February, 2024 - Debbie Young's Writing Life

In Conversation with Thriller Writer Alison Morton

Posted on February 28, 2024February 28, 2024 by Debbie Young

This year, my last blog post of every month will be a conversation with one of my author friends, talking about an aspect of their writing life that I hope will interest my readers too.

Meet my friend Alison Morton!

This month, thriller writer Alison Morton is my guest. Alison and I have had parallel careers as novelists, with us each writing two series, all falling under the broad heading of crime fiction. But whereas mine is lighthearted cozy mystery set in the comfy Cotswolds, Alison’s is serious stuff, pan-European thrillers, one series of modern stories, and the other alternative history.

I’m always interested in what Alison’s up to, but the reason I’ve invited her onto my blog today is that she is celebrating the launch of her eleventh Roma Nova book: Exsilium.

But where’s Roma Nova? I hear you cry!

Alison, if Roma Nova were a real country, how would its Wikipedia entry read?

Alison:

Roma Nova (ˈrɒmə ˈnəʊvə), officially Colonia Apuliensis Roma Nova is a landlocked Latin-speaking country located in the Eastern European Alps. It borders New Austria and Italy. Roma Nova is a semi-constitutional monarchy headed by an imperatrix who rules in association with an appointed Senate and an elected People’s Assembly.

With an area of 2,950 square kilometers (1140 sq mi), it supports a population of 1.5 million (2019). Economically, Roma Nova has one of the highest gross domestic products per capita in the world based on mining and processing minerals, especially silver, powerful technology and engineering sectors, financial services and specialist agricultural exploitation. It maintains military national service and a unique matrilineal social structure. It belongs to the European Economic Area and the United Nations and often acts as an intermediary between nations.

Photo of Alison Morton in Virunum — Alison enjoying a visit to Virunum, the real-life location for her fictitious Roma Nova

Alison: You might also like to read this tourist guide to Roman Nova, written by a certain Claudia Dixit, which I’ve shard on my blog here:

Claudia Dixit’s tourist guide to Roma Nova

Debbie: That’s great fun, thank you! Now, speaking as someone who has written two series of novels in chronological order – the first seven Sophie Sayers books run the course of a village year from one summer to the next, and the Gemma Lamb series, when complete, will cover an academic year, with two books per term – I am intrigued by the more complex order in which you wrote your books. Please enlighten us!

Alison: this chart gives a clear picture of when each book was published, when it was set, and where it falls in the chronological order of the series.

Title and date published	Time story set	Chronological order
INCEPTIO – March, 2013	Approx 2010	7
PERFIDITAS – October 2013	2016	9
SUCCESSIO – May 2014	2023/4	10
AURELIA – May 2015	1968/9	3
INSURRECTIO – April 2016	1984/5	5
RETALIO – April 2017	1986/7	6
CARINA (novella) – November 2017	2013	8
ROMA NOVA EXTRA (stories) – October 2018	AD370-2029	Mixed
NEXUS (novella) – September 2019	Mid 1970s	4
JULIA PRIMA – August 2022	AD 370	1
EXSILIUM – February 2024	AD 383-395	2

And here are the covers in all their glory!

array of covers of the complete works of Alison Morton — The complete works of Alison Morton, across both her series of thrillers

Debbie: How did you come to write the Roma Nova novels in this order? Was it a process that evolved or did you plan it this way from the start?

Alison: Totally chaotic and unplanned! In late 2009, I set out to write a book to express ideas I’d had bubbling in my head for decades – Romans, woman hero, military, thrilling story with a dollop of romance. That was Inceptio. Before it was even polished up and when I was ignorant of the publishing and book world, I had written the manuscript of Perfiditas. The characters were starting to push me to write the ‘what happened next?’’ story so I wrote Successio, which brought in the next generation. I thought that was it. Trilogy done.

Then Aurelia, the elder stateswoman mentor of Carina, the heroine of my trilogy, started nagging me, so I had to write her story, Aurelia. But what had she done in the Great Rebellion the other characters kept going on about? What were the secrets of her younger self? So I went back to 1968 and the series time anomaly opened…

I ended up writing about the Great Rebellion in Insurrectio and the resolution in Retalio. Right, that was it! No more.

