Again I have the amazing opportunity to take part in another Blog Tour hosted by the lovely Jenny In Neverland. I tried to read the book but unfortunately I was working non-stop and didn't have time to read the book so I decided to ask some questions as getting inside the mind of an author is always interesting to me.
I was going through a bit of a writers block phase (sensing a theme lately?) and only thought up four questions but with the in depth answers I think you'll all be completely satisfied with the answers. I know I was!
Title: Swords Around the Throne (Twilight of Empire Book 2)
Author: Ian Ross
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Blurb: Rome is in peril. The old order is changing - and Centurion Aurelius Castus has been summoned back from Britain, to find himself caught up in a treasonous conspiracy threatening to bring down the Emperor Constantine.
Rewarding for saving the Emperor's life in battle, Castus is promoted to the Corps of Protectores, the elite imperial bodyguard. The swords around the throne.
But he soon discovers the court to be as dangerous as the battlefield; behind the gilded façade of empire, there are spiralling plots, betrayals and seductions. A nest of traitors. And one relentless enemy.
Website: http://ianjamesross.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IanRossAuthor
How did you come up with the idea for these books?
I’ve always been fascinated by the Roman world, and particularly by the later era, when things started to unravel and the old certainties were thrown into doubt. It’s a terrifically dramatic setting, and the idea of following a single man through the great events of the period seemed too good an opportunity not to pursue. I wrote the first book purely for my own enjoyment though – once I started, the story seemed to flow very rapidly, and I knew I’d discovered something that had a lot of potential.
Will there be a third?
I’ve already finished the first draft of Book Three! Hopefully it should be published some time early in 2016. I’ve planned out further sequels, though, which take Castus on through the period of Constantine’s reign and propel him ever upwards through the imperial hierarchy.
Have you ever tried writing other genres?
My tastes in fiction are very diverse, and over the years I’ve attempted books in various genres, from literary fiction to thrillers. Most of them were just part of the process of teaching myself to write effectively though! The Italian writer Italo Calvino once said that, early in his career, he decided to stop writing the sorts of books that people expected him to write, and to try writing the sort of book he wanted to read. I’ve always kept that in mind, and I hope that with these novels I might have found what I want.
What inspired you to start writing?
I originally studied painting, and it was only when I realised that it was possible to make a living writing fiction that I turned my attentions in that direction. It was the right choice, and I’ve stuck to it ever since. Decades later, writing is still the best life I know.
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