Greetings to you and thanks for dropping by…
The Spanish edition of ‘Den of Wolves’ will be appearing in Spain at the end of this month and I love the classic simplicity of the cover design. Very nice. The Spanish title is ‘La Emperatriz de Roma’. Visit my home page for more information.
The Serbian edition of ‘Den of Wolves’, called ‘Gospodarica Rima’, is selling extremely well, I am delighted to report, and the lovely people at Alnari have been brilliant with their publicity. Here is the English version of an interview I recently did with a newspaper in Montenegro:
Q: What were some of the challenges for you in writing ‘Empress of Rome: Den of Wolves’?
A: One of the biggest challenges was finding enough time to write. It took me several years because I also worked full-time as a television writer. I was creating storylines and editing scripts for a long-running serial called ‘Neighbours’ here in Australia. ‘Neighbours’ is famous for its light-hearted storylines and I think ‘Den of Wolves’ started sneaking into my imagination as an antidote to all those nice stories and characters. I couldn’t help myself! I wanted to write about people that were not nice in any way. It was my dark side emerging… I have just completed my second ‘Empress of Rome’ novel, which is called ‘Nest of Vipers’ here in Australia and will be published next year. This took me considerably less time to write – about nine months. I’ve been very lucky that the first book is doing so well. It’s meant I don’t have to do so much writing for television any more – I can spend all my time writing books about Ancient Rome. This is a joy for me.
Q: What can you can tell us abut historical background of your novel?
A: The books are set in a period of history when the centuries old Republic of Rome was finally self-combusting after decades of civil war. It was evolving into the Roman Empire. Rome replaced its relatively democratic system of government with an autocracy. This was the dawn of the Age of the Emperors. It is fascinating because, even though Rome attained stability and great prosperity during this time, the bloody civil wars and vicious treachery of the Republican era simply continued, in miniature, behind the Emperor’s palace doors. Outside the palace, Rome was peaceful and happy – but inside it was horrific. The ruling dynasty, an extended family known as the Julio-Claudians, are among the vilest, most vicious and violent families ever known – which is why they’re so grimly compelling. Some of them, like the Emperors Caligula and Nero, for example, are famous for their depravity and madness. But others are less known, although their crimes were just as ghastly. I love the Julio-Claudians. I certainly wouldn’t want them as my next door neighbours, but I find their appalling deeds highly entertaining – viewed from the safe distance of two thousand years, of course.
Q: Did you use historical sources in you writing?
A: Yes I did. The works of the ancient historians Tacitus and Seutonius – written nearly two thousand years ago – were the starting points. Many events in my story were taken from those historical accounts – along with most of the characters, of course, who were all, with the exception of the slave narrator Iphicles, real people. But the works of Tacitus and Suetonius have a number of rather intriguing gaps in them. The explanations behind some of the events are rather inadequate, and some of the purported motivations for characters’ actions seem very bizarre and unconvincing to the modern reader. At least, that was my reaction when I read the works. I had far more questions than I did answers. My desire to address those questions became the ‘Empress of Rome’ story. My books are like a secret history of Rome, a hidden history. ‘Empress of Rome’ is the story of those who schemed in the background – the women, the children and the slaves. In addition to Tacitus and Seutonius, I saturated myself in dozens of other books about everyday life in Ancient Rome. These gave me the flavour of the times and all the little incidental details. I find the ancient history of the Balkans region quite fascinating too. The ancient ancestors of modern Montenegrans were scary and tough! It doesn’t surprise me at all that the Romans were absolutely terrified of your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents.
Q: LOL! Can you give some examples from Montenegro’s past?
A: The ancient people of Montenegro were the Illyrians, of course, a race of warriors famed in the ancient world for just how hard they were to defeat in combat. Even though much of the Balkan region was conquered by the Romans in the century before Christ’s era, the Illyrians certainly never accepted their fate. They waged constant guerrilla offensives and occasional wars against the poor Romans, who must have regretted ever stepping foot on those harsh and unforgiving mountains. The Great Illyrian Revolt of AD 6 lasted for four long years and cost many Roman lives. Apparently, when the last of the Illyrian rebels realised they could not win because of the sheer volume of soldiers Rome could supply, they chose to retreat into the snow-covered mountains instead, in order to freeze to death rather than face being enslaved. I think that’s very moving. And tough.
Q: Why did you choose to focus on the women of Rome?
A: Well, I love writing about women, I suppose. I’m sure I’m not the only man on this earth who finds women supremely fascinating! It seemed to me that while there were many novels about Ancient Rome available in bookstores, they were all about the great Roman men. I think the stories of some the great Roman women are even more extraordinary than the familiar stories of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony etc, so I felt inspired to bring them to life. I wanted readers to know about the remarkable impact many of these women had on history.
