Research | Alison Morton Author

The peerless History of Rome podcast

For all Roman ‘nuts’ out there, I have to tell you about a fantastic podcast called The History of Rome. Mike Duncan, a political science and philosophy graduate from Western Washington University, has the knack of neatly dissecting the political and imperial essentials of the Kingdom, Republic and Empire and communicating them with clarity and […]

The Antonine Plague - the germs that killed an empire

Welcome to the home of the Roma Nova thrillers, INCEPTIO, PERFIDITAS and SUCCESSIO. Please look around while you are here.

Nails and horses, a stitch in time, plugging a hole, greasing a cartridge, dropping a letter, not changing the batteries – all tiny things which can spark off heavy consequences. And a great technique for […]

A surreal evening…

The 1990s ride again. No, really. At a meeting yesterday evening for autoentrepreneurs (small business creators), I was dragged back to a business style that I thought had disappeared. By the end of the evening, I was having difficulty hiding my amusement. John Cleese’s Video Arts training company would have relished it as a ‘how […]

Researching – a transferable skill

Working out how to get from Poitiers in France to my son’s graduation in Nottingham, I found myself treading a familiar research path. I’d always been able to dig info and knowledge out of the corners they were lurking in, but these abilities were honed into concrete skills when I was studying for my MA […]

Must-have writer's aids...

Yes, essential to the writing environment are:

a working computer with appropriate software a supportive chair warmth light peace

But the most important adjunct is CHOCOLATE. So what does chocolate do for the writer?

1. Flavonoids Chocolate is chock-full(!) of flavonoids—naturally-occurring compounds found in the cacao plant, as well as in red wine, tea, fruits, […]