Join me in welcoming Brook Allen to my blog, for an interview! While you are here, take a look at her book, Antonius: Son of Rome – it looks so good!
By Brook Allen
For over two-thousand years, Marcus Antonius—Marc Antony—has been one of history’s most controversial men. His story was buried with him and written by his enemies. Now his entire saga is revealed in a compelling trilogy by Brook Allen.
ANTONIUS: SON OF ROME
After young Marcus Antonius’s father dies in disgrace, he yearns to restore his family’s honor during the final days of Rome’s dying Republic. Marcus is rugged, handsome, and owns abundant military talent, but upon entering manhood, he falls prey to the excesses of a violent society. His whoring, gambling, and drinking eventually reap dire consequences. Through a series of personal tragedies, Marcus must come into his own through blood, blades, and death. Once he finally earns a military commission, he faces an uphill battle to earn the respect and admiration of soldiers, proconsuls, and kings. Desperate to redeem his name and carve a legacy for himself, he refuses to let warring rebels, scheming politicians, or even an alluring young Egyptian princess stand in his way.
Grab the series!
INTERVIEW
Writing Interview questions.
Why did you choose to write your book in this era?
Ever since high school, I swore I’d write a novel about the Roman Republic. However, to do that “right”, I needed to live a lot more of life and learn more about Roman culture. So, at age fifty-seven, my first book in the Antonius Trilogy was published: Antonius-Son of Rome.
Did you find researching this era particularly difficult?
Early on, most of my research was just reading. And I figured there wasn’t anything wrong with watching the occasion Sword/Sandals flick! What was the hardest thing to find out, and did you come across anything particularly surprising? For the purpose of world-building, I really became serious about visiting Antony’s world as much as I could, since we lived 2000 years apart. I traveled to Egypt, Rome (six times!), and Greece twice to get a feel for the culture, the sights, smells, and to mesh all of those details into my 1st century BC descriptions. The thing that really blew me away was how expansive theaters of war were that long ago. I’m talking 50 square miles at the Battle of Actium. An immense space.
Can you share something about the book that isn’t covered in the blurb?
Antonius: Son of Rome is the book to read that EXPLAINS why Marc Antony turned into the man he became. He had a lot of drama in his life and this book proves it. This trilogy is really an epic saga.
If you had to describe your protagonist(s), in three words, what would those three words be?
Gutsy, impulsive, loyal.
What was the most challenging part about writing your book?
I think debut-authors all have “second guess-itis”, when you tend to doubt yourself about EVERYTHING. In fact, the disease has already assaulted me for my next project! Are my characters flat? Did I stray too far from the truth here? Is my plot too weak? And a zillion MORE questions. Being an author has taught me a lot, but it’s also increased my self-confidence. To be in the publishing industry, one has to jump in with both feet and start swimming immediately. If you don’t, you and your book will drown.
Was there anything that you edited out of this book that would have drastically affected the story, should it be left in?
Not so much in content, but my approach changed. I had first written the entire thing as a multiple POV story. My editor urged me to rewrite it in just Antony’s POV, and once I started doing that, I discovered that my focus on his character improved and the entire work became much stronger. It was wise advice and I’m thankful I took the time to do it.
What are you currently working on? I’ve time traveled forward eighteen centuries!
My next book will take place in Virginia (where I live!) in the early 19th century. It will involve Lewis & Clark, but that’s the only spoiler I’ll give right now. However, I’m really jazzed about it. Nobody has ever written this story—at least I don’t think so.
What would you tell an aspiring author who had some doubts about their writing abilities?
Don’t give up. Anything you write can be changed, improved, and turn into something wondrous. If you have the God-given ability to write, GO FOR IT and don’t wait. Keep trying and when you have a manuscript you care enough about to lose sleep over, start acquiring beta readers and a good editor in your genre.
Personal Interview questions.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I cycle, read, spend time with my husband and dogs. And I do have the travel bug. I just love going new places and learning new things.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
An AUTHOR! It just took me a while to get there.
What’s for dinner tonight? I have no idea! What would you rather be eating? Seafood. I absolutely love good, fresh fish, shrimp, and crab.
What would be a perfect day?
A rainy spring day in Rome, when there’s nothing to do but visit museums.
What is the best part of your day?
Getting off work and knowing I’ll get to research and write that evening.
Either or!
Tea or coffee: Tea
Hot or cold: Brrrrr!
Movie or book: Always a book. Imagination is a gift.
Morning person or Night owl: A TOTAL Night Owl!
City or country: Country. I don’t like crowds.
Social Media or book: As an author, I have no choice but do involve myself in social media, but I’d rather be reading. BOOK!
