Interview with Alison Morton
Ever wondered what might have been if a small part of the Roman Empire still existed in the 21st century? Well, Alison Morton has explored this in acclaimed Roma Nova thriller series featuring modern Praetorian heroines. She blends her deep love of history with six years’ military service in a special communications regiment and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction.
A ‘Roman nut’ since age 11, Alison says she has misspent decades clambering over Roman sites throughout Europe and admits to an obsession with gazing at Roman concrete. On a more serious note, she holds a masters’ in history and blogs about Romans, alternate history, writing and publishing.
When not writing, she speaks at conferences in the UK, France, Ireland and the US, runs workshops on writing and publishing and contributes a monthly column to her local English language magazine.
But mostly she continues to write thrillers with tough heroines, cultivates a Roman herb garden and drinks wine in France with her husband.
A delight to talk to you, Richard. The hour flew by. If anything I said has helped anybody in any way, then I’m very happy. Good luck with the rest of this series!
The interview was delightful, Alison. I haven’t looked into the alternate history novel genre and now I’m itching to read your books. Thank you for being so genuine.
Thank you, Bonnie. I tend to ‘tell it as it is’! And, yes, alternate history is a fascinating area. I hadn’t even realised it had a name when I wrote the first book, INCEPTIO. Now I give talks about it.
Alison, thank you for sharing your “writer’s journey” with such authenticity and transparency. This interview is chock full of wisdom and a lovely dash of humor. I appreciate Richard introducing you to his audience.
Thank you, Sheila. We know so much more now about writing, self-publishing, the need for research and editing; it’s a joy to share my experience in the hope it may help somebody else. My best tip? Persist and go on learning as well as writing.