Blog Tour (Interview): PERFIDITAS by Alison Morton

Please join Alison Morton as she tours virtually for PERFIDITAS (Book II, Roma Nova Series) from April 14-May 16 with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours!

PERFIDITAS
Publication Date: October 17, 2014
SilverWood Books
Paperback; 288p, ISBN-10: 1781321248
eBook; ASIN: B00FXY4GEE

Captain Carina Mitela of the Praetorian Guard Special Forces is in trouble – one colleague has tried to kill her and another has set a trap to incriminate her in a conspiracy to topple the government of Roma Nova.

Founded sixteen hundred years ago by Roman dissidents and ruled by women, Roma Nova barely survived a devastating coup d’état thirty years ago. Carina swears to prevent a repeat and not merely for love of country.

Seeking help from a not quite legal old friend could wreck her marriage to the enigmatic Conrad. Once proscribed and operating illegally, she risks being terminated by both security services and conspirators. As she struggles to overcome the desperate odds and save her beloved Roma Nova and her own life, she faces the ultimate betrayal…

Interview

Hi, Mrs. Morton! Thank you so much for stopping by Bibliophilia, Please to answer some questions. Please tell us a little bit about PERFIDITAS in your own words but with a Twitter twist – 140 characters or less.

A girl’s own adventure with 21st century Romans, love, conspiracy and betrayal, but who can she trust? #BRAGMedallionwinner‬

What inspired you to write a Roman-based alternate history series?

Three things: firstly, a deep fascination with Rome, a life of clambering over Roman walls, cricking my neck looking up at aqueducts, walking on mosaics and handling Roman coins, glass and jewellery. Next, a little worm planted in my head at an early age wondering what a modern Roman society would be like if run by women. And lastly, the dreadful dialogue and storyline in beautifully shot film. I knew I could do better than that…

What kind of research have you done for the Roma Nova series?

I have a languages, military and history background and had visited much of Roman Europe by the time I sat at my desk to write the first line, so that was a good start. ;-)

The main thing is to be aware that you don’t know everything. Alternate history gives you the chance to explore the great ‘what if’, but you have to ground it in solid research. The Roma Nova timeline split from our own in AD 395 and the social, economic and political conditions of that time then form the baseline from which their society evolved.

Projecting your alternate historical line forward from its divergence point needs to be carefully done and follow historical logic. And, of course, the story itself needs to be plausible…

What was the most fun part about writing PERFIDITAS?

Heaping trouble on Carina, my heroine, and watching her struggle to get out of it! I don’t mean to sound cruel, but it wouldn’t be a thriller series if she didn’t get into harm’s way. The other great fun is inventing twists and turns and scattering clues – I love it!

What is your favorite distraction that you indulge in whenever you are writing?

Everybody’s favourite – the Internet. It’s a good slave but a bad master. It’s very valuable for quickly looking things up when writing the first draft, but I always mark information up for cross-checking later. Recently, I was looking up Glock handguns. I needed to know the type of holster law enforcement officers would use. I had several answers within ten minutes. The problem is that you get distracted by beautiful images, maps, articles and suddenly, you run out of writing time.

Which books or authors would you say have affected or inspired you the most?

Such a difficult question! As regards Roma Nova, the first would be Robert Harris’ Fatherland, an alternate history thriller of Nazi Germany that takes place in an alternate 1964. I love Lindsey Davis’ Falco Roman detective series set in the AD 70s for its witty, cynical protagonist and strong, no-nonsense wife, Helena. And I can’t leave out J D Robb’s Eve Dallas In Death series, nor Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series.

What are you currently reading?

I’ve just finished Robert Fabbri’s Vespasian: Tribune of Rome which I gave five stars to on Goodreads and my next read will be Altered Pasts: Counterfactuals in History by Richard J. Evans.

Watch the Book Trailer


Praise for PERFIDITAS

“Alison Morton has built a fascinating, exotic world! Carina’s a bright, sassy detective with a winning dry sense of humour. I warmed to her quickly and wanted to find out how she dealt with the problems thrown in her path. The plot is pretty snappy too and gets off to a quick start which made it easy to keep turning the pages. There are a fair number of alternative historical fictions where Rome never disappeared, but for my money this is one of the better ones.” – Simon Scarrow, author of the Eagle (Macro and Cato) series

“I can’t resist an alternative history and Alison Morton writes one of the best. Powerful storytelling, vivid characters and a page-turning plot makes Alison Morton’s Perfiditas a must read.”– Jean Fullerton, author of the historical East London novels

“Pure enjoyment! A clever, complex plot set in the beguilingly convincing fictional country of Roma Nova. Scenes and characters are sometimes so vividly described that I felt I was watching a movie. This compelling tale rendered me inseparable from my copy right up to the last turn of the page.”– Sue Cook, writer and broadcaster

Buy the Books

INCEPTIO (Book One)
PERFIDITAS (Book Two)

About the Author

Alison Morton writes Roman-themed alternate history thrillers with strong heroines. She holds a bachelor’s degree in French, German and Economics, a masters’ in history and lives in France with her husband.

A ‘Roman nut’ since age 11, she has visited sites throughout Europe including the alma mater, Rome. But it was the mosaics at Ampurias (Spain) that started her wondering what a modern Roman society would be like if run by women…

INCEPTIO, the first in the Roma Nova series, was shortlisted for the 2013 International Rubery Book Award and awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion® in September 2013. The next in series, PERFIDITAS, published October 2013, has also just been honoured with the B.R.A.G. Medallion®. Alison is working on the third book SUCCESSIO which will be out in June 2014.

Links
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Amazon UK Author Page | Amazon US Author Page
Inceptio Facebook Page | Perfiditas Facebook Page
Virtual Book Tour Schedule

Monday, April 14
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, April 15
Interview at Flashlight Commentary

Wednesday, April 16
Interview at Bibliophilia, Please

Thursday, April 17
Spotlight & Giveaway at Broken Teepee

Monday, April 21
Review at Book Nerd

Wednesday, April 23
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Friday, April 25
Interview at Dianne Ascroft

Monday, April 28
Spotlight & Giveaway at Bibliophilic Book Blog

Tuesday, April 29
Review at Ink Sugar Blog

Wednesday, April 30
Interview & Giveaway at Ink Sugar Blog

Friday, May 2
Spotlight & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Connection

Monday, May 5
Review at A Bibliotaph’s Reviews

Thursday, May 8
Interview & Giveaway at Books and Benches

Monday, May 12
Guest Post at Royalty Free Fiction

Tuesday, May 13
Review & Interview at Tower of Babel

Friday, May 16
Spotlight at Reviews by Molly