 |
| Alison Morton's ROMA NOVA trilogy |
Trilogies. As a
reader, I love them. What is more satisfying than following a set of characters
off into a new adventure, the sheer joy of seeing them develop as people,
facing up to new challenges, discovering new family secrets or buried treasure
or resolving long and bitter rivalries over the generations? Or perhaps they
have a more internal theme focusing on the emotional ups and downs of three
generations of women who come to live in a new country and pass wisdom up and
down the family chain.
But I’m also a
serial reader.
When I put the third book of a trilogy down, I’ve been known to
sniff, gulp and reach for a strong cup of tea. The world I have loved for
nearly three hundred thousand words has shut its door, the characters have
vanished to the other side of nowhere.
Then to my joy (and not a little relief) I discover the author has
written a fourth book, a follow-on. I have my credit card out before you can
say ‘Harry Potter’.
As a writer, it’s
both similar and different. When I started my first novel, INCEPTIO, I had no idea
what I was doing. Writing was an impulse, a reaction to a dire film and
thinking I could produce something better. But not even halfway through the
first draft, I realised I had a far bigger story than I’d anticipated.
So I did
the classic thing - I turned it into a trilogy.
The
trilogy dilemma
SUCCESSIO,
the last Roma Nova thriller in the original trilogy, set off into the world last June. The heroine
had finished her journey with birth and deaths, traumas and triumphs, and I had
closed her file on my computer. Now for wine, sun and leisure.
But
one of the main secondary characters was whispering in my head, ‘Tell my story. You know you want to. Think of
all those readers, begging for more. You’ll get fat, lounging by the pool. Get
back to work!’
Juno!
Yes,
this was the tough, no-nonsense Praetorian Aurelia Mitela insisting. Now, it’s
not good for your future health if you disobey a Praetorian special forces
officer, let alone one who’s also one of the most powerful women in Roma Nova.
And her story of undercover work, loss, struggle and living at the most
dangerous time in Roma Nova for three centuries – the Great Rebellion – was too
tempting.
So
begins a second trilogy within the Roma Nova world; it starts in the late 1960s
with AURELIA and reaches to the 1980s. Fascinating how technology and attitudes
have changed in fifty years! Research traps abound; some inventions we think
recent were around in the late 1960s, others are surprisingly modern.
This
time round, I have the benefit
of my own experience plus Roma Nova is familiar territory. But the gods
punish hubris so I re-read the first
trilogy and marked up the passages that referred back to the times when Aurelia
had been a young woman. With a new three-book cycle within an established
series, readers can start their Roma Nova adventure with AURELIA without having
to plough through the first three.
But I do hope they will be so entranced, they'll want to go back and grab the first three books!
AURELIA
is out now in ebook (various formats) and paperback.
|
| AURELIA: available now on Amazon |
Late 1960s Roma Nova, the last Roman colony
that has survived into the 20th century. Aurelia Mitela is alone – her partner
gone, her child sickly and her mother dead – and forced to give up her beloved
career as a Praetorian officer.
But her country needs her unique skills.
Somebody is smuggling silver – Roma Nova’s lifeblood – on an industrial scale.
Sent to Berlin to investigate, she encounters the mysterious and attractive
Miklós, a known smuggler who knows too much and Caius Tellus, a Roma Novan she
has despised and feared since childhood.
Barely escaping a trap set by a gang boss
intent on terminating her, she discovers that her old enemy is at the heart of
all her troubles and pursues him back home to Roma Nova...
Buy
from Amazon: http://authl.it/B00WIQL08A?d
Other
retailer links here: http://alison-morton.com/books-2/aurelia/where-to-buy-aurelia/
Read about Alison and Roma Nova: www.alison-morton.com
Connect with her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AlisonMortonAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alison_morton
@alison_morton
GIVEAWAY!
A signed copy of AURELIA (paperback) is available to one of our lucky readers!
Just comment below, telling us whether you prefer to read stand-alone fiction or a series like a trilogy, and your name will be entered into a draw. (UK only)
The draw will take place on Monday 25th, so please do remember to check back to see if you've won!
Thanks for inviting me to contribute to your prestigious blog, Victoria.
ReplyDeleteMany more nitty gritty (read mundane) hints and tips about trilogies here: http://alisonmortonauthor.com/2015/02/the-strangeness-and-freedom-of-writing-a-trilogy/
I rarely read stand-alone books these days. In me youf I read practically everything that was available, but preferred my parents' collection of detective fiction, and as the years have gone on that's where my taste lies. Although writing a series can be a bit of a trial sometimes, it's very gratifying when readers tell you how much they love the characters and the places.
ReplyDeleteI love writing trilogies and series - it means you can really build up a character and develop their relationships with other characters over the course of a series in a way you can't achieve with standalone fiction. Plus, it feels more like a solid project with plenty of time to build sales longterm, whereas a standalone book comes out, that's it, that's your only window for making sales and getting attention for it. With a sequel or two, you get another few bites at the cherry in terms of discoverability. Lovely to have you on the blog, Alison! Vx
ReplyDeleteI love reading series. I get really attached to characters and love to follow their stories as far as possible. In fact, like Lesley I rarely read standalone novels now. Good luck with your new books, they look well worth checking out.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy series, providing the quality starts and remains high. The excitement of knowing the newest book in a beloved series has just been released! It tops even the excitement of seeing a new standalone book by a favourite author has just come out. I look forward to sampling the Nova Roma series, which I haven't previously come across.
ReplyDeleteSeries are so reassuring to read; you meet some of the same characters, plus you find out different things about the series' world each time you read a new volume. I'm a confirmed 'serial' reader as well as writer.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy both series and standalone novels. Just started Inceptio, and I can tell I'm hooked.
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking out the Roma Nova books, Martha, Judi and Mary Ann.
ReplyDeleteI'm halfway through writing the next one in the series, which directly follows AURELIA, but is set twelve years further on in the early 1980s. There is much plotting and picks up on some of the mysteries from earlier in the series...
And the WINNER of this Alison Morton Giveaway is ... JUDI MOORE!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, everyone. And good luck with the book, Alison.
Judi, if you could email me your contact details for the signed paperback of AURELIA, my email is victoria.lamb44@gmail.com
Vx