTIO,
Who are your top three favorite authors and why?
Robert Harris, the author of Fatherland, the ultimate alternate history thriller. Not only is his writing succinct and clever, but he also ratchets up the tension mercilessly.
Lindsey Duncan, the author of the Falco Roman detective series. As well as accurate detail, you get humour, terrific characters and well-twisted plots.
J D Robb Her character Eve Dallas is tough, clever and vulnerable. Who could resist? The author paints a future world so deftly that it seems perfectly natural, if dystopian. And then there’s Roarke… (SBR – I LOVE this author too!!!)
What books are currently on your nightstand?
I’ve just finished Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. She’s a great writer, but there seemed to be massive hype about the book. Now I’ve read it, I can see why. I’d recommend it to anybody. And in complete contrast, my previous read was Simon Scarrow’s Blood Crows, a Roman military “buddy” thriller. He writes so vividly, but with completely authenticity and the action scenes are terrific. My next book? I can’t decide between Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and Robert Fabbri’s Tribune of Rome.
If your books were made into movies, who do you see playing the main characters?
A while ago, Meg Ryan and Val Kilmer, with Judi Dench and Alexander Siddig. Today, probably Bryce Dallas Howard and Orlando Bloom, with Meryl Streep and Ben Barnes.
What is your favorite dessert?
I should say should be good and say fresh fruit salad, but no, the winner is traditional Christmas pudding!
Thank you Alison for answering our questions and hopefully that gives you a little more insight into her and her books.
Concept
Founded sixteen hundred years ago in central Europe by Roman exiles, Roma Nova today is a hi-tech, financially prosperous state, thanks to the discovery and exploitation of high-grade silver in their mountains, their efficient technology, and their robust response to any threat. In the dangerous times in Roma Nova’s first few hundred years, men fought to defend the tiny state full-time; women took over leadership roles in family, economic, social and political life. In the end, daughters as well as sons had to put on armour and carry weapons to defend their homeland and their way of life. Today, women and men play an equal role in Roma Novan life, but women head the important families and the government.
Synopsis INCEPTIO
New York, present day, alternate reality. Karen Brown, angry and frightened after surviving a kidnap attempt, has a harsh choice – being eliminated by government enforcer Jeffery Renschman or fleeing to mysterious Roma Nova, her dead mother’s homeland in Europe.
Founded sixteen centuries ago by Roman exiles and ruled by women, Roma Nova gives Karen safety, at a price, and a ready-made family in a strange culture she often struggles with. Just as she’s finding her feet, a shocking discovery about her new lover, special forces officer Conrad Tellus, isolates her.
And the enforcer, Renschman, is stalking her in her new home and nearly kills her. Recovering, she is desperate to find out why this Renschman is hunting her so viciously. Unable to rely on anybody else, she undergoes intensive training, develops fighting skills and becomes an undercover cop. But crazy with bitterness at his past failures, Renschman sets a trap for her, knowing she has no choice but to spring it…
Synopsis PERFIDITAS
Captain Carina Mitela of the Praetorian Guard Special Forces is in trouble – one colleague has tried to kill her and another has set a trap to incriminate her in a conspiracy to topple the government of Roma Nova. Founded sixteen hundred years ago by Roman dissidents and ruled by women, Roma Nova barely survived a devastating coup d’état thirty years ago. Carina swears to prevent a repeat and not merely for love of country.
Seeking help from a not quite legal old friend could wreck her marriage to the enigmatic Conrad. Once proscribed and operating illegally, she risks being terminated by both security services and conspirators. As she struggles to overcome the desperate odds and save her beloved Roma Nova and her own life, she faces the ultimate betrayal…
About the Author
Alison Morton, a translator with an MA in history, has been a ‘Roman nut’ from age 11, but it was the mosaics at Ampurias, Spain that made her wonder what a Roman society run by women would be like in a modern age. Perfiditas is the sequel to Inceptio, the first in a series of Roma Nova thriller novels.
