Roman emperors – The good, the bad and ugly

Coins of Roman emperors

Hadrian is bearded – powerful in the spirit of the Greek god Hercules. Constantine the Great is clean shaven – a strong military leader. Vespasian is just Vespasian, Septimius Severus styles himself on his favourite god Serapis. (Author photo at the Yorkshire Museum)

At a rough count there were around a hundred Roman […]

All that sewing was worth it – the HNS Conference

Several hundred historical fiction fans gathered at Dartington Hall in Devon for a long weekend of indulging in their favourite topic.

Speakers included Bernard Cornwell, Diana Gabaldon, Kate Quinn, S G Mclean, Elizabeth Chadwick and many others including yours truly. The full programme is here.

Ruth Downie, Kate Quinn and I presented about the Romans […]

PERFIDITAS excerpt

PERFIDITAS banner

‘Captain Carina Mitela?’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Who is this?’

‘Custodes XI Station. An emergency token with your code has been handed in. We’re holding the presenter.’

Juno.

I dropped everything and headed for the tunnel connecting our headquarters to the police station. The duty sergeant, with a typical cop’s bland expression but […]