This month, Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope is out!
Fifteen authors (including me) have contributed a story on the themes of fear and the courage to face it. Sometimes, refusal to submit and the bravery to challenge fear results in a grand gesture; other times, it’s a question of small acts of resistance to tyranny or pure endurance. And the justification or even reward may come later.
Helen Hollick, much published historical fiction author, herded us cats and provided the impetus for this collection as she has done with previous anthologies. I wrote my story, The Sentry, because Helen asked me to!
The female characters in my Roma Nova thriller series have self-doubts, impatience and make mistakes, but they are usually competent, confident and courageous. So writing Rufia, a shy, gentle, home-focused young Roma Novan character who faces a terrifying challenge while being frightened into her boots, was a real reversal for me. I loved doing it!
According to a recent social media trend, people still think of the Roman Empire every day nearly two thousand years later. Well, the Roma Nova alternative history thrillers meet the needs of those who would like to see a bit of it survive. But as we know, in a twist, the women run the 21st century version!
The Sentry is a story set in the still Roman province of Noricum and dates from the earliest days of Roma Nova in AD 395. It directly follows EXSILIUM which recounts the small country’s foundation. The new settlement is developing its defences during very uncertain times and everybody must help.
Writing short stories is a change from working on my usual 90-100,000-word novels, but even then they turn out a bit long, as shown in the three in my new collection HEROICA. But in the end, a story is as long as it turns out to be.
Next, this group of enthusiastic and talented authors and their stories include (in order of time period):
Derek Birks, The Saxon – Southern Britain AD 471
Marian L Thorpe, The Phoenix – a fictional country circa AD 900
Judith Arnopp, Siflede – London 1066
Annie Whitehead, Daisy Chain – England 1141
Anna Belfrage, Stepping Between – England 1308
Carolyn Hughes, Confronting Plague – England 1361
Patricia Furstenberg, Kate’s Letter – Transylvania 1478
Amy Maroney, The Portrait’s Secret – Paris 1536
Jean Gill, Legacy – England 1558
Helen Hollick, A Taleteller’s Tale – The Caribbean 1709
Elizabeth St.John, The Gate – London 1900
Cathie Dunn, Darkness Rising – Venezia 1923
Antoine Vanner, A Sack of Potatoes – The Netherlands 1954
Kathy Hollick-Bater, Grumpy Old Grandfather – Anywhere, Present-day
with an introduction by Lorna Fergusson
The evocative cover was designed by Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics.
Some stories dig into the human soul, others are frightening, many are warmhearted, but all recount persistence, endurance and sheer bravery.
Where can you buy Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope?
Ebook: https://mybook.to/COURAGE-Anthology
Paperback: https://mybook.to/Courage-Anthology-PB
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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. JULIA PRIMA and EXSILIUM, set in the late 4th century, tell the story of Roma Nova’s foundation. Audiobooks are available for four of the series. Double Identity, Double Pursuit and Double Stakes form a new contemporary thriller series. A new collection of Roma Nova short stories, HEROICA, is now out.
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