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I drove the second longest amount I’ve ever done the next day…600 miles from around Modena, all the way down the west coast, to the bottom of the ‘heel’, across the ‘arch’ of the ‘boot’, to the southern base of the ‘toe’. I was absolutely knackered by the end of it, but thanks to the fact that there’s far less traffic on the motorways than there is here, and that the speed limit is just over 80 mph, I was able to drive fast. [Read more…] about The Spartacus Road continued…

OK, many apologies for the radio silence. Since I got back from Italy, I’ve put my head down and tried to make some serious inroads into the second Spartacus book, Rebellion. I’ve hit 10,000 words for 2 weeks running, so it’s paid off. However, I’m aware that a reasonable number of you want to hear what I did in Italy. Hopefully, many of you will have seen the photos I posted on Twitter and Facebook, but no doubt others won’t. I’ll try and shrink a few & fit them on here.

Where to begin? At the beginning, I suppose. [Read more…] about It’s been too long, I know…

I’ve been thinking about this for months, but I only decided on the spur of the moment on Saturday night to go. No, I hadn’t been drinking heavily. It’s just that when writing about certain key stages in Spartacus’ story, I feel that I need to see the ground where, or near where it happened. I could write about the ludus and Vesuvius etc. in the first book with ease, because I have a good mind’s eye image of what they look like. But the ground near Modena (Mutina in ancient times) where Spartacus defeated the last Roman army that stood in in his way to the Alps, the place where he decided not to leave Italy, is hard to picture. So that’s going to be my first port of call. Then I’ll drive SE to ancient Picenum, the area around Ravenna, to find a spot where Spartacus could have defeated the combined armies of both consuls. Then back to the west coast, past Capua, to the ‘toe’ and ‘arch’ of ‘the boot’, and some of the sites there – where Spartacus tried to sail rafts to Sicily, and where Crassus had a ditch dug that blocked the slaves into the ‘toe’, and lastly, the possible site of the final battle, which Spartacus tragically lost. [Read more…] about Trip to Italy: in the footsteps of Spartacus

There are some truly talented people out there. Some time ago, when I was trawling the threads on RomanArmyTalk  (as one does), I found a post about the incredible Roman multitool that can be seen at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. It’s an incredible sight – the first “Swiss Army knife” known to man, if you will. A few weeks later, I was gobsmacked to see a post by an Italian craftsman called Marco di Franco. He’d made a replica of the tool – and it was absolutely stunning. I’ve wanted one since, and while the hefty pricetag (entirely justified, given the level of skill required to make it) has put me off until I feel flush enough, I recently bought a couple of beautiful items from Marco: a replica Roman bronze whistle, which features in Spartacus, and a replica woman’s bone hairpin, which has a snake entwined around it. Such a piece would look wonderful on the head of Ariadne, Spartacus’ wife. As a priestess of Dionysus, she would have carried a venomous snake during ceremonies. Take a look at the pieces and tell me what you think. [Read more…] about Three cheers for Marco, the Italian bladesmith!

Breaking news: Steven Pressfield, author of the truly amazing book about Thermopylae, Gates of Fire, has agreed to quote on my upcoming book, Spartacus: The Gladiator! I am utterly over the moon. Gates of Fire is one of my favourite novels. It’s one of those books that is so powerful that I can still remember where and when I devoured it in 2001. If you haven’t read it, please go out and buy a copy. It’s outstanding, IMHO. So too are his other books. May I offer you a huge “Thank you”, Steven! Your generous quote means an incredible amount to me and is a fantastic endorsement to my book.

“Gritty, passionate and violent, this thrilling book is a real page-turner and a damn good read. It brings Spartacus – and ancient Rome – to vivid, colorful life.” Steven Pressfield, international bestselling author of Gates of Fire.

If you can get yourself down to Dorset for Saturday, you could see the start of a new dig which is trying to determine if a locally named “Roman Road” really is just that, or whether the name was given in error. If the road is proved to be Roman, it could be one laid in or around AD 43, when Britain had only just been invaded by the legions of Emperor Claudius. Read about it here. [Read more…] about Possible Roman road in Dorset & a submerged town in Greece