Nick Brown's Blog
March 6, 2025
March of the Madlanders
For anyone who likes epic fantasy, do check out the new novel I have co-written with my friend and collaborator, Joe Davies:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kyseran-Marc...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kyseran-Marc...
January 7, 2023
Tarchon is almost here!
Agent of Rome: Tarchon will be arriving in e-book and paperback format on January 27th. The new story is set twenty years before The Siege in the city of Byzantium. We follow young Tarchon as he is recruited by the Imperial Security Service and sent on increasingly challenging missions.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
January 17, 2022
Agent of Rome: Tarchon
Hello to all Goodreads followers! :)
I've reached 50,000 words of this new book and I'm aiming to publish this autumn.
It is set around twenty years before The Siege and will follow the agent Cassius met in book 6, starting with his recruitment as a young man in Byzantium and early missions for Imperial Security Service chief Gargonius. Raised on the streets and desperate to improve his lot, this resourceful young man is very different to Cassius but I'm aiming for the usual mix of action, adventure and intrigue.
More updates to come!
Nick.
I've reached 50,000 words of this new book and I'm aiming to publish this autumn.
It is set around twenty years before The Siege and will follow the agent Cassius met in book 6, starting with his recruitment as a young man in Byzantium and early missions for Imperial Security Service chief Gargonius. Raised on the streets and desperate to improve his lot, this resourceful young man is very different to Cassius but I'm aiming for the usual mix of action, adventure and intrigue.
More updates to come!
Nick.
August 31, 2019
Agent of Rome 7 coming soon!
The seventh - and final - Cassius Corbulo novel is titled 'The Last Battle' and will be published on September 30th.
Ebooks are available for pre-order now and paperbacks will follow soon.
The Last Battle
Ebooks are available for pre-order now and paperbacks will follow soon.
The Last Battle
August 13, 2018
'Marik's Way' is on its way
Goodreads members will know me as a writer of historical fiction but next week my first fantasy book will be published, available in paperback and ebook.
The main character, Marik, is an exiled soldier who cannot stay out of trouble; I like to think of him as Jack Reacher with a sword!
Hopefully the novel contains many elements familiar to readers of my Agent of Rome novels: action, adventure, mystery, humour and a dash of romance. I look forward to finding out what people think!
Marik's Way
The main character, Marik, is an exiled soldier who cannot stay out of trouble; I like to think of him as Jack Reacher with a sword!
Hopefully the novel contains many elements familiar to readers of my Agent of Rome novels: action, adventure, mystery, humour and a dash of romance. I look forward to finding out what people think!
Marik's Way
April 23, 2016
Interview
Q and A with blogger David Baird (davidsbookblurg) discussing the new ebook and the 'Agent of Rome' series.
Q1 – So Nick, you have a new book out and it’s not a Historical Fiction book like we might have expected… What made you decide to write a science fiction book?
I’ve always written sci fi – in fact I wrote two novels before I even considered historical fiction. I enjoy having a blank slate to start with and the freedom that the genre gives you. This is just a short ebook but I might look to write a full novel in the near future.
Q2 – The book is made up of three short stories, all of which I thought were brilliant. You have a talent for writing short stories, you give enough of a story to make the reader happy and feel they take something away with them but hold back enough to encourage your readers to come back to you for more. Where do your ideas come from? Are they simply bigger ideas that don’t really come to full fruition?
Thank you. I try my best to resolve the stories in a compelling way. That doesn’t always mean a twist but really it’s not so different to a novel – the story just has to move a little more swiftly and reach a satisfying conclusion. The ideas come at different times. ‘Four Numbers’, for example, I wrote specifically for the collection. Whenever I have an idea for something, I note it down – I might come back to it the following week or five years later.
Q3 –Are there any particular books or authors you’ve enjoyed within the sci-fi genre?
I’ve always been a big fan of Iain M. Banks and Douglas Hill, a Canadian author.
Q4 – Are there any other genres you might try your hand at one day?
Possibly fantasy; and I’d like to try something contemporary at some point.
Q5 – Who have been your biggest influences/supporters within the writing community?
Writers are very supportive of each in general and we can add to that bloggers and reviewers like yourself who are now a crucial part of the writing world. I also belong to the Historical Writers Association and have many friends in the industry who I keep in touch with via social media. When meeting in ‘the real world’, a few beers are usually involved.
Q6 – How important to you is the feedback from your readers?
I’m always very interested in what readers have to say and I can’t help reading every review. Fortunately most are positive! I don’t think I would ever alter anything because of feedback unless there was an obvious theme. Everyone has an opinion – including editors and agents. Of course I always listen to them but it’s very important as a writer to know your own mind.
Q7 – How do you deal with negative feedback?
