Blog | Alison Morton's Thrillers

Russell Whitfield and the Roman Walk

Today, I’m delighted to welcome Russell Whitfield (Just Another Freaking Roman Author or “JAFRA”). Russell was one of Roma Nova’s early supporters and endorsed INCEPTIO. Gladiatrix, Russ’s first novel, was published in 2008 by Myrmidon Books. The sequel, Roma Victrix, continues the adventures of Lysandra, the Spartan gladiatrix. A third book is planned for release in 2014.

I understand from fellow Roman author Ben Kane that you’re going on a “boys’ own adventure” walk from Capua to Rome. Tell us more about the what and why!

Well – last year, after a few too many lagers, Ben reckoned on that doing a team walk across Hadrian’s Wall – together – would be great. Tony Riches had done one before in full kit (the stuff that I ended up wearing in the end) and we foolishly agreed.

It was really quite tough at times, especially if you’re a forty-something-fat-bloke and not a hard-as-nails-twenty-something legionary; physically taxing, but the trip was made much more bearable because we had real-life Indiana Jones Mike Bishop with us. Mike’s an eminent archaeologist and knows all there is to know about Hadrian’s Wall, so it was fascinating to learn about the sites as we walked along.

As to the why, well – we support two charities – Médicins Sans Frontières (or Doctors Without Borders) and Combat Stress. They really are worthy causes, but to be honest, one of the most touching thing that happened on the Hadrian’s Wall walk was that we ran into a bunch of Gurkhas who were on holiday. They were really amazed that we were mad enough to do this to help a cause that was clearly close to their hearts.

Amphitheatre at Capua

Also, a few months after the walk, I was watching the telly and there was a huge disaster in the Philippines. At the time, I was certain that I would never do another walk again, but as I watched the telly, the first people on the scene were Médicins Sans Frontières and I sort of realised that I had, in a tiny way, helped those guys. So I had to do the walk again after that.

It’s going to hurt, though. 😉

You and I met at the Historical Novel Society 2012 Conference and you very kindly endorsed INCEPTIO for me. I loved your Gladiatrix and Roma Victrix about a female gladiator. What are you writing now?

No problemo, loved the book and I’m thrilled that you liked Gladiatrix and Roma Victrix too!

I’ve written a few film scripts that we’re trying to get off the ground – they’re not historical, just some contemporary action stuff and couple of thrillers. It has been all consuming, though, and it kept me away from Lysandra and the arena for some time.

However, I’m now working on Gladiatrix III – Imperatrix. which should be done by October this year. It’s actually great to get back into proper writing. Script-writing is a totally different discipline… which I didn’t know when I first started trying it out.

I’m happy to be back with Lysandra and her friends. I’m trying to keep things fresh in this new book but at the same time retain the stuff the people enjoyed in the first two, but it’s turning into a slightly different animal. I guess it’s because the focus isn’t so much on arena fighting and training and that sort of thing. There still will be fighting and training though! Just of a different kind.

Thank you, Russell, and the very best of luck with the walk. Now, the causes Russell mentioned are excellent ones and I’d encourage you to cough up a few pounds/dollars/euros at the official fundraising page.

A little more about Russell…
Russell Whitfield was born in Shepherds Bush in 1971. An only child, he was raised in Hounslow, West London, but has since escaped to Ham in Surrey.

Russell has had an (almost) lifelong fascination with ancient Greece and Rome, sparked by seeing the The Three Hundred Spartans on ITV in the seventies. Educated to A-Level, he did not complete college, preferring instead to seek fame and fortune in a heavy metal band. Sadly, fame and fortune were not forthcoming and a career in telesales beckoned. A series of jobs followed culminating in the heady heights of ‘content editor’ for a large multi-national.

Gladiatrix was Russ’s first novel, published in 2008 by Myrmidon Books. The sequel, Roma Victrix, continues the adventures Lysandra, the Spartan gladiatrix, and a third book is planned for release in 2014.

In an attempt to stave off an ever increasing beer-gut, Russ trains in the martial arts, but his training thus far has left little impression on said gut – or his class mates for that matter.

Heavy Metal is Russ’s music of choice, though he was also in a goth band and thus has the obligatory Sisters of Mercy and Mission CDs in his collection and photographs of Russ with dubious hairstyles have emerged on the internet.

He is a huge fan of the Swedish band Hysterica (www.hysterica.se) and has written a song for their album The Art of Metal.

