So what's this 'Roma Nova' about?

It’s about books. No, it’s about stories of people, their aspirations, their dilemmas, their loves and their adventures. It’s about sacrifice, passion and loyalty, about betrayal, power-hunger and redemption. And it takes the imagination on one of the most intriguing ‘what if’ stories ever…

Roma Nova is an imaginary country (except in […]

Could this be what Roma Nova looks like?

View from St Katerina, above the Vintner Gorge, Slovenia

When I placed Roma Nova, the setting for the Carina and Aurelia adventures, in ‘Central Europe’ (wherever that is), it was vaguely based on Austria and Slovenia. I was lucky enough to visit both countries this year (2023) and see some wonderful Roman archaeology. […]

The Mysterious Youth of Magdalensberg

Modern copy in the collection of the Landesmuseum Kärnten at Magdalensberg

When I was writing JULIA PRIMA, my research about her hometown of Virunum uncovered the story of the Youth of Magdalensberg (Der Jüngling vom Magdalensberg), an ancient Roman bronze statue dating to the first century BC. Now, Romans, statues – […]