New Book Release - Soldier of Rome Nova Era

My twenty-ninth book, Soldier of Rome: Nova Era (Book 5 of the Artorian Dynasty), has been released!

A new age has dawned for Rome. Following the brief reign of Emperor Nerva, Marcus Ulpius Trajan inherits the mantle of Caesar. A revered general and statesman, the senate a people of Rome greet his rise with an optimism not seen since the reign of Vespasian.

Tiberius Artorius Castus, whose tenure with the Vigiles of Rome is ending, is summoned by Trajan to the Rhine. The emperor offers him a return to active service with the newly raised Equites Singulares Augusti, more commonly known as the Imperial Horse Guards.

Rome eagerly awaits the arrival of its new, charismatic Caesar, yet Trajan must first secure the Rhine and Danube frontiers. He musters a division for an expedition against the Marcomanni in retribution for their invasion in support of the Pannonia Revolt, six years prior. For Tiberius, the campaign offers a chance at redemption, as the Imperial Horse Guards accompany Trajan across the Danube, into the land of his endless nightmares.


It is available on Kindle, Paperback, and Other eBook Readers

I wish to give a heart-felt "Thank You!" to Pam, my copyeditor, who's worked with me for the past eleven years. Life events have made it difficult for her to keep up with the added demand of my increased writing output. While this has necessitated me reaching out to an additional copyeditor, who worked on the follow-up novel, Soldier of Rome Beyond the Frontier (releasing 15 August), I am forever grateful to Pam for all the years of work, plus her friendship.

I am also thankful to Rado Javor, who continues to produce these excellent book covers, in addition to all the work he does for the video game company, Creative Assembly. I finally had the chance to meet Rado in person during my recent trip to London for the Clash of Empires exhibition on the Anglo-Zulu War (more on that in a future post). I spent the day with Rado when I took the train down to Horsham, about an hour south of London. We went to the Fishbourne Roman Palace, where we made a new friend. Say hello to Barnaby!


Rado also gave me one of his acrylic paintings of Napoleonic Era ships in Portsmouth Harbour, which will be getting a nice frame and a place within our home.

Looking back on all the work Rado and Pam have done for me, my journey as a writer was not done alone. None of us are truly self-made. We all have those who help us reach our goals, achieving far greater feats than we ever could alone. To all who've helped me over the years, from copyediting, to artwork, historical reviewers, beta readers, and those who just gave me inspiration, I am forever grateful.

I briefly mentioned another book that is releasing soon. While Nova Era was undergoing edits, I wrote the sequel, Soldier of Rome: Beyond the Frontier. While it is ready to go live now, I am waiting a couple weeks, allowing readers time to discover Nova Era before jumping into the next one. As stated above, it will release on 15 August.

The next book in the series, Soldier of Rome: Kingdoms Fall, will not be out quite as fast. I am starting work on it this week (31 July 2023). If I keep on the same course as before, I should finish the completed draft before the end of September. The copyeditor I used for Beyond the Frontier, Di Benson, is a full-time editor, whose turnaround time is about two weeks. Therefore, we should see Kingdoms Fall by the end of October.

As for what will come next, I haven't 100% decided. I could continue with the Artorian Dynasty, or take a break and return to the Victorian British Empire. I've been asked several times to return to British History, and I do have an idea for a few works set during the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882. Will know more as I work on Kingdoms Fall, and will post an update after Beyond the Frontier releases. Until then, I'll get back to the historical fitness on this blog! Cheers!

James

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