Building Roma Nova – Part 2

Map of North Italy and Austria

What does Roma Nova look like? It’s an alpine country with lower lying valleys a few small towns (Castra Lucilla to the south of the main city, Brancadorum at the east, Aquae Caesaris to the west) and a river city full of columns, a forum, Senate house and temples.

There are high mountains and hills […]

You have to know history before you can 'alternate' it

Roma Novan heroines, ancient and modern

To write alternative history with authenticity, it’s helpful to be as well-versed and researched as an author writing a more conventional historical novel.

Let me unpick that… Alternate (or alternative) history is based on the premise that the standard timeline diverged at a certain point and followed […]

Confession time: Descent from antiquity is a non-starter

The family of Drusus, National Museum of Civilisation, Rome (Author photo)

Some Roma Novans, particularly the founding Twelve Families, pride themselves on their descent from named Roman ancestors such as Mitelus, Julia Bacausa, Apulius. As a small colony determined to survive in an unstable world, the children of those founders made a decision […]