Summing up a 100,000 word book in a few words for a retailer page or the back of a book cover is a mammoth task – a labour of Hercules. But when somebody asks for six striking sentences, that’s on another level altogether. Here’s what I came up with for some of the Roma Nova stories:
INCEPTIO
Logline :
A 21st century young New Yorker hunted by a killer flees to the last province of the Roman Empire in Europe. But the killer follows…
Six striking sentences:
1. Above a smiling mouth and a straight nose marred by a scar, his eyes were tilted slightly upwards, red-brown near the pupil, green at the edges.
2. It was a cool name, but did I need to get a new personality to go with it?
3. As families stood around the altar at Octavia Quirinia’s wedding in the first week of January and she bent to sign the contract, I caught him gazing at me from the other side.
4. “Nice uniform. You look fit. Having lots of sex?”
5. I sat opposite Paula in the helicopter as it pounded its way into the mountains, fighting the early morning light.
6. Eye-watering pain raced up my leg as my damaged back foot took the recoil and my full weight.
PERFIDITAS
Logline :
Carina Mitela, 21st century Praetorian, is in trouble. Accused of conspiracy and forced to flee into the criminal underworld, she faces the ultimate betrayal….
Six striking sentences:
1. She knew how to swim around the oily political sea, and which fish would bite.
2. I should count myself lucky they didn’t decapitate proscriptees and stick their head on a spear in the forum any more.
3. He was a bare rock stranded in a sea of information, and no boat ever landed there.
4. As I heard the shot ring in my ear, heat raced up my arm like a hot poker had been rammed through my flesh.
5. I scared myself thinking so clinically when I was seconds away from a bullet through my head.
6. ‘Nothing’s broken, thank the gods,’ he rasped after a few moments, then wrapped his arms around me.
SUCCESSIO
Logline:
Blackmail, desertion, a vengeful daughter. 21st century Praetorian Carina Mitela battles the mistakes of a past generation to save the next.
Six striking sentences:
1. ‘You underestimate yourself, Carina. You’re sufficiently terrifying by yourself.’
2. She had more steel in her poor wasted hand than most had between their head and tail.
3. ‘You’ve only saved my life and my country twice, so I think I can cut you a little slack.’
4. Landing softly on dead leaves which crunched with frost, I paused to scan the still silent garden.
5. As we made our way toward the docks area, the day brightened and a light breeze brought the salty tang of the sea along with the smell of maritime fuel.
6. ‘I love this country. My ancestors struggled for it. I’m not going to let some throwback poison it.’
AURELIA
Logline:
Pursuing her enemy for silver smuggling, former Praetorian Aurelia Mitela discovers he wants nothing less than the destruction of Roma Nova. Then he strikes at her most vulnerable point – her young daughter.
Six striking sentences:
1. I grabbed my breath along with my rifle and ran on, zigzagging to break his aim.
2. ‘For Juno’s sake, it’s the nineteen sixties. I’m not a breeding filly.’
3. She breezed in, sharp suit, sharp haircut and sharp nose.
4. He circled me with his arms, cradling me, as if to absorb my hurt.
5. Patches of milky green lichen patterned the stone, and moss grew all over the roof, vibrant green except in a circle around the chimney area where it had turned dark brown.
6. It thumped above the old barn at ear-splitting level, then landed in the pasture to the side, causing all the cows to scatter as if they were demons released from Tartarus.
Well, that was fun (I think). But the exercise makes you think about the essence of the story, the characters, the setting and the stakes.
What’s important about the series?
– The originality of the alternate history concept. Could a Roman province have survived from AD 395 into the 21st century (20th century for AURELIA)?
– The egalitarian/feminist twist on a traditionally patriarchal society.
– That the threats and challenges in each action-packed thriller are interwoven on personal, professional and national levels.
– Each book in the series is standalone, although additional (and cumulative) enjoyment could be gained by reading all of them.
– The books are entertaining; fully developed and engaging characters and stories with plenty of genuine twists and turns.
– Readers see that a tough heroine has doubts, weaknesses and vulnerabilities, yet can succeed, even though there is some balancing loss.
– That love is perfectly possible for tough action heroines, but on their terms.
– The stories address larger issues, particularly the conflict of privileging the state over personal wishes and feelings.
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You can buy the books here:
Amazon: https://mybook.to/RomeNovaSeries
Apple: https://books.apple.com/gb/book-series/roma-nova-thriller-series/id1308402188
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/fr/en/series/roma-nova
B&N Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Roma%20Nova%20Thriller%20Series
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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, Roma Nova story set in the late 4th century, starts the Foundation stories. The sequel, EXSILIUM, is now out.
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. As a result, you’ll be among the first to know about news and book progress before everybody else, and take part in giveaways.
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