I’m Alison Morton and my first novel, INCEPTIO, an alternative history “what if” thriller, was published in March 2013 by SilverWood Books. It’s the story of a 25-year-old who crosses cultures, battles with an entangled emotional life and faces a relentless, vindictive pursuer. On the way she finds out quite a lot about herself.
And, of course, like the best of novels there’s a twist in the tale…
So what made my first book gripping, page turning, a ‘good read’?
– The ordinary person baffled and menaced by an unknown outside threat. Who is this guy who wants to destroy her?
– An alternate timeline of history. How would a small colony surviving from antiquity change the world?
– Universal human needs and goals – survival, security, love, self-knowledge, a place in the world and the urge to make things right
– A personal quest
Simple stuff, then 😉
A lot more about INCEPTIO and the UK launch at Waterstones Tunbridge Wells. PERFIDITAS came out in October 2013 and the next, SUCCESSIO, in June 2014, launched with the help of broadcaster Sue Cook and a video! AURELIA appeared in 2015 and starts a new strand taking us back to the late 1960s to early 1980s. INSURRECTIO, which follows AURELIA was launched in April 2016 at the London Book Fair and followed by RETALIO in 2017.
Then I wanted to find out could write anything as short as a novella… CARINA, set between INCEPTIO and PERFIDITAS, came out in November 2017 as an ebook and in paperback in late March/beginning of April 2018. Next, we have a collection of short stories, ROMA NOVA EXTRA, and a second novella, NEXUS, set between AURELIA and INSURRECTIO.
If all that’s a bit confusing, you can download The Official Roma Nova Reading Guide for FREE which gives you the reading order, loads of information abut the book, plus the first chapter of each.
Now Alison is turning to crime… Not really, but the first of her new conspiracy thrillers, Double Identity, introduces readers to a new heroine, Mélisende, an ex-French Army intelligence specialist, known as Mel, and now in the frame for murder…
INCEPTIO was shortlisted for the 2013 International Rubery Book Award and along with PERFIDITAS was shortlisted in the Writing Magazine 2014 Self-Published Book of the Year Award. SUCCESSIO was the Historical Novel Society indie Editor’s Choice Autumn 2014 and longlisted for the 2015 HNS Indie Award. AURELIA received the same accolade for Autumn 2015 and was one of four finalists for the 2016 Award. All six full-length books have been awarded the prestigious B.R.A.G. Medallion.
Delighted to have been shortlisted in the Writing Magazine 2013 New Subscribers’ Short Story Competition for ‘Booked‘ and more so when I was inited to contribute a Roma Nova story to the 1066 Turned Upside Down anthology of alternative stories and in 2019 a Roman one to the Historical Writers’ Association anthology RUBICON published by Sharpe Books.
Apart from numerous online interviews and guestposts, I’ve spoken at various conferences and litfests, given workshops and talks. More about the live events here. And I was deeply honoured to be asked to judge the 2017 Words With Jam First Page Competition.
Photo gallery (includes famous people!)
Some background stuff…
After selling my translation business at the end of summer 2009, I started writing my first Roman novel. I’ve always been a ‘wordsmith’. Translating professionally for much of my career has made me pretty nit-picky about words, grammar, punctuation, document cohesion, theme and structure.
Oh, the qualification stuff: BA in Modern Languages Studies (French, German and Economics), post-graduate Diploma in Translation (Business & Legal options), MA in History (with a distinction!)
I joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) under the New Writers’ Scheme in 2010 and found it supportive, collegiate and brimming with knowledge and experience. I became the first Independent Author Member on 1 September 2015. My other memberships include the Historical Novel Society (HNS), Society of Authors, Alliance of Independent Authors and International Thriller Writers.
Now, I give talks on writing skills, self-publishing, research and historical fiction at writers’ conferences, tutorial groups and associations in the UK, France, Ireland and the USA.
Hobbies? Reading, wine, gardening (weeding is excellent inspiration for solving plot holes!) and anything Roman. I moved to France in May 2010 but as all my friends and colleagues know, I’m always back and forth to the UK and beyond.
Meet Alison Morton (2014) http://youtu.be/5VgQPdFWKpA
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.
Find out more about Roma Nova, its origins, stories and heroines and taste the latest contemporary thriller… 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 newsletter. You’ll also be among the first to know about news and book progress before everybody else, and take part in giveaways.
