Actium and Beyond

,Marc Antony had his Actium. Sadly, his “beyond Actium” wasn’t anything in which to look forward. In our present situation, some people could easily state that 2020 was an Actium of sorts—people lost,doctors scrambling to save lives, no hope in sight.

I on the other hand, had my Actium back in late spring of this year. It was a time of quarantine for so many, but during that time, I thrived, writing like crazy and preparing my last manuscript in the Antonius Trilogy. So my  Actium wasn't a tragic battle at all, but a written scene about the actual Battle of Actium for my last book in the trilogy, and was one of my only battle scenes that remained more or less unchanged under edit. I spent a lot of time hashing it out and re-reading while penning the details down. I was lucky with my Actium—a LOT luckier than Antony was so long ago, and much more so than some poor folk who had COVID-19 so recently in 2020. 

(at right, a Baroque depiction of the Battle of Actium by Lorenzo Castro)

For me, writing during the pandemic was therapy. I was able to focus on something other than the news and really—why worry? Aside from social-distancing, hand-washing, and wearing masks, there was really nothing I could do except hope and pray. So writing was something purposeful and fulfilling. Now, as we all gleefully boot 2020 into distant memory, this writer has been looking over the past year and planning ahead for new things.

Since the spring of 2019, I have rolled out a full trilogy. It hasn’t been easy at times, but now that it’s finished, I've enjoyed a time of retrospection, satisfaction, and now—a look ahead. I’m delighted to share a little about where I am in this brief hiatus from actual writing and where I’m going next. Ancient Rome has been such a fantastic journey, and for those of you primarily into reading the ancient world, I assure you that I’ll be back.

However, my next project is a real challenge. I’m turning to something near and dear--HOME. I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia. It’s a place of vast, rolling, mist-filled hill-scapes and famous landmarks dating from pre-Revolutionary times. Anybody who loves or longs to learn more about American history, falls in love with Virginia. It’s the birthplace and home of many of America’s “founding fathers”, the Old Dominion, and for those of us who see road-signs and license plates on a regular basis, we all know the (ridiculous) slogan: Virginia is for Lovers! 

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​(at left, Winter near Fincastle, VA)

Well, my next project will have love at the heart of its story. In fact, instead of a re-telling of a well-known story such as Antony & Cleopatra, it will be an untold tale, full of long-distances, uncertainty, and at the heart of it, American history’s consummate adventure. I’ll be telling the story of youthful Judy Hancock who is spellbound by the man she purposes to marry: Captain William Clark of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

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(U.S. currency portrait of explorer, William Clark)

Judy was daughter to George Hancock, a Revolutionary War hero, and lived in the town of Fincastle, VA on what was then, the American Frontier. This story will follow her hopes and the dream she has of becoming the lady at Clark’s side. However, a dangerous, daring exploration endorsed by President Thomas Jefferson himself, will separate them for nearly three years; a period in which she’ll face her own personal challenges as she embraces adulthood.

My earnest hope is that each of you readers will continue with me on this journey of research, plotting, character development, and writing. Drop me a line occasionally, as it’s been such a joy hearing from some of you, learning more about you—my readers—and reminding me that (I’m feeling a cliché straight from Walt Disney here!) it really is “a small world after all.”

While this next work is in progress, I promise to continue providing blogs of interest, more giveaways, reviews, and guest writers that will hopefully fill this time with interesting reading, ideas for new books for your lists, and insights into the world of historical fiction.

So as we embrace this New Year 2021, may it be full of health, hope, and the promise of new things in store. I, for one, am most excited to be “beyond Actium” because there is so much ahead to write about—so much I still want to share as an author. So, I’ll continue to use this catch-phrase in addition to Happy New Year…
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Read ON, friends! 

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