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I love Elizabeth Ellen Carter's ability to move between historical periods... her books to date have been set in the 18th and 19th century, but Elizabeth's passion is the Roman era. I am thrilled for her that the book of her heart... DARK HEART has found a publisher and will be released on 28 April (it is available for pre order NOW!)
I asked EEC to share with us a snippet of research (and I quail at the amount of research that went into writing this book!)... Penthouse living... Roman style!
Today, living is a penthouse is seen as a pinnacle of luxury.
I can just hear Eva Gabor singing the line from Green Acres: “I just adore a penthouse view; darling I love you, but give me Park Avenue.” But if you lived in Ancient Rome, the last place you wanted to be was on the top floor of an apartment building. Quite remarkably, the population of Rome during the third century AD was one million – a feat reached by London only in 1810 and Manhattan in 1874. Just like today, that caused a bit of a housing affordability crisis and again, like today, it was decided that the only way was up. Apartment buildings (often named for their wealthy owner) were seen as the solution. These structures were up to seven storeys in height with the first two stories made of stone or concrete and the rest of the apartments made of wood. And in a world without reticulated water, that meant carting water upstairs and, depending on the building, you might also be forbidden from cooking in your apartment. So the wealthy lived on the ground floor, the middle and working classes on the level above that and poor above that again. These apartment buildings were called insulae – which is Latin for islands and indeed apartment living is just like being on an island in the middle of the city. It has been suggested that one of the reasons why Nero fiddled while Rome burned was that he saw it as a great slum clearance and indeed after the fire he mandated insulae be no greater than seven storeys (70 feet), Emperor Trajan was even more strict, placing a six storey height limit on new construction. But everything old is new again, with many cities returning to wood to construct high rise buildings - but this time using cross-laminated timber (CLT) — layers of wood, glued together under high pressure with the grain of each perpendicular to the one before. The end product is strong and rigid, unlike raw timber, which will warp and weave over time. Norway currently boasts the tallest timber building with a 14-storey timber high rise called Treet. Canada hopes to eclipse that later this year with an 18-story timber dorm building at the University of British Columbia, soon to be followed by the 21-storey Haut building in Amsterdam. It can be hard to imagine ancient apartments, so I’ve found this beautiful four minute architectural video showing what Insulae would have looked like. About DARK HEART
Rome, 235AD
A series of ritual murders of young boys recalls memories of Rome’s most wicked Emperor. Magistrate Marcus Cornelius Drusus has discovered the cult extends to the very heart of Roman society. Despite his personal wealth and authority, Marcus is a slave to his past – conflicted by his status as an adopted son, bitterly betrayed by his wife and forced to give up his child. Kyna knows all about betrayal. Sold into slavery by her husband to pay a gambling debt, she found herself in Rome, far from her home in Britannia. Bought by a doctor, she is taught his trade and is about to gain her freedom when her mentor is murdered by the cult. When the same group make an attempt on her life, Kyna is forced to give up her freedom and accept Marcus’s protection. With no one to trust but each other, mutual attraction ignites into passion but how far will Marcus go for vengeance when he learns the cult’s next victim is his son? BUY DARK HEARTRead an excerpt from DARK HEART...
Marcus watched the captain of the guard come to attention as he entered the room. With a wave of Marcus’ hand, Janarius was at ease.
“Report.” “A quiet night mostly. A couple of brawls to break up. The Praetorian Guard is making a nuisance of itself. I take it you’ve heard? On orders of the new emperor, Alexander Severus’ supporters are being taken in for questioning.” Marcus nodded and took a seat on one of the two curule chairs. He had heard. The situation was why he was content to owe no man. He asked no favors and gave none in return. It had always been a sore point between himself and his former wife, Agrippina. She had accepted her father’s arrangement of marriage to Marcus despite him being younger than her, and beneath her station, because he was seen as a rising star – an adopted Roman from the province of Judea who had been trained by the very best, destined to go far. However, no sooner had the ink dried on the marriage contract than Marcus learned what kind of wife had been negotiated for him. He shook off the bitter memory and returned his attention to Janarius. “Bodies. Either inside or outside the city,” Marcus demanded crisply. “None,” the captain said, but the hint of relief in his voice suggested he had misunderstood. Marcus shook his head. “No, I don’t mean more boys.” “Then who?” “A woman. Short, slim build, red hair, not yet thirty years of age.” Janarius blinked and examined the pair of wax tablets he held but until now had not referred to. “A woman who might fit that description broke her neck after being thrown down the stairs by her husband at the Insula Ferox.” Marcus shook his head. Janarius looked further at his lists. “A fornix was raped and beaten under the arches at the Theatre of Pompey, but it says she was a blonde.” “Not her.” Marcus shook his head. “Then that’s all. Of all the females reported dead last night those are the only two which come close to fitting your description.” Marcus was surprised at the tension that leached from his shoulders at the news. “May I ask who I’m supposed to be looking for?” asked Janarius. “The Greek doctor’s slave assistant, Kyna.” Marcus watched the man, waiting for his expression to change. His brow creased in thought, his eyebrows came up in recognition of the name, and then his eyes widened as the significance occurred to him. Janarius’ thought process written as plainly on his features as the words scribed on the tablets. “That’s who she was?” he hissed. He stepped in and leaned on the magistrate’s desk. “I swear to you, Marcus, I didn’t know.” 
