Caerleon, the former legionary fortress of Diva, which is only 40 something miles from where I live, is a place dear to my heart. I was delighted to see that there’s been a major find there recently, showing the existence of a lot of large buildings that were previously unknown. Read about it here.
Wed. 18th August: The Road to Rome becomes a bestseller!
18 August 2010 – 10:46
I’m proudly able to announce that The Road to Rome has reached the Sunday Times Top Ten in its first part week of publication! From Thursday 12th to Sunday 15th August, it sold over 3,500 copies, allowing it to storm up to number 4! Hurrah! Thanks to all the Roman gods, and to every one at Random House, who have worked so hard to help this happen. Most of all, thanks to you, my cool readers who have gone out and stumped up the cash for a copy of The Road to Rome. I’ve hardly stopped grinning since I heard the news yesterday.
Sat. 14th August: The Boat of Fate
14 August 2010 – 10:14
While hoping that The Road to Rome is soaring up the charts since its release on Thursday, I have been reading a wonderful Roman fiction novel recommended to me by a member of staff in my local Waterstone’s. It’s called The Boat of Fate and was written by a man called Keith Roberts. Set at the time of the decline of the western Roman Empire, it’s about a troubled young Iberian Roman called Sergius Paullus, and details his life from his youth in Iberia to his time as an apprentice in Rome, a military officer in Gaul, and then his role in the final struggle in Britain after the legions left in AD 410. It’s a wonderful read, and I urge you to get a copy if you can. I would rate in the top five of all Roman novels I’ve read.