When I write historical fiction I look for the holes in history, because that’s where I can fill in the gaps and allow imagination free reign. Writing historical fiction is similar to writing fantasy, except, when writing historical fiction, there are limitations. To some extent, we know about other times,… Read More »Holes in History—license for imagination by Suzanne Tyrpak
Traditionally, books about the Roman Empire have focused on men. Male characters are the stars of the show in Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, Spartacus, The Robe, and dozens of novels published more recently. Women play bit roles, and that’s not surprising since most ancient women played bit roles in their societies. Little was written… Read More »The Hand that Rocked the Roman Cradle by Martha Marks
Poppaea Sabina lived her life as a patrician Roman woman on a top-tier stage in the middle decades of the first century A.D. For an author researching and writing about that time period, it would be hard to ignore her flamboyant rise and catastrophic fall. Even though Poppaea’s role in Rubies… Read More »Poppaea Sabina by Martha Marks
Interesting. Enlightening. Gratifying. Perplexing. All describe readers’ reviews from an author’s point of view. Sometimes, readers post gratifying comments, the kind you want to quote on your website. Other times, they post perplexing comments, as in the case of two reviewers of Rubies of the Viper. One complained that “Roman slaves… Read More »So… how would they talk? by Martha Marks