Then every one of my writer friends started writing novellas.

Debbie: Guilty! I confess!

Alison: I had a nagging feeling there were gaps in my trilogies when we knew nothing of the lives the Roma Novans were living between the books. Why didn’t I have a go at some short fiction for a change?

Carina in 2017 filled in a gap between Inceptio and Perfiditas and highlighted the conflict of duty, love and loyalty and Nexus in 2018 filled the fourteen-year gap between Aurelia and Insurrectio and set up a few things for Retalio. Both were short at 38,000 words.

In between, I put together eight short stories that really blasted the time continuum apart, varying between AD370 to 2029 in the future!

Why did I go back into the deep past of the late fourth century with Julia Prima and now Exsilium? Because the fans kept on asking me. And it was fun to write straight historical fiction.

Debbie: With the publication of Exsilium, do you now recommend readers new to your series start with that book, or is it better to read them in the order you wrote them? I know they all work as standalone novels too.

Alison: It doesn’t really matter. I’ve woven in references between all the books, so those reading from start to finish of the will enjoy little ‘Easter eggs’ (and possibly go, ‘Aha!’) when they see the connections. Perhaps the four Carina books set in the present – Inceptio, Carina, Perfiditas, and Successio – could be read in succession as could the 1960s/80s group of Aurelia, Nexus, Insurrectio, and Retalio. Historical fiction fans might like to start with Julia Prima and Exsilium.

Debbie: With my novels, I’ve had my sights set on the very specific genre of cozy mystery all along, although there are strong romantic and comic elements too. By contrast, the Roma Nova novels bend and blend genres. Some are purely historical novels, and others are alternative history (or alternate history, as our American friends term it) – although of course all ‘althist’ must at least be founded on historical fact. What are the challenges of mixing up the genres within a single series?

Alison: This goes back to what we discussed earlier – chaos! I had no idea that the standard approach was writing in a set genre. I just wanted to write my story.

It dawned on me later that that the book world, especially marketing and selling, ran on strict structural lines. So it’s been a very difficult marketing road.

But once people read one in the series, they very often go on to buy all the others and I’ve had some very heart-warming emails and letters from readers expressing their love for Roma Nova.

That I’ve touched people, and sometimes inspired them, works for me.

Debbie: Sometimes, to both readers and writers, it can feel as if a series has gone on too long. The best writing advice I’ve heard on that score is from our mutual friend, Orna Ross, who told me, “One must be careful not to keep writing the same book over again”, and every time I plot a new addition to my series, I bear that advice in mind. You’ve obviously found a very good way of keeping each novel fresh by changing the timeframe. What other advice would you offer to aspiring authors planning to write series?

Alison: I say this with no irony – plan! I don’t mean a hard and fast structure for your series, but work out a setting/book world that can absorb a lot of different stories.

The second thing is not to write one book, then go slightly more outrageous in the next one, and by Book 10, you’re over the limits of probability and into space cowboys.

Thirdly, interlink the books in some way apart from ‘what happened next’.

Lastly, NEVER finish one book in a series with a cliff-hanger.

Debbie: The Roma Nova novels span many centuries, taking us up to the present day. Would you ever consider writing a speculative futuristic take on Roma Nova? Any thoughts on how that might pan out?

Alison: I wandered a few years into the future in ‘Allegra – An Unusual Love Story’, one of the short stories in the Roma Nova Extra collection and quite enjoyed that, so something to think about. In the future, of course.

Debbie: Anchored firmly in the present is your contemporary Mélisende pan-European thriller series, which currently stands at two books, Double Identity and Double Pursuit. Are you tempted to write a prequel for Mélisende that would take us back in time in that series too?

Ah! I have. ‘The Sand Beneath Her Feet’ is a short story exclusively available as part of a thank-you ebook for signing up to my newsletter. It tells of Mel’s last mission before leaving the French Army. Like many a thriller, it all blows up in her face.

If you care to sign up, you can read it here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/z8e1q1

Debbie: It seems every time I publish the latest in one of my series, readers ask when the next is due out, but at the request of my publisher Boldwood Books, my current work-in-progress is a new trilogy. It’s still cozy mystery set in the Cotswolds, but all-new in every other respect, but there will be more stories about Sophie and Gemma too. So, now that EXSILIUM is out in the world, what’s next for you? More in either of your series, or do you have any plans to branch out? If your readers will let you, that is!

