Andrew Boyce grew up in the Glasgow area of West Central Scotland, surrounded by the remnants of the Roman Antonine Wall. He often encountered unusual ditches, man-made hills, stretches of straight roads, and even the remains of a Roman bathhouse, all of which harked back to the time when the Romans came to Scotland.
In museums such as Glasgow’s Hunterian Museum, Andrew would see Roman coins discovered near his home, models of Roman life, and stone-carved distance slabs. Inspired by great Roman fiction authors like Harry Sidebottom, Simon Scarrow, Ben Kane, and Anthony Riches, Andrew hoped one day to write his own humble offerings. Thankfully, he has achieved that dream.
Andrew writes The Antonine Romans Novellas and publishes them both individually and as compilations of three novellas each, known as The Antonine Series. All his novellas and compilations are available as eBooks and paperbacks.
Andrew is grateful to his readers for their support and hopes they enjoy his work. He encourages them to leave a nice review if they do. Best wishes, Andrew Boyce.
Growing up in Glasgow, surrounded by the remnants of the Roman Antonine Wall, you were inspired to write Roman fiction. Can you share more about how your childhood environment influenced your passion for Roman history and storytelling?
As a child, near my home we would drive by these fields that my family told me were once the site of a Roman Fort and part of the Antonine Romans Wall from 2,000 years ago. Many readers will be aware of the Roman Hadrian’s Wall that runs broadly along the border between Scotland and England, built from around AD122. However many readers may not be aware that there was also a Roman Antonine Wall from around AD142, that ran across Central Scotland, broadly between Glasgow and Edinburgh. To see the remains of Roman ditches and even the remains of a Roman bathhouse all from 2,000 years ago through the car windows completely fascinated me and still does every time I drive past today!
Your Antonine Romans Novellas are set against the backdrop of Roman Britain, specifically during the period of AD 144. What drew you to this particular era in Roman history, and how do you ensure historical accuracy while weaving your fictional narratives?
As an adult, I always thought it would be wonderful if I could write a Roman Historical Fiction book. I had the outline of the book that I wanted to write, being the conflict between a Scottish tribe and the Romans in the Glasgow area that I live. The year AD144 seemed ideal as it was two years on from when the Antonine Wall arose.
As the characters developed, they were moved around Roman Britain and so I had the enjoyable experience of then writing about different places. Typically I would read several books and articles about the area of Roman times and then meld these features into the stories.
Many readers may be familiar with prominent Roman fiction authors like Harry Sidebottom and Simon Scarrow. What sets your Antonine Series apart from other works in the genre, and what do you hope readers will take away from your novels?
I find it so enjoyable to read books from authors such as Harry Sidebottom and Simon Scarrow, another reason why I wanted to write Roman Historical Fiction. One way that my books are different is that I write each book as the shorter Novella style and so I have nine Novella books, the first being “The Antonine Romans and the Golden Torque”. Each Novella is standalone although works best if read in their sequence. I also group three Novellas together into a Compilation and so there are now three Compilation Books.
My Novella style happened purely by accident and possibly came from me wanting to create an exciting read. I hope this excitement is what readers take away from my work and I have had wonderful readers kind enough to write to me to express this.
Your novellas and compilations are available in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, German, Italian, French, and Portuguese. How do you approach the translation process to ensure that the essence and cultural nuances of your stories are preserved across different languages?
I would like to say that I can speak many different languages but that is not the case! Instead the computer package that I use allows the books to be translated. The pleasing feature of this is that people have been reading my books worldwide and so I have to trust that technology is doing its thing!
The Antonine Series follows the adventures of various Roman characters, from centurions to tribunes, as they navigate the challenges of frontier life and interactions with native tribes. Can you share some insights into your character development process and how you bring these historical figures to life on the page?
I am very lucky that the characters and stories just come to me. The characters are usually in some sort of problem and it is up to me to help get them out of it! I don’t force matters. Only once I have a complete story will I start to write it and then often other parts of the story unexpectedly happen. Writing is a wonderful interest to me and I have a great empathy with my characters. My main aim in developing my characters is to make them and their situations believable. From readers comments, I believe this comes across on the page.
With multiple novellas and compilations already published, can readers expect more additions to The Antonine Series in the future? What upcoming projects or storylines are you currently working on, and what can readers anticipate from your future works?
Yes! More additions to The Antonine Series are planned. I thought that the ninth Novella “The Antonine Romans and The Journey’s End?” may have been the end as it completed the third Compilation “The Antonine Series (Books 7 to 9)”. However another story came to mind and then another! I am very excited about the next story which will see the grandsons of the two brothers Tribune Lacitus and Centurion Antallius meet on different sides, the circumstances of which I will keep a secret for now!
Best Wishes Everyone!
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- Website: https://andrew-boyce-roman-fiction-author.ueniweb.com/
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