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 I am delighted to welcome Caroline Warfield to my parlour today. Caroline. Caroline's "Children of the Empire" series (Victorian Romance) make a wonderful change of period and setting. The series covers the adventures of three cousins, torn apart by lies and deceit and driven to the far reaches of the empire, struggle to find their way home. I am very excited to present her second book in the series, THE RELUCTANT WIFE which is set in colonial India. Caroline has an exclusive giveaway just for readers of this blog. If you leave a comment one lucky commenter will win a copy of THE RELUCTANT WIFE. Caroline also has a major prize on offer to celebrate the book's release. Scroll down further for details! But first... I like to ask my guests what interesting fact they discovered in researching their book that they would like to share with their readers... so here is Caroline to talk about... Honey and Healing... When writing a climactic scene in The Reluctant Wife in which the neighbors and friends attempt to save the hero's childhood home from a fire set by the villain intent of forcing sale of the property, I faced one of those pesky unanticipated questions that authors often encounter. How exactly would the heroine treat a badly burned man in 1835? In this case a Google search brought an immediate answer from numerous sources. The answer lay in my kitchen cupboard: honey. Specifically, she would have used organic, unfiltered raw honey, not the clarified sweet so often sold in grocery stores. I discovered, in fact, that medicinal honey (for preference, but good raw honey will do) is still recommended for burns. Honey has been shown to have antibiotic and anti-inflamatory properties. It also keeps a burn wound moist, which promotes healing. There is even a Wiki-How article with step by step instructions. The thing is, I should have known. You see, I married into a family of beekeepers, four generations of them. My husband's grandfather kept bees (and we suspect his great-grandfather as well). His father inspected bees for the State of Ohio. The health of bees is vital to agriculture and inspectors make sure diseased hives are destroyed so problems don't spread. My husband, some of his brothers and several of his nephews have kept bees at various times. Our daughter had her own hive, leather gloves and bee veil at nine. Our son was known to "suit up" and assist is Dad as young as three. We once had four stands of bees in our backyard apiary in the city. I know from honey and its health benefits, at least I thought I did. My father-in-law introduced me to the joys of honey in all its rich variation from dark, almost black, fall honeys to buttery-light ones so clear they look like water. He taught me the health benefits of a tablespoon of raw honey a day. No one explained its use in wound care, however. Or, if they did, I missed that lesson. Sigh. Once again writing has enriched my life with new information. What is the most suprising fact you've learned from fiction? (leave your comment below and go in the draw to win a copy of THE RELUCTANT WIFE) About THE RELUCTANT WIFEWhen all else fails, love succeeds… Captain Fred Wheatly’s comfortable life on the fringes of Bengal comes crashing down around him when his mistress dies, leaving him with two children he never expected to have to raise. When he chooses justice over army regulations, he’s forced to resign his position, leaving him with no way to support his unexpected family. He’s already had enough failures in his life. The last thing he needs is an attractive, interfering woman bedeviling his steps, reminding him of his duties. All widowed Clare Armbruster needs is her brother’s signature on a legal document to be free of her past and enable her to establish an independent existance as an herbalist and healer. After a failed marriage, and still mourning the loss of a child, she’s had it up to her ears with the assumptions she doesn't know how to take care of herself, that what she needs is a husband. She certainly doesn't need a great lout of a captain who can't figure out what to do with his daughters. If only the frightened little girls didn’t need her help so badly. Clare has made mistakes in the past. Can she trust Fred now? Can she trust herself? Captain Wheatly isn’t ashamed of his aristocratic heritage, but he doesn’t need his family and they’ve certainly never needed him. But with no more military career and two half-caste daughters to support, Fred must turn once more—as a failure—to the family he let down so often in the past. Can two hearts rise above past failures to forge a future together? CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO BUY THE RELUCTANT WIFE...  About Caroline Warfield Traveler, poet, librarian, technology manager—award winning author Caroline Warfield has been many things (even a nun), but above all she is a romantic. Having retired to the urban wilds of eastern Pennsylvania, she reckons she is on at least her third act, happily working in an office surrounded by windows while she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and the far-flung corners of the British Empire. She nudges them to explore the riskiest territory of all, the human heart. Caroline is a RONE award winner with five star reviews from Readers' Favorite, Night Owl Reviews, and InD'Tale. She is also a member of the writers’ co-operative, the Bluestocking Belles. With partners she manages and regularly writes for both The Teatime Tattler and History Imagined. Website http://www.carolinewarfield.com/ Amazon Author http://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Warfield/e/B00N9PZZZS/ Good Reads http://bit.ly/1C5blTm Facebook https://www.facebook.com/carolinewarfield7 Twitter @CaroWarfield Email [email protected] #GIVEAWAY#Caroline will give a kindle copy of the book to one randomly selected person who comments on this post. She is also sponsoring a grand prize in celebration of her release. You can enter it here: http://www.carolinewarfield.com/2017blogtourpackage/ The prequel to this book, A Dangerous Nativity, is always **FREE**. You can get a copy here: http://www.carolinewarfield.com/bookshelf/a-dangerous-nativity-1815/ Read an Excerpt from THE RELUCTANT BRIDE...Fred could breathe again. He turned his back on his childhood home and walked up the lane to where Clare nursed the injured in a grassy spot. I just need to know she is not in any danger. He felt foolish. Of course, she’s fine. This is Clare, you numbskull— as strong and brave as any man here. He still needed to see for himself. The sight of her gently bandaging a laborer’s hand made his mouth go dry.
