Blog | Alison Morton Author

What have the Romans ever done for us?

One of my dear friends, the British Airways first officer who helped me with the complex flight regulations over Washington DC, sadly cannot make it to the launch event at Waterstones Tunbridge Wells on 12 March, but says he’s looking forward to reading INCEPTIO.

He quipped at the end of his email: “So just what exactly did the Romans ever do for us?”

Here’s the answer (familiar to many, but still hilarious):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExWfh6sGyso

Official launch!

An announcement:
1 March – Publication day of paperback and ebook of INCEPTIO (34 days to go)

12 March – OFFICIAL LAUNCH at Waterstones Tunbridge Wells at 7pm: ‘An Evening with Alison Morton’ where I’ll give a talk and read from INCEPTIO. The Mayor of Tubridge Wells, Sue Cook, writer and broadcaster, will be there plus other notables and there’ll be free bubbly! I would love you all to come.

Tickets are £3.00 each ahead of the evening; you can buy them direct from the Tunbridge Wells shop or by phone on 0843 290 8658. The ticket is redeemable against the price of the book on the night. And I’ll sign your book as well!

I would love to see you there and thank you for your support on my writing journey.

Know thyself

At the moment, I’m completing notes about my book, my writing journey, the world of Roma Nova and myself in the PR work prior to book launch. Some of the questions and topics are straightforward – I could bore for Europe on Roma Nova – but some are quite complex, even personal.

It’s a long time since I had to draft a CV or a biography but answering these questions has made me examine my work and other achievements, my ambitions, and the influences on my life in some detail. Thankfully, I haven’t found anything lurking in a dark corner. My brain and my memory have been put through their paces. And like the satisfaction after a session of exercise, I feel better for it.

Perhaps everybody should have a refresher about themselves every so often?

The place where I work

I hope you didn’t expect a tidy and sleek office?

My office is a place full of paper, books, notes, pens, files, cup of coffee, lights, noticeboard, etc. Our super-tough birchwood work stations came over to France with us, plus the IKEA office cupboards which used to adorn my UK office when I ran my translation business.

We converted part of the enormous basement into an office to fit the furniture, et voilà! My IT engineer husband fitted network cabling, wifi, regular routers, a second wireless access point and all those techie things you need. We have three HP printers, two colour, one black & white laser, all inherited from the UK business. We will never need to buy a paper clip, filing tray or ring binder ever again.

And here are a few of the books in the cupboard to the left of my desk.

Behind all this material description runs a theme; having a properly equipped and comfortable workplace. Each of us has their level of untidiness/tidyness – that’s a personality trait – but each writer must make their own, dedicated personalised space so that their muse feels comfortable enough to come out to play.

This is mine, and it seems to work. 😉

Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers, INCEPTIO, and PERFIDITAS. Third in series, SUCCESSIO, is out early summer 2014.