Podcasts

You can listen to me on various podcasts where hosts have been kind enough to let me ramble on about writing and Roma Nova.

Joanna Penn’s Books and Travel
‘The Roman Empire And Alternate History With Alison Morton’

  • The early genesis of an idea for books about an alternative history based on Ancient Rome
  • How the past and the present are connected by landscape
  • Places that have inspired aspects of the Roma Nova books
  • Bringing Alison’s personal military experience into fiction
  • Language and how it can impact appreciation of a place and culture
  • Recommended books about ancient Rome and some alt-history novels

 

Madeleine d’Este’s Write through the Roof
Interview: ‘Exercise your writing muscle in different ways on different days.’

  • 30% plotter and 70% pantser
  • Black moments: when it all falls apart for the main character
  • Writing versus marketing
  • Tea imported in from England – sergeant major’s tea
  • Wanted to explore female-led action stories with a Roman flavour. But needed to create an alternative history world to feature strong female leaders. Values, betrayal, rebellion, resilience
  • Alternative history research: taking history and twisting it but anchoring back to the facts.
  • Using historical logic – what would have happened if?
  • Collaborating with other writers, exchanging ideas, being accepting and giving
  • A team effort to produce a book
  • Robert Harris’ Fatherland, William Boyd’s Restless, Sebastian Faulks, Lindsay Davis, Georgette Heyer
  • Aurelia: going back to write the backstory of the grandmother of the main character of the Carina Mitela series
  • Writing short stories and novellas

 

Ask ALLi Self-Publishing Advice Podcast – Inspirational Indies
Alternate History Author Alison Morton Imagines a New Rome, Ruled By Women

We talked about:

  • My varied background(!)
  • Time in the military
  • Alternative history – what the Roma Nova books are about
  • Kick-ass women and why women are so prominent in Roma Nova
  • Creating a whole new world and the key element – research

The Alliance of Independent Authors is a professional non-profit business membership organisation for self-publishing authors which provides trusted advice, supportive guidance, a range of resources, all within a welcoming community of authors and advisors. Do consider joining us!


Begin Self-Publishing Podcast (Tim Lewis)
‘Author Events’

We discussed:

  • How did you get your first speaking engagement as an author?
  • Have you been paid for any of these author events?
  • Does it help to have contacts with other authors in terms of getting booked for author speaking events?
  • What has been the most difficult event you have spoken at and what did you learn from it?
  • What advice would you give to people who would be nervous at speaking at author events?

All of these were fun to do. If you’re invited, do it!
It almost inspires me to start my own podcast… 😱

 

Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers –  INCEPTIO,  PERFIDITAS,  SUCCESSIO,  AURELIA,  INSURRECTIO  and RETALIO.  CARINA, a novella, and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories, are now available.  Audiobooks are available for four of the series. NEXUS, an Aurelia Mitela novella, is now out.

Find out more about Roma Nova, its origins, stories and heroines… Download ‘Welcome to Roma Nova’, a FREE eBook, as a thank you gift when you sign up to Alison’s monthly email newsletter. You’ll also be first to know about Roma Nova news and book progress before everybody else, and take part in giveaways.