Alison: I’ve started the first chapter of the Mélisende ‘Doubles’ series and I’m longing to see what she’s going to make of it. However, I have a feeling my Roma Nova readers won’t let it go that easily…

Debbie: Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

Alison: The best starting point is my World of Thrillers site: https://alison-morton.com, where you’ll also find links to my social media accounts and my writing blog, as well as more information about my new book, Exsilium.

banner ad for Exsilium showing cover image of book against dark background — Now available in ebook and paperback – click image to choose your preferred retailer

cove of Driven to Murder against green stripey background

Personal life, Travel, Writing

On Life Imitating Art in “Driven to Murder”

Posted on February 22, 2024 by Debbie Young

This article originally appeared on Boldwood Books’ blog to mark the publication of my latest novel, Driven to Murder.

In a bizarre incident of life imitating art, as a starting point for the ninth Sophie Sayers Cozy Mystery, I struck upon the idea of the village bus service being cancelled – only to discover shortly afterwards that the bus route passing through my home village of Hawkesbury Upton was also about to be axed.

Although my books are full of comedy, they also subtly gently draw attention to genuine rural issues, such as loneliness and isolation, for added realism.

Public transport is a lifeline to rural communities, especially for the many people who don’t drive or have access to a car. Taxis won’t come out to you as you’re too far from town, and as to take-away services, you might as well be on the Moon!

Only when you lose your public transport do you realise how much you need it.

Children can’t travel to school, teenagers lose their independence, adults can’t get to work, families can’t go shopping or on leisure outings, and no-one can get to medical appointments or banks.

photo of timetable of Hawkesbury bus — Hawkesbury Upton has very few buses – and now these few are under threat. (Sadly, The Fox Inn, one of two village pubs, has now closed its doors forever.)

Losing the bus shrinks your world to your own back yard and cuts you off from vital services that everybody should be able to access – and for which you still have to pay your taxes! *climbs down from soapbox*

photo of London bus in Wimbledon High Street — By contrast, in city streets, there are abundant buses at all hours – often many in a single street at the same time. City-centric politicians don’t realise how poorly rural communities are served by public transport.

In Driven to Murder, when Leif Oakham, suave owner of local bus company Highwayman, plans to axe the bus that connects Wendlebury Barrow with the nearest town, the villagers engineer a lively and creative campaign to save the bus. All goes according to plan until one of their number is murdered mid-campaign, in broad daylight, on the number 27!

Ever the amateur sleuth, Sophie pledges to track down the killer before another tragedy can occur – and to save the village bus service along the way.

There’s just one problem: she doesn’t have a driving licence.

A disastrous first lesson with Hector in his precious Land Rover makes her secretly seek an instructor further afield, with hair-raising results.

My husband, who favours action movies, has always told me I ought to add car chases to my books – but I don’t think he meant through single-track country lanes…

Of course, this being Wendlebury Barrow, there’s a happy ending all round, and plenty of surprises along the way.

I just hope we are as successful in winning a reprieve for the Hawkesbury Upton bus.

Back to Reality

passengers boarding the Hawkesbury bus at Yate — In the queue to board the bus from Yate to Hawkesbury Upton last week.

If you’d like to support the campaign to save the Hawkesbury Upton bus, join here’s a link to its Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/685419006919379

But the simplest and most effective thing to do is to travel by bus!

Although I’m lucky enough to be able to drive and have my own car, there will come a time when I’m too frail or poor to so. I want to make sure the bus is still there for when I need it. Don’t you?

In the meantime, I’ve pledged to make a weekly journey on our village bus service for the duration of the campaign.

If everyone who lived along its route made just one trip a month, our bus service would be saved.

It doesn’t matter how long or short the journey – each trip will boost passenger numbers, the key to the route’s survival.

Of course, these thoughts don’t apply only to my local bus service – wherever you live, whether urban or rural, the message about public transport is the same: USE IT OR LOSE IT!

graphic showing book cover and endorsement quotes by bloggers — Now available in ebook, paperback, hardcover and audio – click image to order online or ask for it at your local bookshop

Personal life, Travel, Writing

Blowing in the Wind

Posted on February 14, 2024February 16, 2024 by Debbie Young

What’s not to love about windmills? From children’s toys to towering turbines, I shared my views in this article for the February issue of the Hawkesbury Parish News.

