Blog | Alison Morton Author

PERFIDITAS joins INCEPTIO as a B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree!

B.R.A.G. Medallion® – what’s that?
In the large sea of self/independently published work, there is a lot of flotsam and jetsam and not all of it is worth picking up. How to tell? Well, IndieBRAG, a privately held organization has brought together a large group of readers, both individuals and members of book clubs, located throughout the United States, Canada, and the European Union to address this.

Their mission is to recognise quality on the part of authors who self-publish both print and digital books, principally fiction. Staying with the nautical image, they provide a rudder, possibly now becoming a compass.

So how do they do it?
First, they select titles from the large and rapidly growing pool of indie books available, then members drawn from their reader group evaluate and judge the merits of each book based on their list of criteria. The single most important criterion they ask their readers to use in judging a book is whether or not they would recommend it to their best friend. Once a book meets this standard of quality, they award it the B.R.A.G. Medallion®.

When INCEPTIO was awarded a Medallion, I was delighted; my writing had passed one of the highest bars around. Rapidly becoming recognised in the world of self-publishing as an impeccable seal of excellence, IndieBRAG‘s selection process is rigorous, rejecting 90% of applicants. If a book carries a B.R.A.G. Medallion® sticker, it will be a quality assured read, whatever its genre. I was proud to explain what the sticker meant and people were impressed. More importantly, I’m sure it helped clinch purchasing decisions.

So having my second book accepted has been a high honour indeed.

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

Publishing attitudes

I’m a simple soul who likes writing. I quite like people and know agents, publishers, editors, writers from big publishers, small publishers, independent and small presses, aspiring writers, independent and self-published writers, not to mention commentators, bloggers, tutors and booksellers.

As a recent arrival on the scene (2009), I’ve striven to learn as much as I can about the writing and publishing world in an effort to catch up. and I learn something new every day.

But it’s a weird time in this world; changing landscape, wobbling goalposts, revolution – pick your own metaphor (or cliché). The traditional/mainstream/standard publishing route is no longer the only choice. Whether a local memoir published as a DIY ebook or a high quality paperback with a page-turning, heart-stopping adventure, a story can now get to market by a choice of paths – see the Internet for more information.

Of course, each path has its own pros and cons, costs and rewards which makes it even more important for aspiring authors to do their research and weigh all the factors before deciding. And each author will find a path that will fit them individually.

I’m not going into the arguments about criteria, quality, production values, editing and covers – there are plenty of sites and blogs dealing very well with those issues, including my own earlier post. My wish, and plea, is this: that the adversarial attitude is dropped.

Writing is hard enough, and often confidence-sapping and sleep-preventing producing hollow-eyed pale beings who blink in daylight. None of us, whether published by the ‘big beasts’ or ourselves, needs to be fighting with, or sneering at, each other. There are enough problems out there – closing libraries and bookshops, exploitative ‘tutors’, services ready to rip authors off, a public reading fewer than six books a year on average – without turning on ourselves.

Information and education to protect and encourage new writers should be our remit, not vitriol and disdain in both directions. There is now no single ‘right’ way to publish a book. It may be a tad Pollyanna-ish, but can we please dump the versus and have mainstream/traditional and independent/self-publishing?

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

Celebratory photos!

Unusually, it’s photos only today, but they are celebratory…

The SilverWood Books authors and publishing team at the Writing and Publishing Open Day in Bristol on 25 January 2015

We happy bunch – the ‘class photo’ from the Open Day at Foyles, Bristol that I wrote about here. I’m at the back in the centre.

PERFIDITAS first appearance with BRAG Medallion sticker

The day after I heard PERFIDITAS had been awarded a B.R.A.G.Medallion^®, I shared the news with Jan Smith our local paperback vendor. Here we are in the Bar de la Paix where our local book club meets.

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

My writing process

My thanks to Liz Harris for inviting me to be part of the My Writing Process blog tour. Her own blog is so engaging and full of photos (www.lizharrisauthor.com). Do go and visit, but not quite yet.

So, I have to answer four questions…

What am I working on?
I’ve just finished the revisions to my third Roma Nova novel, SUCCESSIO. The title has a double meaning of ‘what comes next’ and ‘the next generation’. I drafted it last year, but in between launching INCEPTIO and PERFIDITAS, I snatched out time to edit and polish SUCCESSIO bit by bit. I’m very picky and aware of how competitive the book world is, I sent it to a multi-published author who acts as an external assessor for a professional writers’ association. Would it be immodest to say that she found only one half-size plot hole? This is now fixed and SUCCESSIO has just gone off to the editor.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Quite a lot…

Alternate history is a wide church and embraces serious, well-researched contra-factual histories at one end of the scale to the fantastical, frankly bonkers extreme space opera at the other. My Roma Nova stories are thrillers and adventures set in and entwined with an imaginary, but hopefully historically logical country, so I place them towards the historical or ‘hard’ end of the scale. The twist is that instead of a masculine Roman society like the ancient one, it is much more egalitarian, with women in leading roles. It mirrors many of what we think of as traditional gender roles, but not in a polemic way. It just is.

Why do I write what I do?
I’ve been a Roman nut since I was an eleven year old walking on the mosaics in the Roman part of Ampurias (a huge Graeco-Roman site in Spain). I wanted to know who had made them, whose houses they were in, who had walked on them.

After my father explained about traders, senators, power and families, I tilted my head to one side and asked him, “What would it be like if Roman women were in charge, instead of the men?” Maybe it was the fierce sun boiling my brain, maybe early feminism surfacing or maybe it was just a precocious kid asking a smartass question. But clever man and senior ‘Roman nut’, my father replied, “What do you think it would be like?”

