Going on local radio is something all writers hope to do. Not only does it reinforce local roots, or reconnect to them, but it’s a chance for them to chat about their latest book.
Radio stations, especially the BBC, have a remit to ‘inform, educate and entertain’ and need a continuing supply of interesting content, especially about people who live and work in their areas. Different shows have different slants, so it’s essential to know the programmes the station broadcasts. You also learn some interesting stuff!
But for me, a Tunbridge Wells girl, it’s the approachability and warm welcome I’ve found from BBC Radio Kent and in particular Pat Marsh who plays the greatest music from the 1960s/70s (Ronettes – yeah!). So when Pat invited me back after our first on air chat about INCEPTIO, I was delighted to accept.
But it wasn’t just to talk about PERFIDITAS, my new book, although I did mention it! In his gentle voice and genial manner, he asked me about the writing process itself, how I’d started writing the Roma Nova series and started my fourth career – writing! He referred to the reviews INCEPTIO had garnered and was intrigued by how much readers loved this alternate world. And just before I went into the studio, Pat’s friendly, efficient colleague Laura Earl told me he had read PERFIDITAS from cover to cover.
Pat guided me through our conversation and it was like a friendly chat over a cup of tea – certainly not nerve-wracking! he let me get in a little plug for the PERFIDITAS book launch in Tunbridge Wells at Waterstones on 6 November. 😉
If you have the opportunity to take to the airwaves, you’ll be safe in the hands of these broadcast professionals.
And here is the interview itself!
Updated 2022; Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers –  INCEPTIO, CARINA (novella), PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO,  AURELIA, NEXUS (novella), INSURRECTIO and RETALIO,  and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories.  Audiobooks are available for four of the series.Double Identity, a contemporary conspiracy, starts a new series of thrillers. JULIA PRIMA, a new Roma Nova story set in the late 4th century, is now out.
Find out more about Roma Nova, its origins, stories and heroines and taste world the latest contemporary thriller Double Identity… Download ‘Welcome to Alison Morton’s Thriller Worlds’, a FREE eBook, as a thank you gift when you sign up to Alison’s monthly email update. You’ll also be among the first to know about news and book progress before everybody else, and take part in giveaways.
