Countdown to claudius

I've just come back from a trip that allowed me to combine research into Roman goldmining techniques with a visit to my daughter, who's at university in northern Spain. Our base for the week was the lovely city of Leon about 250 miles north of Madrid. It was founded by the Seventh legion in the first century AD and you can still see the walls they built around their fortress and the original street pattern in the grid of alleys and streets near the wonderful cathedral, which is a stopping place on the Camino, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The Seventh, along with the Sixth legion, were only there because of the gold which was mined among the hills around nearby Astorga, which was the administrative capital for the area.
The weather was fantastic, sunshine and glorious blue skies, clean, clear air that allowed you to see the snow-capped mountains to the north.
We stayed in the Hotel Plaza Mayor and I'd recommend it to anyone. The rooms are individually designed and the one we had looked out onto the plaza, the staff were friendly and always willing to help. It was also just a few hundred yards from Nikki's flat and what a relief it was to have an interpreter on hand in a country where you don't speak a word of the language beyond 'dos vasos rioja, por favor'. Leon's a great place; the buzz from the tapas bars on a Saturday night would power the whole place for a week and we had a fantastic time before heading south again for a couple of nights in Madrid.
On the book front, I'm now working on the typeset book proof of Claudius, which is basically the last step before publication. So two or three more reads and then it's gone for good and fingers crossed again. I'm at page 102 and loving it, which must be a good sign!

Countdown to Claudius

Looking back on my last blog I was overly excited about the new book cover (the number of superlatives is a bit embarrassing). But see for yourselves and let me know what you think. I still think it's great!

I don't think Simon will mind if I also give you a sneak preview of the jacket cover words.

The year is 43AD . . .

In Southern England, Caratacus, war chief of the Britons, watches from a hilltop as the scarlet cloaks of the Roman legions spread across his lands like blood.

In Rome, Emperor Claudius, newly risen to the imperial throne, dreams of taking his place in history alongside his illustrious forebears Caesar and Augustus.

Among the legions marches Rufus, keeper of the Emperor’s elephant. War is coming and the united tribes of Britain will make a desperate stand against the might of Rome. The emperor has a very special place for Rufus and his elephant in the midst of the battle – as a secret weapon to cow the Britons with the visible manifestation of Rome’s power.

Claudius is a masterful telling of one of the greatest stories from Roman history, the conquest of Britain. It is an epic story of ambition, courage, conspiracy, battle and bloodshed, and confirms Douglas Jackson as one of the best historical novelists writing today.

So there you are. I'm not sure I recognise the writer, but it can't be bad. can it?

Spring is definitely here. I've just been out for a run in the sunshine and it was great. There's an area outside Bridge of Allan called the Carse of Lecropt, which is basically the flood plain of the Forth and the Teith. It's dead flat and about five miles of lovely countryside surrounded by hills and Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument.

I've been beavering away at book 3, but still no word yet of a new deal. In the odd spare moment I've also been reading another Roman novel, Ship of Rome. It's very educational, both in a historical sense and as a writer. The author has gone into huge detail about Roman ships, armour and units and for someone who's interested in that sort of thing it's a good read. When I was writing Caligula and Claudius I took a decision not to go into the kind of detail too often where you give the Latin name of say a piece of weaponry and then describe it, it's use and its manufacture, because I thought it slowed the book down. Reading this book has made me wonder whether maybe I was wrong and there's a judicious case for a bit more. Something to think about.

I'm still wondering how the paperback of Caligula is doing, but I refuse to be drawn back into the Amazon game. There seems to be a steady turnover in the WH Smiths at Waverley Station and Waterstone's in Stirling were sold out the last time my wife Alison was there, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks again for your kind words, Lexi, Andrea and Shirley ... and Shirley, you'll have the first copy I can lay my hands on.

Countdown to Claudius

This was going to be one of those snatched blogs just to keep things going i.e. not much happening, still waiting for this that and the other. Instead, it's a snatched blog (I'm late for the train) about another momentous step forward.
I've literally just received the front cover design for Claudius and it looks fantastic. It's even more powerful than Caligula. The theme is similar, but the dominant colour this time is red and the main figure is an incredible image of a Roman legionary.
Simon sent me the words for the back cover a few days ago and along with the artwork they make a superbly strong package that just might move things to a new level.
Still working away on book three of the Rufus series. Early days, but the elements are beginning to come together.

Countdown to Claudius

Just a quick update on my 'gig' at Waterstones in Stirling.
It went really well. There were only about ten people there, plus the staff, but everyone seemed to enjoy my talk and we had a good question and answer session afterwards that was great fun. Lots of good stuff about history and the Romans and about writing. I generally stuck to the script, but found that because I was quite relaxed I was able to divert from it at times and go into a bit more depth about the points I was making. That made it a lot more spontaneous than it had been when I was doing it in the house in front of my long-suffering son Gregor and his pals.

Although it wasn't a huge audience, the way it went was a big boost for my confidence and I'm looking forward to the next few months and my various public appearances.

One last comment about the review I highlighted in my last entry. The thing that saddened me most was that when I looked on the website to see what reaction there'd been to it, about three people said they thought it might be as bad as she said because of the cover. They also said they wouldn't read it because of her review. It concerns me that people are prepared to write off a book - any book - because of someone else's views, which might be biased for any amount of reasons. By all means be critical, but please make up your own mind. If you don't want to buy it, get it out of the library, but read it yourself before you condemn it.

Countdown to Claudius

First of all thanks to William and Elizabeth for their comments. It's always great to have confirmation that someone's reading your ramblings.

