Scipio Rules: Book Five of the Scipio Africanus Saga (Author Interview)




Scipio Rules, looks like part of a great series. How many books total do you have planned in the series?

There are six books in the series, the final one will be out on August 1, 2018.

What do you think makes a great war/historical fiction type book?

You have to personalize the battles. Instead of "zooming out" and reporting on the wars as conflicts between large groups of people, you have to describe the battles from the perspective of one or two combatants at ground level-- what they see, and feel, and do. That's what makes the battles more realistic.

What inspired you when writing Scipio Rules?

My inspiration was that I was writing a unique story about a unique person. There is no series about the man that military scholars consider as one of the five or six greatest generals in history--greater than Caesar or Napoleon! A man who revolutionized warfare, and changed the course of civilization. I think that's worth writing about, don't you?

What are your ambitions for your writing career? Full time? Part time?

I'm sixty-eight years old, so I'll be writing part time from now on.

Next up is a dystopian detective series I'm calling the Ghostman Chronicles, featuring Ghostman, Slither, and the Reactionary (among others). It will be fun to jump into some sci-fi/fantasy after all this ancient history!


When did you decide to become a writer?

As a university professor, writing was part of my duties, including academic books. I simply continued it when I retired, in another genre.

When writing Scipio Rules did anything stand out as particularly challenging?

The battle scenes. To make every battle detailed, personal, and different from the predecessors. It can take me a week to set up the "choreography" of a major battle like Cannae, or Zama. And weeks more to write it up.

The other challenge was to make the stories breathe with Roman life. To detail what people ate, what games they played, what the cities looked like. I want my readers to feel like they are there.

How did you come up with the story of Scipio Rules?

Five years ago, I starting to write a screenplay about Hannibal the Great. While doing my research about Hannibal, I became intrigued with the man who defeated him, Scipio Africanus. The book series took off from there.

What do you like to do when not writing?

I'm in Colorado, so I do some skiing. Some weightlifting, and dog walking. I have two Australian Cattle Dogs, so I do lots of walking!

How can readers discover more about you and your work?

They can check my bio page that's linked to each of my Scipio books.
They can also go to my blog at https://scipioafricanus.org .


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