I just can't wait for you to see what I've written!

Commodus coming April next Year
Templar: The Last Emir coming this winter
Praetorian: Lions of Rome coming this winter
The Constantine|Maxentius project with Gordon Doherty coming... err.... sometime...

:-)

Halloween looms, and in that spirit, here's a short story to chill and thrill. :-)

https://sjat.wordpress.com/2018/10/15/lemures-a-short-story-for-the-halloween-season/

As you probably know, I'm busy writing Praetorian IV at the moment. And today something struck me. While writing my fantasy novels, or Marius' Mules, or the Ottoman stuff etc, my characters are all fully matured humans at the start of the series, or by the time the story gets going, and the focus is more on events surrounding the character and their reactions than the nature of the character himself.

Rufinus in Praetorian is different. In The Great Game, Rufinus is an idealistic and clumsy young man. He is put through hell over the course of that book, and while he remains idealistic and honourable, he begins to change, seeing and understanding the bitter and dark side of the world.

In the Price of Treason, Rufinus confronts his personal demons. He battles addictions and the encroaching darkness of the soul. He is no longer the bright young man who won renown in Marcomannia and Rome.

In Eagles of Dacia, he is growing and changing, his mind opening to new ideas. He is also becoming reliant upon others.

And now, in Lions of Rome, some eight years after his first battle in Marcomannia, without really having planned it, and without deliberately trying, Rufinus has grown up. He is now a fully formed, mature character. Oh, he still has his clumsy moments, and still blushes where Senova is concerned and so on. But he is a grown character now, and I think has become that for which he was destined.

Interesting to realise this as I write him.