Blog | Alison Morton Author

Harrogate History Festival - Part Deux

Well, I can’t hope to be as eloquent as Sally Zigmond in her lovely post ‘Being a historical pioneer‘ She described the sense of delicious enjoyment from the high calibre talks, the friendliness of everybody attending, the temptation of book-buying and the happy chats around bar tables. Yes, of course wine was drunk…

The clocks going back gifted us an extra hour on Sunday morning – perfect for enjoying a full English breakfast (minus black pudding in my case) in The Old Swan dining room whose walls were decorated with intricate plasterwork topped by a small-paned glass ceiling.

Plenty of coffee later, delegates reconvened in the ballroom to hear a panel discussion on ‘Before Sherlock – The Novel Art of Detection’ with Andrew Taylor gently grilling Lloyd Shepherd, Joan Lock, Nick Rennison and Robert Ryan. They led us through law and order procedures based on guesswork and prejudice, the emergence of organised police forces and a more scientific, stuctured approach to solving crime as well as touching on fiction v. fact and the early historical mystery writers.

Kate Mosse, wearing her signature platdorm shoes, concluded the featival on an appropriate high. Famous as the creative force behind the Women’s Prize for Fiction, originally named the Orange Prize, she was Interviewed by festival chair, Manda Scott, and didn’t disappoint.

Smiling, obviously enthused about the Languedoc and Sussex countrysides, she talked about the motivation behind the Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel trilogy and introduced her collection odf short stories, The Mistletoe Bride & Other WinterTales.

Manda Scott finished the festival by thanking speakers, organisers and delegates for making the weekend such a success. Nobody ever sees the hard work behind such events when it goes so smoothly. Hats off to Manda and her team for giving us a magical few days.

Read the first part of my report here.

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

Hallowe'en Blog Hop

Hallowe’en Blog Hop Trick or Treat giveaway

Do you dare to read something a little different, possibly alternative, and discover a whole new world? A touch of fear, lust or danger? Fantasy or thrillers? As Halloween is a tricksy time, it’s perfect timing to chance it.

Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, has Celtic origins rather than Roman ones, but the Manes (sometimes called Di Manes) were Roman underworld deities sometimes thought to represent souls of deceased loved ones and were honoured during the Parentalia and Feralia festivals in February.

D.M. “Di Manes” – the underworld gods of souls

The Manes were offered blood sacrifices, and gladiatorial games originally held at funerals, may have been instituted in their honour. According to Cicero, the Manes could be called forth from the caves near Lake Avernus. So quite high on the spook factor level.

But the Romans wouldn’t have conquered a large part of the known world without taking enormous risks despite their superstitious beliefs.

My 21st century Roman heroine in her alternative timeline takes risks all the time especially running from a killer and trying to work out her relationship with the enigmatic Conrad…

So, I’m giving away a .PDF version of INCEPTIO, the first book in my Roma Nova thriller series, FREE to celebrate the riskinesss surrounding us today.

What to do:
If you’d like a treat, write a comment below with your view on taking a chance and I’ll put your name in the Halloween hat for the draw.

Thanks to Francine Howarth for organising this tricksy, spooky blog hop.

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

Simon Scarrow endorses PERFIDITAS!

At the Harrogate History Festival, I was thrilled to be photographed with Simon Scarrow, author of the famous Eagle (Macro and Cato) series of Roman historical fiction.

Simon Scarrow, PERFIDITAS and me!

But that’s not the end of the story Along with Sue Cook and Jean Fullerton, Simon endorsed PERFIDITAS, the second Roma Nova thriller.

Apart from the strapline on the front cover, he said the following kind words:

“Alison Morton has built a fascinating, exotic world! Carina’s a bright, sassy detective with a winning dry sense of humour. I warmed to her quickly and wanted to find out how she dealt with the problems thrown in her path. The plot is pretty snappy too and gets off to a quick start which made it easy to keep turning the pages.

There are a fair number of alternative historical fictions where Rome never disappeared, but for my money this is one of the better ones.”

Established and well-respected authors giving new authors their support is gracious, generous and collegiate. Thank you, Simon.

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

Harrogate HistoryFest - early report

The Old Swan

A first-time event here at the Old Swan, treading a little in the footsteps of Theakston’s Crime Fest, the new history festival is going very well.

Friday evening, Rose Tremain gave the first, fascinating, talk about her new book, Merival, characterisation, writing from the inside out and how much she did, or didn’t, include of herself in her work.

Ground Floor, The Old Swan

Next, the room was packed to hear about the search for Richard III. Screenwriter Philippa Langley and historian Michael Jones outlined the exciting investigation which led to the archeological find of the century (I know we’re only thirteen years in, but as finds go, this is an impressive one!). There were many questions including where Richard was to be buried – a hot topic in Yorkshire.

Saturday kicked off on the theme of ‘Wives of Tyrants’, focusing on Katharine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII who was intelligent, political and a survivor (Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Freemantle) and Magda Goebbels, an enigmatic but dedicated Nazi but who wielded significant power as an influencer (Black Roses by Jane Thynne).

Fay Weldon amused us with stories and a little gossip, explaining how she wanted to change to a less complicated and more tranquil age with her recent ‘Love and Inheritance’ historical novels.

‘Women, Sex and Power’ had a strong feminist flavour with Kate Worsley, Imogen Robertson, Stella Duffy and Lisa Hilton. By strategy, intelligence and strength of character as much as sexual allure, we heard how women made their mark on history, sometimes assuming male dress and identity, and found power in ‘his-story’.

The incomparable Lindsey Davis was interviewed by M C Scott. I laughed all the way through. A born wit, but self-deprecating, Ms Davis cantered through her publishing career, focusing on the Falco detective stories and her Civil War writing. I heard her lastand the HNS2012 conference in London and she was equally entertaining. A real treat and I’ve bought her latest The Ides of April.

Following that came ‘Marching with the Legions’ with authors Simon Scarrow, Ben Kane, and Anthony Riches. Helmets, mail shirt, gladius and shield, hobnail boots and some laddish but inoffensive good humour added a touch of authenticity.

Simon Scarrow, PERFIDITAS and me!

And best of all, Simon Scarrow, who endorsed PERFIDITAS, was kind enough to be photographed with me.

A terrific second day!

Read about the next part here.

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