[A handsome Roman temple in Évora, Portugal. With writer.]
If you’ve been following our recent motorbike adventures in Spain and Portugal (link here), you’ll know we caught the ferry back home from Santander on 13 October. It was a wonderful three weeks, weaving our way through the backwoods and mountains of the Peninsula, with visits to as many Roman sites as we could manage. Incredibly hot south of Ciudad Rodrigo, incredibly cold north (like a 20 degreeC drop in a single day. But that's Spain for you.) I’ve come back with masses of research material, and an absolute determination to make Book #5 about murder and general nastiness in Roman Spain. We also filmed some new video, which I’ll get up on my YouTube channel shortly. (Go to my Linktree for links to YouTube and my social media.)
[Here’s the Rider with Tigger in the Cantabrian mountains, above the Ebro river.]
As we dismounted from a weary Tigger back home the next day, I noticed as I peeled off my leather gloves that I had strange numb patches on my fingers. This rang a vague bell; I checked with the NHS website, did a LFT test, and discovered I was Covid-positive. Nearly three years we’ve dodged this, but it finally caught us up. I did all the stuff you’re supposed to do, including immediate self-isolation. Despite that, the Rider came down with the bug three days later.
I’ll gloss over all the nasty weird symptoms, and just say that was an awful fortnight of our lives we’ll never get back. Thank goodness we had had the foresight to get in an oximeter, which was used a lot. And thank goodness for prompt and effective NHS treatment which kept me out of hospital. Onwards and upwards.
My News
New short story
I’ve been asked to contribute to a Roman short story anthology coming out next spring. My trip round Roman Iberia was so inspiring, I’m thinking of sending Tiro off for a short adventure in Spain while Quintus is busy getting married. If you’ve read The Carnelian Phoenix, I’ll be bringing back Tiro’s Roman friend Martinus, too. In fact, this will be his adventure, just to ring the changes. The story will be set in the green mountains of Cantabria, and may well feature gold, missing or otherwise. (Obviously there will be at least one death, as well!)
[The Roman city of Juliobriga, Cantabria - temple of Jupiter and Augustus]
Other contributors to the anthology will include some of the greats of Roman fiction, like Fiona Forsyth; the two Alistairs: Forrest and Tosh; Richard Foreman; and Derek Bird among others, so it should be an excellent, entertaining read. I’ll keep you posted on title and publication dates.
Update on Quintus Valerius Book #3: The Loyal Centurion
Less of an update, more a roadmap of sorts — this third novel in the Quintus Valerius series is now outlined, and mostly researched. But you can’t write about Scotland in the winter without visiting Scotland in the winter, which I haven’t yet done. So it’s off to bonny Scotland we go, in the dark and cold of late November. I think I’m being quite brave, but as I’m being joined on my research trip to Inverness and Moray by my wonderful friend and brilliant fellow-author Lynn Johnson, who hails from Orkney, I’ll probably find I’m a softie southern wuss. I’m planning to do the real dirty on my Roman lads, Quintus and Tiro, sending them well beyond Hadrian’s Wall into Pictland in this new book. It will be dark, cold and very dangerous. The lost Ninth legion may be mentioned. The book is already outlined, but you know me: super-planner, super-researcher. Only when I’m happy with all the new characters, all the deaths and disasters, all the twists and turns, will I write the first draft. More on that next month.
Book reviews
I was chuffed to get a very positive review of The Carnelian Phoenix from Ancient Rome Book News, who blogs and tweets about - well, books about ancient Rome (tweets @books_rome). Simon says: “I really enjoyed this book and read it over just a couple of days.” Plenty of other 5* ratings and reviews are being posted on Amazon and Goodreads, and it seems the second book is encouraging people to read The Governor’s Man too, which is most gratifying.
Diamond Crime award
I was very pleased to win the recent Diamond Crime books Ten Line Crime Story challenge, organised through the good offices of the Crime Writers’ Association. I chose to enter a ten-line poem, a bit of doggerel about the sad and lovely Lady with Ivory Bangles, whose skeleton lies in the wonderful Yorkshire Museum. [Spoiler alert: she’s going to feature in The Loyal Centurion; I couldn’t resist such a sad tale.]
Here’s my winning entry — my super prize was the pick of three of Diamond’s array of crime novels. Do not feel obliged to read; I am no poet.
In Memoriam: the Ivory Bangle Lady
She lies in state, in York’s fair heart,
A right Roman lady, set far apart
From us by millennia of time.
Her wealth and beauty were sublime,
Buried with gold and ivory on her arms.
Who would do this young maid harm?
Beloved of a worthy tribune, but sought
By a jealous legate, who took her pleas at naught
And cruelly strangled this girl of gold and ivory,
Now she lies embraced only by history.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
[My prizes from Diamond Crime]
Author events
I’ve got a busy few weeks ahead, which is really pleasing. On Monday 31st October, I’m being interviewed by Charlie Taylor of BBC Radio Somerset, with three short readings from my last book on consecutive nights. The day after, Tuesday 1 November, I’ll be joining a panel of authors for a live event at Ross on Wye library, from 7-9 pm. We write across varied genres, and will be giving readings, as well as doing Q&As and selling our books. There will be refreshments, and we’d love any and all local readers to come along to meet us. Next up is another live event, this time at Malvern Library. I’ll be joining the Coffee and Crime group at 11 am on 4 November, for coffee and chat about crime in Roman times. They made me so welcome last year when Covid required us to Zoom, and I’m delighted to be meeting up with the group for real this time. Finally, on Saturday 12th, I’m defending Roman Britain as “Mine is the best era” in a transatlantic debate being organised online by the Historical Writers Forum. Bit nervy about this one, as there will heated arguments by writers on the American War of Independence, the English Civil War, the Court of the Sun King, and other historical periods. I’ll let you know how that one goes!
That’s it for November, although I do hope to do a little writing too. Bye for now; keep well and keep reading!
You can find out more about Jacquie Rogers’ books, social media and events via her Linktree.