Books | Alison Morton Author

Writing Challenge Day 18: Characters' pet peeves

Alison, peeved

Ha! We all have pet peeves and I’m pretty sure we pass these on in our writing however carefully we try to view the world from each individual character’s point of view. Our own values, thoughts and emotional responses will seep through, so I must admit that mine probably do, although […]

Helen Hollick: Fact vs. fiction – the historical fiction writer's research dilemma

This week’s guest is one making a very welcome return. Helen Hollick is a multi-published author and indie advocate. She lives on a 13 acre 18th century farm in North Devon, with a variety of pets and her family. For over twenty years, she has delighted readers with stories of Arthur Pendragon, Saxon kings and […]

Writing Challenge Day 7: Introduce your 'author friend'

On Sunday, I enjoyed a ‘writerly’ Skype with my critique partner, another novel writer, Denise Barnes (a.k.a. Molly Green), who has just sent her latest fiction work off to her editor at Avon Books. It’s the third in a series about sisters in the Second World War; they’re each ‘doing their bit’ for the war […]

Writing Challenge Day 6: How the writing all began

Ampurias mosaic

I’ve always enjoy writing, but not fiction; essays at school (often fictional), civil service papers and reports, business plans, company PR materials, insurance analyses (so exciting!); corporate documentation, brochures, military reports and fifteen years’ worth of translation and editing.

Words fascinate me, how they’re derived, how they’re used and what they […]

Writing Challenge Day 5: What inspired the book I'm working on

That’s an easy one – the readers!

No, really! I wrote The Girl from the Market after a suggestion in the Roma Nova Enthusiasts’ Group. Legend had it (in the earlier Roma Nova novels) that in AD 370 Julia Bacausa was a tough and fiery woman and Apulius a strong Roman of the traditional […]