UPDATE: They reached Rome and here’s the picture to prove it! I spoke to Ben Kane on 12 June and he reported they’d raised over £16,321, and counting..

Macte!

Here’s the donation link again:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=RomaniWalk2014&isTeam=true

Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers, INCEPTIO, and PERFIDITAS. Third in series, SUCCESSIO, is out early summer 2014.

HNS Short Story Award 2014 - a reminder!

Deadline 1 April 2014!

The Historical Novel Society seeks to support writers of new historical fiction by the HNS International Awards – a series of competitions for previously unpublished short stories and novels.

The 2014 Historical Novel Society International Award, with a prize of $2,000, will be for an outstanding historical short story. There will be an entry fee of $15 per story ($5 for members of the Historical Novel Society), and entries must be between 1,000 and 5,000 words. Submissions will be accepted from 1st December 2013, with a deadline for submissions of 1st April 2014.

For an idea of the quality of story we are looking for, please see the first HNS anthology, The Beggar at the Gate.

Your story in English can be in any genre of historical fiction but set at least fifty years ago. Entry is open to authors regardless of age or nationality and whether or not previously published. Full rules here.

Good luck!

Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers, INCEPTIO, and PERFIDITAS. Third in series, SUCCESSIO, is out early summer 2014.

Jane Thynne and the allure of 1930s Germany

Today, I’m thrilled to welcome Jane Thynne to my blog. Jane has worked as a journalist for the BBC, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Independent. She has been a panellist on the BBC Radio 4 literary panel game The Write Stuff on many occasions and was a member of the judging panel for the Oldie of the Year award in 2010 and a judge for the Best Online Only Audio Drama award of the first BBC Audio Drama Awards in 2012. Her first novel, Patrimony, was published in 199 followed by The Shell House in 1999, The Weighing of the Heart in 2010 and Black Roses in 2013.

Jane and I share a fascination not only for Berlin but for the lives of women during the Third Reich in Germany, mine non-fiction, hers spy thrillers in the world of the Nazi leaders’ wives, so it seemed natural to grill her about this…

Goering marriage

What attracted you to writing about women in Nazi Germany and having a woman protagonist in what has been depicted as a very male-dominated period?
The lives of German women under Hitler – like so much in the Third Reich – was rife with contradictions. It was an intensely misogynistic regime, and yet Hitler received more fan-mail than The Beatles and Mick Jagger put together. No one encapsulated these ironies more than the senior Nazi wives, who were expected to embody Nazi values but diverged from them in dramatic ways. We know a little of what it felt like because several of them, such as Emmy Goering, wrote memoirs about their lives. In many cases they were an important influence on their husbands – some of them, like the wives of von Ribbentrop and Heydrich – more Nazi than their men. Others, like Frau Goering, the wife of Baldur von Schirach, actively interceded with their husbands on an occasional basis to save friends.

But I was also interested in the lives of ordinary women, trying to live under an increasingly restricted, totalitarian regime. In my new novel, The Winter Garden, a murder takes place in a Bride School, one of those institutions established in 1935 by Himmler for women hoping to marry into the SS. Women actually had to gain a certificate in order to qualify for their wedding. Incredible!

It seemed a good idea to make Clara Vine, my protagonist, an Anglo-German actress. Berlin was the centre of European film making – it really was the Hollywood of Europe. Actresses occupied an uneasy middle grown between ‘respectable’ women and celebrities and with acting also came many metaphors around playing a role and spying. It seemed a natural fit.

Your period detail was rich and cleverly present throughout Black Roses. Do you have an affinity or special knowledge of Germany or was it a hard slog?
It’s impossible not to be intrigued by the country at the centre of the seismic event of the twentieth century. And if you’re interested in Germany, your eyes naturally turn to Berlin. I’ve walked the streets of Berlin over and over in reality and every day in my head for the past couple of years. It’s strange seeing your own imaginary Berlin like a palimpsest under the modern, rebuilt Berlin, but It helps that I have a working knowledge of German and I visit a couple of times a year.

Thank you, Jane. I loved Black Roses which Jane talked about at the Harrogate History Festival last October and the sequel, The Winter Garden, is on my TBR pile.

Jane has kindly donated a copy for a giveaway and one lucky winner will win it in a draw. All you have to do is make a (sensible) comment by 22 March and your name will go in the hat!

Goering marriage photo from Bundesarchiv, Creative Commons Licence

Updated May 2023: 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.

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