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Welcome to It's Raining Books. What was the hardest scene from your book to write?
The hardest scene was the one in which my main character, Domi, loses his adoptive father to death in battle. In this case, I chose not to focus on the death itself but on his reaction to it, something I have never experienced and presumably never will. Only imagination can tell you what a person would feel under those circumstances, and it is not easy to convey.
Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?
Romance chose me, many years ago. Before that, I was published in poetry with an emphasis on myth and legend, so it was an easy step to incorporate this along with a theme of love. Easy peasy, as one of my fellow authors loves to say.
If you write in more than one genre, how do you balance them?
I do not generally stray from the genre, I just incorporate elements of history, fantasy and occasionally science fiction into the story as the sub-genre.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I loved the historical elements in this book. The tragedy of the destruction of Jerusalem and subsequent events at the fortress of Masada have nothing romantic about them. The open question is whether love between individuals and respect for cultures hold the key to preventing such events. Is it too idealistic to hope this will ever happen? Probably. But I’m a romantic. I have to hope.
What book that you have read has most influenced your life?
I would really be hard pressed to say. Let’s just say that any book that is well written and contains a deep message is the one that will hold my attention and influence my future. Some of the science fiction masters have influenced me, because they speak to the future that great historians have also prepared me to envision.
Tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?
People are sometimes surprised to learn that I am a very—and I mean very—deep thinker. Present me with any concept or event and my mind is going to go down so many different channels simultaneously that it’s like trying to work a maze, until I arrive at an answer that may also be multi-faceted. I may choose one of those answers because I think it is the right thing to do, but that is not to say that I don’t acknowledge the rest. That’s why my villains are not textbook villains. They always have a story.
Can you tell us something about your book that is not in the summary?
The full scale of the battles do not appear in the summary, because this is a romance. They form a backdrop. The true scope of those tragedies would be impossible and inappropriate to include in a romance. The message here has to be hope springing from the ashes and I think that’s a worthwhile goal. But I would hope it might encourage readers to explore the historical writings that accurately portray the events of that era.
Born to a mysterious Celtic woman and a Roman father in Britannia, Domi seems destined for a life of ignominy until he is adopted by a Roman tribune. When he is forced to choose between his native land and his adopted one, and between the living and the dead, which will he choose?
Read an Excerpt
Trunks were packed and ready for return to Neopolis. That left only the girl to deal with. She had remained in the tent, healing slowly, too badly abused to walk without pain. But he could postpone the inevitable no longer.
Returning from his nightly ritual, he lit an oil lamp and brought in dinner. She could chew meat if he soaked it in wine, so he put that night’s offering in a cupful of standard ration. He was still giving his to her, since he felt no need of it. In fact, he thought it only deepened his melancholy.
“Here,” he said, handing her a cup and plate. She still sat, by choice, next to the tent post. He had offered his bed but she was clearly terrified of that, so he gave her a rug and a blanket and hoped for the best. At least she was staying in the tent. He studied her face by lamplight, sitting on the cot while he ate. Her bruises were somewhat diminished but she would bear the scar over her eye to her dying day. Some of the lashes on her back would always show, too, thin blue lines. But at least he had procured another gown for her, so she was clothed in something that was not falling off her. Food and clothing were all he had thought he could offer, but now he had something more.
“I cannot keep this tent any longer,” he told her. “Another Tribune has been appointed and I am done here.” He glanced around, knowing he would never really be done there.
“Tomorrow I am returning you to the slavers.” He saw her stiffen. “No, don’t be afraid. I am going to buy you and pay someone to take you to my villa at Neopolis.”
She looked at him as if she either did not believe it or thought he was out of his mind. Perhaps he was.
“I will pay them well enough that they don’t abuse you. Just go with them quietly, don’t give them any trouble, and stay there and heal. I will send my factotum a bill of manumission for you. When you are well enough he will get you safe passage to the Jewish quarter in Rome. I assume they will take you in.”
“Yes.” He had already learned she was a woman of few words. Her voice had remained husky and her accent was actually charming. He liked to listen to her, but didn’t often get the chance.
Apparently, though, this had induced her to speak. “Why are you doing this?”
After the next day, he would never see her again. She was a safe harbor of sorts.
“I love a girl in Alexandria,” he said. “She is of your faith. She would be pleased to have one of her people saved.”
“You will marry this girl?”
“No.”
“Why?” Leah had cocked her head at him for all the world like an inquisitive dog.
“She’s a Jewess. I’m a Roman.” She was still looking at him. “”It’s not possible,” he explained.
“Anything is possible.”
He smiled, but didn’t answer.
“You are a righteous man. That girl is a fool.”
About the Author:
LAND OF SHADOW: PURCHASE LINK - https://www.amazon.com/Miriam-Newman-ebook/dp/B08CCJN7Z5
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