Many apologies for my radio silence of recent weeks. It was largely down to finishing the second Hannibal book, Fields of Blood. That is now done, and my new editor is happy, which is an immense relief. There will be editing, of course, but I was able to down tools over Xmas and relax with my family. I hope that you all had a good time over the festive season, and that among your presents were plenty of books, both real and e-version.
After I get my tax return details done in the next day or two (AAAAAAAHHH!) I will get down to starting Hannibal 3 – working title not yet sorted. Hanno’s, Quintus’ and the others’ stories will continue in the aftermath of Cannae, and the story will move to Sicily, where the Romans faced an epic siege of the huge fortress of Syracuse. I’ll aim to finish that novel in the summer sometime, and then I am going to change direction again. It’s not decided, but I will either start on my Hundred Years’ War novel, Crecy, or on the first of two books on the infamous Varian/Kalkriese disaster in AD 9, when the Romans lost 3 legions in the German forests.
Happy New Year to you all, and happy reading!
shakey says
When is the next hannibal set to be released???
I am about to finish the forgotten legion books, before that read hannibal an the Spartacus books, cannot put them down, the forgotten legion trilogy is nothing short of a masterpiece, cannot wait for all of your upcoming books!!
Ben Kane says
@shakey: Hi there, and thanks for posting on my site. It’s great that you’ve enjoyed my books so much – cheers!
Hannibal 2: Fields of Blood comes out in the UK on June 6th. You can preorder it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hannibal-Fields-Blood-Ben-Kane/dp/1848092350/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1357851034&sr=8-6
😉
annis says
Don’t know why hardly any authors have tackled the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, and the few who have to date have made a dismal job of it. It’s a subject that deserves better, so I look forward to your take, Ben 🙂
Ben Kane says
@annis: thank you! I look forward to telling it!
sownack says
Give Me Back My Legions by Harry Turtledove was no doubt one of those dismal books mentioned by annis. I did not enjoy it at all although I did finish it. So I am looking forward to reading your interpretation when it’s published.
I got a nice present for Christmas; a five night trip to Rome in April 🙂 Lucky me 🙂
Ben Kane says
@sownack: It wasn’t just me who couldn’t finish that book then. I gave up after about 30 pages. Sad, because I loved Turtledove’s ‘legion in space’ Videssos Cycle books when I was younger. I will do my best to ensure that my Varus/Kalkriese books aren’t like that.
What an Xmas present – lucky you indeed! A great time to visit too. The weather will be good, but there won’t be too many tourists. If you haven’t already seen it, or planned to do it, try to visit the section of original Via Appia, just a short bus ride from near the Circus Maximus. There’s one bit of nearly a mile that is untouched. It’s incredible, and evokes history like few places I’ve ever been. I filmed a video about Spartacus there: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4P3emFdwx4 – best of all, not many people bother going to see it, so you can almost have the place to yourself.