Over the next few decades the idea bubbled away in my mind morphing ancient Rome into a new type of Rome, a small but tough state that survived into the 21^st century, but retained its Roman identity. And one where women were going to be leading society.

The next nudge along the path was Robert Harris’ Fatherland set in a 1964 Germany where Nazi Germany had won the war. It fascinated me and led me into a world where an alternate path of history was possible.

How does your writing process work?
I’m not sure I can call it a process! The first set of characters had been maturing in my head for years so I had them nearly fully formed when I started to write the stories. Although I have a general outline of each plot, the detail tends to evolve as I go along. The characters’ quirks and interactions dictate how the story emerges to fit the overall outline. Sometimes, the characters take over the show! But I have a little talk to them and we agree on a compromise and I nudge them back into the story.

I’ve developed a tracking grid which keeps the timeline straight and where I can jot down the main actions in each chapter – a kind of index to the book. After the first rough draft, I leave the file in a folder and ignore it for at least six weeks and work on something else.

When I open it again, I carry out the first edit with my red pen. Then off it goes to an external assessor. He/she will look for plot holes, character failings, extraneous or awkward scenes and inconsistent dialogue but more than anything for cohesiveness and whether the story grips. Without page-turning quality, the book won’t deliver a good read and that’s the writer’s duty.

Then revisions and on to a final edit. I’m very lucky to have a critique partner who is eagle-eyed, caring and scrupulously honest, so she had been a sounding board as well as critic all along. After all this, then it’s off to the publishing house to turn it into a book…

Oh, maybe it is a process after all. 😉

Now I’ve revealed all, I’m pass the pen to three other writers who’ll be answering these same questions on their blogs on 10 February.

Georgina Troy http://georginatroy.blogspot.com/
Georgina Troy lives in Jersey near the sea – well, most people do in an island only 9 x 5 miles – she’s always wanted to write and being an impossible romantic is always falling in love with heroes both real (hopefully), in fiction (definitely) and those of her own creation (absolutely). A Jersey Kiss is the first in a series of stand-alone romances based in Jersey and is soon to be followed by A Jersey Affair, the second book in the Jersey Romance Series.

Mark Patton http://mark-patton.blogspot.fr/
Mark Patton was born in Jersey, and studied Archaeology & Anthropology at Cambridge. He is the author of several works of archaeological non-fiction; a biography of the Victorian archaeologist, statesman & banker, Sir John Lubbock (Ashgate 2007); and two historical novels, Undreamed Shores (Crooked Cat, 2012) and An Accidental King (Crooked Cat, 2013).

Eliza Green http://elizagreenbooks.com/blog/
Eliza Green lives in Dublin, Ireland with her partner, who is an even nuttier science fiction fan than she is. She has worked in many industries from fashion, to sport to finance but when she discovered writing several years ago, she was surprised by how much she loved it. Eliza writes down-to-earth science fiction, which has stemmed from her lifelong obsession with sci-fi stories. Of special interest is the not-so-distant future; gaining that glimpse into what life could be like if we carried on as we are. A dystopian future, overcrowding and pollution are themes of the Exilon 5 trilogy. Becoming Human (Book 1), and Altered Reality (Book 2) are available to purchase from all major online retailers.

But before you go, what is the most important element of your writing process?

Update 2018: Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers INCEPTIO, PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO, AURELIA, INSURRECTIO and RETALIO. A Roma Nova novella, CARINA, is published 23 November 2017. Audiobooks now available for the first four of the series

Find out more about Roma Nova, its origins, stories and heroines… Get INCEPTIO, the series starter, FREE as a thank you gift when you sign up to Alison’s monthly email newsletter

Indie authors united!

With Debbie Young of Off the Shelf Book Promotions/The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi)

Foyles Bristol was the venue for joining up with around thirty other SilverWood Books authors, plus a crowd of writers eager to learn about getting their books to publication.

The writing and publishing open day was brilliantly organised by Helen Hart and her SilverWood team and run jointly with Rob Norton events supervisor at Foyles.

The mood was informative, professional and above all fun. I talked to so many people that I needed regular injections of caffeine from the Foyles coffee shop.

Historical author Helen Hollick (left) with other SilverWood authors

Panel session Q&A

Topics covered an enormous range. The writing and editing process, of course. Nothing happens without a well-written story.

Next, we heard about book design – covers and interiors – and how important this was to demonstrate quality and make your finished book stand out in an increasingly crowded market.

Then onto many authors’ unfavourite topic – book marketing and promotion which covered author platform, getting your book into bookshops, audiobooks and crowd-funding.

Reading from PERFIDITAS!

Authors read from their own books (including moi). The big challenges were talking into the microphone without making the sound blurred and harsh and (more importantly!) not overdoing the drama queen act!

(I’m not entirely sure I succeeded in avoiding both of those!)

But I had spoken at many professional events before I turned to writing. Still, it’s somewhat unnerving spouting stuff you made up from your imagination in front of other creatives.

Historical authors Anna Belgrage and David Ebsworth discussing a serious point.

Some authors using SilverWood Book services had only ever met each other and the SilverWood team virtually. They lost no time swapping notes about writing, research and promotion! And many of us enjoyed talking to their fans who came along as well as to the SilverWood Books team.

Publishing assistant Joanna Zefron from SilverWood Books and historical author Lucienne Boyce

Self-published/independent authors can sometimes feel isolated, but this was very much the meeting of a community which regularly interacts virtually but on Saturday took enormous pleasure in meeting in ‘real life’. And I loved chatting with fans (yes, there were some Roma Nova ones!) and talking to new and potential authors just starting on their publishing path.

Updated February 2023 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.