Summitting a local hill on a clear morning in early January, I am surprised to spot in the distance a wind turbine that seems to have materialised from nowhere. Did a local farmer hang up an extra-large stocking on Christmas Eve, so Santa could leave him one as a present?

These days so many wind turbines seem to spring up overnight that it’s hard to keep track of the new arrivals, especially as they all look the same: soaring white towers topped by three long, narrow blades. Not that I mind, because I find them attractive and soothing to watch.

Only when I plant a child’s toy windmill in my garden do I realise how different its habits are from a wind turbine’s. Although positioned for maximum exposure, a wind turbine’s blades either turn at a steady pace in the same direction, or else they’re stock still. (Apparently too much wind can be dangerous, so in gales they’re turned off for safety reasons.)

Not so my toy windmill. In my relatively sheltered garden, its blue plastic sails whiz round so fast they form a blur. Changing direction every few seconds, they turn just as quickly either way, regardless of the prevailing wind.

As an instrument of meteorological observation, my toy windmill is about as reliable as the rain gauge I’ve sunk into the soil beside it. This calibrated plastic cone often shows negative rain. How can rainfall reduce as the day goes by? Evaporation alone can’t account for such a discrepancy.

Can rain really fall in reverse?

I solve the mystery when I spot our cat Bertie enjoying a long drink from it. He soon designates the rain gauge his favourite al fresco drinking station. It certainly looks more appetising than his previous preferred outdoor water source, our murky garden pond.

Wondering how wind turbines work leads me down a fascinating rabbit-hole online. I learn how gearing and other technical tricks evolved from early wind-powered machines installed by the Ancient Romans in Egypt. I then spin off at a tangent to investigate the use of traditional Dutch windmills for signalling.

KinderdijkWindmills — Photo of Kinderdijk Windmills, Netherlands (a UNESCO World Heritage site), by Willard84, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Historically in the Netherlands windmill sails were locked into particular positions to convey messages to the local community. + meant the mill was open for business, x that it was closed. The top sail at 1 o’clock denoted a healthy birth, whereas 11 o’clock indicated a death. During World War II, sail settings issued silent warnings to the local population, such as of the arrival of Nazi search parties seeking Jews.

The tradition continues: in July 2014, when 198 Dutch passengers were killed in the attack on Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, windmills across the Netherlands set their sails in the mourning position to show respect for those who lost their lives.

The only problem with my new-found knowledge is that next time I see an immobile wind turbine, I’ll wonder what it’s trying to tell me.

When Windmills Can Mean Murder…

cover of Murder at the Mill set against olive leaves — Join Sophie Sayers for a trip to a sunny Greek island in spring

If you also love windmills, you might like to try my sixth Sophie Sayers cosy mystery, Murder at the Mill (originally published as Murder Your Darlings).

In this story, aspiring writer Sophie Sayers travels in the spring to a tiny Greek island to join a writers’ retreat. It’s to be led by bestselling romantic novelist Marina Milanese – but then she goes missing on a solitary stroll to a derelict clifftop windmill. First on the scene of Marina’s disappearance, Sophie soon finds herself accused of murder, and must work fast to solve the mystery before the local police can arrive from the mainland.

This lighthearted, feel-good mystery introduces a lively group of eccentric authors, plus colourful Greek characters from the holiday hotel. Not to mention the elusive monks in the local monastery…

It’ll also make you feel as if you’ve had a Greek island retreat of your own!

Murder at the Mill is available to order in ebook, paperback, audio and large print, from wherever you prefer to buy your books.

Or order Murder at the Mill online here.

Writing

How to Make More of 2024 Using the Pomodoro®Technique

Posted on February 7, 2024February 6, 2024 by Debbie Young

In the February edition of the Tetbury Advertiser (because they don’t have a separate January issue), I’m talking about how to fit more into the New Year using a time-management method inspired by a simple kitchen device.

Continue reading “How to Make More of 2024 Using the Pomodoro®Technique” →