At last something to get my teeth into after a very quiet time. Tonight I'm appearing at my local Waterstone's in Stirling to give a talk and sign paperbacks. Some friends have said they're coming, so at least I know I won't be alone, and the staff have done a fantastic job promoting the night and the book. I've been practising my talk, but until today it felt a bit wooden and I'd seriously considered chucking away the script and flying solo. But I think the thought of standing there wordless has won the battle of the terrors and I'll stick with it. I'll let you know in the next couple of days.

The teeth thing is actually about a review I've just had from a lady who styles herself Trinuviel, from Copenhagen. I suppose there's an argument that you shouldn't advertise these things but this is a blog about the downs as well as ups of being a fledgling novelist and in amongst the excoriation she makes a couple of interesting points.

You can check it out here http://www.bookspotcentral.com/2009/02/book-review-caligula/

Setting aside the mental health issues which she probably knows much more about than me (I mean I think she could be a nurse), the one I think she's fully entitled to highlight is about Caligula's assassination. Yes, various historical sources say the Praetorian commander Cassius Chaerea was responsible for his death, but I think I'm right in saying that none of those sources is contemporary and that there are varying theories about the detail of the event. Who's to say what happened in the underground passage to the theatre (if that's where it happened). The point I'm making is that nobody really knows; there is no was and wasn't, and I didn't 'ignore historical regard', I took the recorded 'facts' and turned them into a work of fiction. I think Trinuviel is making the mistake of mixing up history and fiction. I write historical novels, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion of whether they're good or bad. But I'd argue that a novelist with a slightly bewildered hero and a lethal swordsman on his hands has a perfect right to place them where they can do the most damage in the name of fiction, and that no-one can say with any certainty what truly happened.

The other point I'd like to take up is the one about the dagger. It was quite a small dagger, but not withstanding, I don't think that matters. As a journalist I've seen dozens, possibly hundreds of pictures of young men and women who've walked into hospitals on their own with knives of frightening proportions sticking out of various parts of their anatomy. One guy had a seven inch blade through his head and lived to tell the tale. One thing I've learned from all my readings of military fact is that people in extremity are capable of extraordinary things, things that go beyond the norms of human endurance. So to have Caligula carry on fight for his life is, I think, perfectly acceptable.

That apart, I acknowledge that Claudius speaking to the elephant is a bit strange, but I had a feeling the man would be more comfortable with animals than human beings. And I may have made Rufus a little cleverer than he ought to have been as a Roman slave, but I think that's a small price to pay if it helps you tell a story.

Anyway I'd be interested in your thoughts, either on the critique or the points I've raised. Got to go, I have a public waiting!

Countdown to Claudius

With Claudius almost at the proofreading stage my thoughts are fixed firmly on the next book, or more correctly on the fact that I should be half way through it by now. We're in that limbo period where nothing is guaranteed and where a lot depends on the early sales of the paperback.

I know what the next book is - the final chapter of the Rufus story - and I know exactly how it ends (famous last words), but, like Claudius, I also know I need to take it on to the next level. This is the one where the strength of Rufus as a character had to really kick in. He has to carry the book right to the last page. I've got lots of good set pieces and the historical context is very strong, but I still have to do some in depth research on a couple of interesting characters in Rome.

I also have lots of ideas for the future, but it's a fair old way from idea to book, so we'll see.

Last year I wondered why I wasn't being invited to book festivals. This year I'm wondering how I'll fit everything in. I have a reading and signing next week at Waterstones in Stirling, I'm making a guest appearance at an event in Jedburgh in May, taking part in the Borders Book Festival in June, have two events for the launch of Claudius in July, then festivals in Stirling and Inverness later in the year. There's also been interest from Wigtown, the festival I visited last October. Suddenly I have to get my act together, except I haven't got one yet!

Countdown to Claudius

Have come down with the annual post-New Year dose of the flu but decided to fight my way to the keyboard. What is it about this time of the year that brings these things on? Too much booze? Shoorly not - these days New Year is just another weekend. A cloud of Michael Crichton-type microbes that circles the earth waiting to strike just when you're supposed to be enjoying yourself? Or just the opposite, you're miserable in January anyway, so why not get it out of the way all at once?Answers on a postcard to ...


Today I completed the copy-edited manuscript of Claudius, which means that particular writing journey is coming to an end. The copy-editor was actually very gentle with me, but I've been fairly savage on myself, or at least on some of the writing. I think there's two reasons for that. The first is that, for me, the second novel is even more important than the first, or at least it's a more serious endeavour because there's none of the novelty of a debut. This is the one that has to build on whatever success the first has achieved, and the one that, hopefully leads to a third and possibly a fourth. The second is that Caligula went through about four times as many stages of development, and was gone over and over again until it was really tight. I wrote Claudius basically from scratch in about four months, and probably made the mistake of stepping back to see what other people thought, when I should have kept working on it. I think it was an understandable mistake to make, as a writer you have to have feedback, but not one I'll make again.

February 12 is D-day for the paperback of Caligula and a huge amount is riding on it. The strange thing is that, even 18 months into this, I still have doubts about my ability as a writer. You can tell yourself as often as you like that the only thing to do is get your head down and write the next book, but the fact is that you're always vulnerable to any sort of criticism, like the bloke who said 'I Claudius, it ain't ...' The other side of the coin is the boost you get from a review that says you could be the next David Gemmell and that is quickly followed by another one that tells you you're 'better than Iggulden'. They cheered me up no end, but I've lost that naivety that made me believe in my own publicity.

I'm doing a talk and probably a Q&A or a reading at Waterstones in Stirling on February 26. If you fancy coming along, just introduce yourself and I'll be pleased to meet you.