Thursday, May 8, 2014

Perfiditas: Historical Fiction Book Tour with Alison Morton

Please join me today in welcoming award-winning author Alison Morton! Two things initially caught my attention with this book - the cover and the blurb. Both drew me in and had me searching for her books. I hope you enjoy learning about this author and her book, Perfiditas, as much as I did.


Tour Hashtag: #PerfiditasTour

Perfiditas by Alison Morton
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…





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
 
Publication Date: October 17, 2013
SilverWood Books
Paperback; 288p
ISBN-10: 1781321248
eBook; ASIN: B00FXY4GEE

Buy the Books

 A Q&A with Alison Morton


What are three things people may not know about you?
- That writing is my fourth career (previously business owner, translator, civil servant, plus army reservist).
- That I have a huge affinity for all things Roman and have visited forums, amphitheatres, walls, temples, villa, forts, mosaics all over Europe.
- That I live in France but don’t eat croissants – they’re too fattening!

What is your favorite scene in PERFIDITAS?
When the heroine, no longer undercover, has to go back to see her former criminal associates. There she is in her uniform, facing off certain death at the hands of criminals who feel she’s betrayed them, and their boss, the man who has always concealed his feelings for her…  It’s the power and raw emotion of it all!

Do you share any personality traits with your heroine, Carina?
Hm, that’s a loaded question. Every writer puts something of themselves into their protagonist, especially if it’s their first novel and PERFIDITAS is only my second. I share Carina’s straightforward way of talking. I was in the military for six years so I understand that. And I don’t react well to unfairness, either…

Do you have to be alone or have quiet to write?
I don’t have to be alone, but I do have to have quiet. A lot of people write to music, but I start listening to it and get distracted! I can write on trains or in airport lounges – I travel quite a lot – because the background noise is low level.

What appeals to you most about writing alternate history thrillers?
On the alternate history element, the chance to step outside recorded history and speculate about what might have happened… To do it properly, you have to do as much research as if you were writing a regular historical novel and as a historian, I love research!
And thrillers? Just to see how much trouble and danger I can heap on the heroine and how near the edge of the seat I can push the readers.

How do you feel about book trailers and do you have any?
I like watching book trailers, as long as they are short and to the point. Over two and a half minutes and they’re too long. They have to be a balance of telling enough about the story to draw readers in but not give the plot away. Here’s the one for PERFIDITAS: http://youtu.be/lUPhyUE0JvE

Many writers are anxious about making a trailer, so when I made the PERFIDITAS one, I posted about how I’d made it, so that others could see the steps to take. http://alison-morton.com/2013/10/11/making-a-book-trailer-part-deux/ You do need some computing skills, but it’s quite a logical program. I’m making the next trailer right now, for my next book, SUCCESSIO (out in June), in the new version of iMovie, so that could be interesting!


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.

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