Q: Your novels have a lot of knowledge of everyday life in ancient Rome – and especially sexual life! Where does your fascination with these things come from?
A: How to answer this without blushing? Well, the truth is Ancient Rome was really rather a sexy place when viewed from a modern perspective. Most people today would be shocked to learn just how free and open sexuality was in Ancient Rome. This is the period before Christianity became dominant, of course. Under the pagan gods there was very little guilt or shame about sex. It was all out in the open! So, how could I ignore this when writing about the times? 
Q: So many stories from Ancient Rome seem to have parallels in the modern world. Can you compare your characters with people from our time?
A: One of the amusing similarities that shows how little things change is in the story of the great, golden general Germanicus and his glamorous wife Agrippina. They remind me so much of Bill and Hillary Clinton – and even Brad and Angelina. Germanicus was perhaps the most loved man in Rome. He was seen as the heir apparent to the Emperor Tiberius, his adopted father. But in truth he was somewhat flawed. He was not a great general at all and his military record was a long list of embarrassing failures. But the people adored him for his good looks and charm, and Germanicus and Aprippina were absolute masters of spin – they never let the truth tarnish their glossy public image. Rome greatly preferred the beautiful lie to the uncomfortable truth about Germanicus. And when Germanicus was finally off the scene, Agrippina remodelled herself as a formidable politician in her own right – at a time when no woman could ever hope to openly hold power. She also managed to be a mother to six children – but I suspect she may not have been a very attentive mother. She was too caught up in political intrigues and neglected her children. Her youngest son, Caligula, became one of the most depraved rulers in history. This might not have been so if Agrippina had shown him a little more discipline as a child!
Q: You have said that you wanted to ‘Empress of Rome: Den of Wolves’ to feel like an ancient world ‘Hollywood Wives’. Please explain!
A: Well, I’ve always loved the sexy thrills of Jackie Collins and other writers like her, and ‘Hollywood Wives’ is especially good fun. What I love about that book is that it’s about a town where the men seem to have all the power, but in reality it is the wives and mistresses who are scheming in the background and pulling all the strings. The situation is pretty much the same in ‘Empress of Rome’. The men are deluded – they also think they’re in power – but the beautiful, brilliant and deadly women in their lives are enacting secret plans behind their backs to rob them of it.
Q: Who is your favourite: Livia, Julia, Antonia or Agrippina?
A: All those women fascinate me, but I find Livia especially alluring because she’s so mysterious. Certainly, the ancient historians like Tacitus and Suetonius believed she was a deadly serial murderess and I’m inclined to agree with them. The coincidence of so many important members of her family dying in such extraordinary circumstances is too hard to ignore. But some of those deaths did not benefit Livia at all, which is why I believe she was not responsible for every murder she has been blamed for. I think there were other killers working in the shadows. I also have a great affection for Livia’s step-daughter, Julia. The story of her terrible fall is one of my favourite parts of ‘Den of Wolves’. Julia is one of those examples of the ancient historians’ explanations not quite convincing the modern reader. She is accused of crimes and betrayals that simply don’t make any sense. I believe she was, in fact, a helpless victim of the schemes of others, and I thoroughly enjoyed writing the secret story of her tragic demise.
Q: Colleen McCullough also writes excellent books about ancient Rome – do you read her works, and those by other writers? And are you also interested in Ancient Greece?
Yes, I love Colleen McCullough’s books about Ancient Rome – and we’re both Australian. I’m fascinated by Ancient Greece, as well. It was my childhood discovery of Aesop’s Fables that led to my lifelong joy in the stories and people of the ancient world. From Aesop I discovered Greek Mythology, and from there grew my interest in the Mycenaean, Minoan and finally the Roman civilisations. But, in truth, I just love a good story – and the ancient world has so many of them. Among other authors who write about Rome and Greece, I particularly enjoy the books of Steven Saylor, Conn Iggulden and Robert Harris.
Q: You worked on the famous Australian soap ‘Neighbours’ for many years. What did the job of Script Producer entail?
A: I was like the Emperor of the Script Department! I oversaw the creation of storylines and the writing of dialogue on ‘Neighbours’ for nearly seven years – or 1,500 episodes. But I was quite a benign emperor – more of a Marcus Aurelius than a Caligula – even though I suspect I went a little mad by the end of it, just as Caligula did. But I never tried to marry my sister, however. Or make my horse a senator…
Finally, the rough cover design for the Australian and New Zealand edition of ‘Nest of Vipers’ has arrived, Book 2 ‘Empress of Rome’. The wording at the bottom of the page will likely become a press quote, and yes, it should be called Book 2, not Book 1, but it compliments the original ‘Den of Wolves’ cover perfectly and I love the aquamarine colour.
