Politics of extremism - Fiction, fact or both?

Republished June 2024 All countries go through unhappy periods – change, uncertainty, economic instability – which often provoke fear of ‘the other’ and of the unknown. People question their government, values, their purpose and place in life. They become sensitised to the negative and ignore the positive things they forget they have.

Roma Nova […]

The chaotic order of the Roma Nova series

During a recent lively digital chat with cozy mystery author Debbie Young challenged me to list the Roma Nova stories in chronological order according to events and in the order they were written.

As you may know, these sequences do not line up! I asked her if it was really necessary, […]

Power grabs and dictators

A post from 2017 but updated for 2024 and again for 2025 as little seems to change…

The Death of Caesar, Vincenzo Camuccini, 1798 (public domain)

It’s March 2025 and here we are again. the war in Ukraine continues, the despot in the Kremlin is still trying to land grab like a gangster. […]