Why JULIA PRIMA is, and isn't, an alternate history story

I’m known as a writer of alternative history thrillers featuring modern Praetorian heroines, Carina and Aurelia. That’s my “brand” and my deep interest. Not always a wise commercial decision, but these have been the stories I’ve itched to write.

But since JULIA PRIMA came out in August, I’ve been asked frequently what made me go […]

So, alternate history?

Dawn with pine trees and ruins in silhouette - the dawn of time?

Time or alternate time?

What if the Nazis had won the Second World War (Fatherland – Robert Harris, The Man in the High Castle – Philip K Dick) or England had remained Catholic (Pavane – Keith Roberts, The Alteration – Kingsley Amis) or if Alaska rather than Israel had become the Jewish homeland […]

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 […]