Paperback or ebook: BOTH! Kindles rock for travel!
EXCERPT
All was dark. It was well after the sixth hour that night, when nobody stirred except whores, thieves, and men with scores to settle.
Marcus waited, leaning against the walls of a sandal-maker’s shop. He’d been waiting for hours. More blood would flow tonight. But this time it would be the blood of someone who deserved to die.
He straightened, hearing voices. His heart began to race.
Four men exited the domus Callias on the Esquiline, one of the finest in the district. Marcus observed their path down the hill, then silently stole out of the shadows, keeping a careful distance. He paused, letting them pass under torchlight near an upper-class tavern.
Damn. Callias wasn’t with them. He was hoping he would be. But Callias seldom went out at night. He had too many enemies.
Still, one man stood out. Forever etched on Marcus’s memory, he was the largest of the four and wore a curiously patterned black-and-white cloak.
Fingering the hilt of his gladius, Marcus moved in closer, drawing his hood lower over his face. He stumbled on a raised stone in the pavement. It caught his sandal, making an unexpected slapping sound.
Quickly, he flattened himself into a tight space between buildings, holding his breath.
One of the men looked back. Fortunately, he must have seen nothing, for he turned back to his friends, sharing a joke, accompanied by raucous laughter.
Near the bottom of the Esquiline, they veered off toward the Subura. Marcus breathed some relief as they led him past Clodius and Curio’s old brothel. At least he knew the area.
He glanced at the wavy glass rondel on the door, but there were no signs of lamplight. All was dark.
Just beyond, the street widened amid shops surrounding a well.
Marcus chewed his lip. This added space allowed more room to maneuver with four assailants. Plus it made sense to fight in familiar surroundings.
Long ago, old “Bastard” Lupus had given him instruction on how to take on more than two men at a time, but only in theory. Several years later, under Vindelicus’s tutelage, the Gaul had challenged Castor, Gaius, and Lucius to “attack” Marcus all at once, staging a mock brawl. It was hardly realistic. Castor had no clue how to handle a blade, and his brothers thought the whole business a laughter-filled game.
Tonight he was taking on four men at once, and he didn’t care what happened as long as he killed the one with the black-and-white cloak.
Silently as possible, Marcus drew his virgin gladius. With his back against a shop wall, he cried out, “Salvete!” All four men turned at once. Marcus pointed his gladius at the man with the distinctive cloak. “You’re dead.”
Cloaked Man smiled like a cur with bared teeth, stepping forward readily. His lip curled into a sneer. “Is this your suicide, Antonius? Taking us on will get you killed.”
It wasn’t worth responding. Marcus simply positioned his gladius in hand and held his ground. There was no sense in conversation. He was here for one thing only.
Author Brook Allen Author Brook Allen has a passion for ancient history—especially 1st century BC Rome. Her Antonius Trilogy is a detailed account of the life of Marcus Antonius—Marc Antony, which she has worked on for the past fifteen years. The first installment, Antonius: Son of Rome was published in March 2019. It follows Antony as a young man, from the age of eleven, when his father died in disgrace, until he’s twenty-seven and meets Cleopatra for the first time. Brook’s second book is Antonius: Second in Command, dealing with Antony’s tumultuous rise to power at Caesar’s side and culminating with the civil war against Brutus and Cassius. Antonius: Soldier of Fate is the last book in the trilogy, spotlighting the romance between Antonius and Cleopatra and the historic war with Octavian Caesar.
In researching the Antonius Trilogy, Brook’s travels have led her to Italy, Egypt, Greece, and even Turkey to explore places where Antony once lived, fought, and eventually died. While researching abroad, she consulted with scholars and archaeologists well-versed in Hellenistic and Roman history, specifically pinpointing the late Republican Period in Rome. Brook belongs to the Historical Novel Society and attends conferences as often as possible to study craft and meet fellow authors. In 2019, Son of Rome won the Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Award. In 2020, it was honored with a silver medal in the international Reader’s Favorite Book Reviewers Book Awards and is currently listed as a Finalist in the CIBA Chaucer Division Awards for 2020.
Though she graduated from Asbury University with a B.A. in Music Education, Brook has always loved writing. She completed a Masters program at Hollins University with an emphasis in Ancient Roman studies, which helped prepare her for authoring her present works. Brook teaches full-time as a Music Educator and works in a rural public-school district near Roanoke, Virginia. Her personal interests include travel, cycling, hiking in the woods, reading, and spending downtime with her husband and two amazing Labrador Retrievers. She lives in the heart of southwest Virginia in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains.
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