“Is Charles safe up there?” she asked, flicking a quick glance in his direction. “H— heavens no. He’s having the time of his life, though. I think he just gets bored sometimes and is thrilled to have a problem he can attack.” Fred suspected his cousin had little room in his life for physical action. Between sick room, boardroom, and the war department, that’s probably true. He grimaced at the sight of the injured guard whose singed hair rose over a damaged ear and neck. Thank God, his face was untouched. Poultices covered his right arm and side as well. She had splinted the other arm. “Can he speak?” he whispered. “He spoke to Charles earlier, but I dosed him with laudanum. Questioning will have to wait.” “It’s a good thing you came,” he told her. “But I’m sorry you were pulled into this. It isn’t what you agreed to do.” She peered up at him under thick lashes from where she continued her work. “Healing is exactly what I set out to do before I met you,” she retorted. A sweet, vaguely familiar odor permeated the area. “What do I smell?” he asked. “Honey. I used it for wound care. I found a large supply in the kitchen, thank goodness. We need a wagon to transport this man.” “I sent someone for ladders. Should be here soon. Ah— There he is. Am I not a miracle worker?” By the time he helped unload the ladders and two more men were on their way up to the roof, Fred breathed a sigh of relief. The barn had begun to subside, sad in itself, but it meant fewer embers reached the roof of the house. The bucket brigade kept two pulleys moving to supply the two ladder crews. They’ll have the entire pile of thatch soaked soon. I can get Clare and the injured out of here, and we can all rest.
It is always exciting to find historical romance set in times and places outside the norm and I am very excited to host C. Sablan Gault's story of love across the cultural divide in Guam (now a small island protectorate of the United States).The US involvement in the affairs of Guam is a fascinating one.
I have a personal connection to Guam - in his oil industry days my husband had many visits to Guam, including one memorable one in our final week in Singapore when a cyclone had torn through Guam and he was despatched to cope with the ensuing crisis - leaving his wife (who had the flu) and two teenage sons to pack up the apartment and tie off the loose ends of our lives in Singapore. Needless to say he was not popular... 
Historical Romance, Women’s Fiction
Set in the tumultuous period of Guam history, between the Spanish-American War and World War II, the lives and loves of three Chamorro women unfold amid the changes and challenges around them. Sixteen-year old Amanda falls of a navy seaman who leaves her with child. Her daughter Sylvia grows up an illegitimate orphan. Yet she finds happiness with Tino Camacho, who loves her despite her scandalous background. Life teaches their daughter, the level-headed Vivian Camacho, that falling for an American navy man is futile, like reaching for the moon.
Cultural and racial prejudices increase the distance. Vivian avoids such futility until the handsome Philip Avery, an up-and-coming naval engineer, enters her life as an upstairs tenant newly assigned to Guam. Vivian falls in love with him but knows nothing can come of it. Philip is from a different world, one of wealth, rank, and privilege. Vivian is a simple island girl who lives under naval government rule. Philip is a man well beyond her reach. He is as distant from her world as the moon; he is the mansion there. Philip falls in love also, but his career comes first. Both deny their feelings for each other; their love cannot be. But love knows no distance, sees no differences.
About the Author
C. Sablan Gault, a native born Chamorro, began her writing career in advertising. She holds a BA in Anthropology and studied journalism. She worked as an advertising assistant, newspaper reporter, feature writer, and columnist. She then served as press secretary to a Guam governor, a legislator, and to Guam’s delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. She also worked as a writer and researcher for a Guam political status education commission. She and her husband David, a Vietnam-era Seabee, live in Guam.
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Alison StuartAlison writes historical romances and short stories set in England and Australia and across different periods of history. Archives
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