Heroes | Alison Morton Author

Russell Whitfield and the Roman Walk

Today, I’m delighted to welcome Russell Whitfield (Just Another Freaking Roman Author or “JAFRA”). Russell was one of Roma Nova’s early supporters and endorsed INCEPTIO. Gladiatrix, Russ’s first novel, was published in 2008 by Myrmidon Books. The sequel, Roma Victrix, continues the adventures of Lysandra, the Spartan gladiatrix. A third book is planned for release […]

Meet Helen Hollick

My first special guest this spring is Helen Hollick, author of The Pendragon’s Banner trilogy (The Kingmaking, Pendragon’s Banner, Shadow of the King), a re-telling of the King Arthur legend where Arthur Pendragon is a post-Roman battle-hardened warlord. Before that, she wrote The Saxon Series (Harold the King (US – I Am the Chosen King) […]

Bridging sensibilities…

Simon Scarrow always succeeds in letting me into his tough, male Roman world without alienating me from an environment so different from my own. His heroes, Macro, the blunt-speaking grizzled veteran, and Cato, the educated and younger soldier, bash their way through numerous adventures (including Eagle in the Sand) in the time of Emperor Claudius.

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When is a hero myth manufactured?

At the RNA SE meeting on 24 April, Nicola Cornick gave us valuable insights on constructing heroes. Taking Robin Hood as an example, she showed how universal the hero values attached to him were: anti-authoritarian, good versus evil, romantic, skilled in fighting and weaponry. The mythic Robin Hood was a construct, an icon, created mainly […]