2024 arrived with a difficult decision to park the opening 30,000 words of a new Viking novel I had begun in the autumn of '23, in place of a return to Roman Britain.
It's not easy to sit back and critically assess a project and decide "hmmm, I'm not so sure about this." Believe me. The cost of research as well as creative time invested mounts up in the mental ledger, but 'parking' a project is not the same as binning it entirely so better to make the hard decision and move on.
My Viking heroes may set sail for the Dalriada kingdom of Skye another time.
The Soldiers of The Boar series has come to its natural conclusion, but the Roman presence in Scotland has not. The year moves forward to AD 207/8 and the emperorship of Septimius Severus who determined to solve the problem of the northern tribes forever.
The first draft is now under way and features entirely new characters (and perhaps a nod to the past, but only that).
No Velio or Gallus.
Further updates will follow.
January 24 also saw a press release about a Roman 'armour sleeve' from Trimontium, originally discovered by the principal excavator James Curle a hundred years ago, circa 1911. The armour has lain in pieces in a box for decades and has only recently been jigsawed back together for inclusion in a forthcoming exhibition by the British Museum. The press coverage was very interesting and only goes to show treasure can be found in boxes even after all this time.
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