News Update

Well I’ve been quiet for a while on the Roman fiction front, although that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. My fiction career got interrupted by a couple of time consuming non-fiction books related to my vet career. One was an interesting project critiquing alternative medicine in pets (called No Way to Treat a Friend, available here if you are interested – this one is aimed at the general public) and the other was an update to Breed Predispositions to Disease in Dogs and Cats (available here but probably only of interest if you are a breeder or vet professional), plus a little researchy stuff.

However, I have now got back into fiction with a vengeance, and as a consequence, not only is the first book in my new Imperial Assassin series, Emperor’s Sword, now out, (and available here ) but the second, Emperor’s Knife, is now with the publishers for editing and should be out later this year. The third book, Emperor’s Axe is now also underway.

For Carbo fans, book 3 is started but got held up by the non-fiction, and the insistence of my lovely publishers at Canelo that I crack on with Silus’ adventures. I’m hoping to finish it soon, and add to the Carbo chronicles.

So what is the Imperial Assassin series all about? It follows the adventures of Silus, a Romano-British scout, who loses his family during the Caledonian and Maeatae incursions of the early third century AD. He is inducted into the Arcani, a secret group of spies and assassins, and begins working for the complex Emperor Caracalla. Set against a backdrop of war against the barbarians from Caledonia and the intrigue and hatred within the imperial family, Silus has to survive the conflict and the politics and get his revenge on the murderer of his wife and child. I’m pleased to say it is already getting five star reviews, and the talented and prolific Simon Turney, author of the Damned Emperors series and the Marius’ Mules series among others, said, “Gritty and real, exciting and pacy, this is first rate historical fiction, and Gough is clearly ready to take his place among the leading writers of the genre.”

Right, back to the plotting (and scheming) for Emperor’s Axe.