PHILIPPI
Now that I’ve done the – 9th? 10th? – revision of the third novel in my Lucius Sestius trilogy, I am beginning to feel quite strongly about what my hero went through. Not what I have put him through – that is justifiable for the novelist! But the real Lucius Sestius Quirinalis went through enough […]
Trial and Tribulation: a Lucius Sestius short story
Lucius stood in the middle of his father’s study and lifted his chin. “Too high,” said Cicero. “You mustn’t look defiant or arrogant, especially not at your age. A little lower – yes! That’s right.” Lucius tried to memorise his exact stance, though he did wish his new toga wouldn’t keep sliding off his shoulder. […]
Flighty Aphrodite
Flighty Aphrodite or Goddesses Behaving Badly From Homer’s Iliad, Book 14:But when she had clothed herself in all this finery, Hera left her room and beckoned Aphrodite away from the other gods, saying, “I wonder if I can persuade you in what I say, dear child? Or are you still angered in your heart because […]
Don’t eat the figs
I had prepared for this moment and in my head was a list of the things I must now do. I rose with the first, carefully-thought-out speech, on my lips – “May the gods receive my husband the Emperor Augustus into the place they have surely prepared for him” – when I realised that Ceryllus had actually said the wrong name.
Triumphs and Tragedies
“Triumphs and Tragedies” is an anthology of short stories on a Roman theme. Authors like Derek Birks and Peter Tonkin have contributed, and it includes my own Lucius Sestius story, “Blood Money”, and is on the Kindle Unlimited scheme.
Calpurnia waits – a short story
I am a widow, but I still must wait a few more days.
Fowl Play
I woke up one morning with an idea for a short story. I drafted it out, and thought it would work, but I needed to check one thing. Did human flesh keep an impression of something that hit it?
“Hunter’s Revenge”
How appropriate that “Hunter’s Revenge” should be published on St Andrew’s Day, for it is whole-heartedly and gloriously Scottish.
Val Penny’s “Hunter’s Chase” on tour
Hunter by name – Hunter by nature: DI Hunter Wilson will not rest until Edinburgh is safe.
Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson knows there is a new supply of cocaine flooding his city, and he needs to find the source, but his attention is transferred to murder when a corpse is discovered in the grounds of a golf course.
Roman names
I have a problem; Roman names . . .