Violence! No, honestly, if I read something that strikes a chord then it could be something to learn from. But usually I just disagree and swear about it! Over time you get used to it but unfortunately they tend to stick in your mind more than the positive comments.
Q8 – For anyone who is not familiar with Agent of Rome books how you would describe the series to them?
The series follows Roman ‘security service’ officer Cassius Corbulo – plus his ex-gladiator bodyguard Indavara and Christian servant Simo. Their adventures have taken them all over the eastern Empire and – hopefully – combine mystery, action and intrigue.
Q9 – If you had to pick, which of your books would you say you’ve most enjoyed writing or which are you most proud of and why?
I really enjoyed writing ‘The Far Shore’ – the third book of the Roman series. I suspect it was because I knew it was working out well. Like all novels, it turned out differently to the original conception but it was exciting to write and hopefully that translated for the reader.
As for ‘most proud’ – that probably goes to book two, ‘The Imperial Banner’. Second novels are traditionally difficult and this one took the series in a different direction. I was also working as a teacher and had less time due to the publishing deadline.
Q10 – Future plans? More Sci Fi? I’m sure we’d all like to know what you’ve got planned.
More sci fi, I hope; and some historical fiction too. Watch this space!
Q1 – So Nick, you have a new book out and it’s not a Historical Fiction book like we might have expected… What made you decide to write a science fiction book?
I’ve always written sci fi – in fact I wrote two novels before I even considered historical fiction. I enjoy having a blank slate to start with and the freedom that the genre gives you. This is just a short ebook but I might look to write a full novel in the near future.
Q2 – The book is made up of three short stories, all of which I thought were brilliant. You have a talent for writing short stories, you give enough of a story to make the reader happy and feel they take something away with them but hold back enough to encourage your readers to come back to you for more. Where do your ideas come from? Are they simply bigger ideas that don’t really come to full fruition?
Thank you. I try my best to resolve the stories in a compelling way. That doesn’t always mean a twist but really it’s not so different to a novel – the story just has to move a little more swiftly and reach a satisfying conclusion. The ideas come at different times. ‘Four Numbers’, for example, I wrote specifically for the collection. Whenever I have an idea for something, I note it down – I might come back to it the following week or five years later.
Q3 –Are there any particular books or authors you’ve enjoyed within the sci-fi genre?
I’ve always been a big fan of Iain M. Banks and Douglas Hill, a Canadian author.
Q4 – Are there any other genres you might try your hand at one day?
Possibly fantasy; and I’d like to try something contemporary at some point.
Q5 – Who have been your biggest influences/supporters within the writing community?
Writers are very supportive of each in general and we can add to that bloggers and reviewers like yourself who are now a crucial part of the writing world. I also belong to the Historical Writers Association and have many friends in the industry who I keep in touch with via social media. When meeting in ‘the real world’, a few beers are usually involved.
Q6 – How important to you is the feedback from your readers?
I’m always very interested in what readers have to say and I can’t help reading every review. Fortunately most are positive! I don’t think I would ever alter anything because of feedback unless there was an obvious theme. Everyone has an opinion – including editors and agents. Of course I always listen to them but it’s very important as a writer to know your own mind.
Q7 – How do you deal with negative feedback?
Violence! No, honestly, if I read something that strikes a chord then it could be something to learn from. But usually I just disagree and swear about it! Over time you get used to it but unfortunately they tend to stick in your mind more than the positive comments.
Q8 – For anyone who is not familiar with Agent of Rome books how you would describe the series to them?
The series follows Roman ‘security service’ officer Cassius Corbulo – plus his ex-gladiator bodyguard Indavara and Christian servant Simo. Their adventures have taken them all over the eastern Empire and – hopefully – combine mystery, action and intrigue.
Q9 – If you had to pick, which of your books would you say you’ve most enjoyed writing or which are you most proud of and why?
I really enjoyed writing ‘The Far Shore’ – the third book of the Roman series. I suspect it was because I knew it was working out well. Like all novels, it turned out differently to the original conception but it was exciting to write and hopefully that translated for the reader.
As for ‘most proud’ – that probably goes to book two, ‘The Imperial Banner’. Second novels are traditionally difficult and this one took the series in a different direction. I was also working as a teacher and had less time due to the publishing deadline.
Q10 – Future plans? More Sci Fi? I’m sure we’d all like to know what you’ve got planned.
More sci fi, I hope; and some historical fiction too. Watch this space!
June 21, 2013
Real Agents of Rome?
The basic answer – as I discovered while researching ancient Rome for my first novel – is yes. The frumentarii were army officers employed by what is sometimes referred to as the “Roman secret service”. Although the term (which literally translates as “grain-men”) doesn’t even merit a mention in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, numerous historians have investigated the organisation’s activities. The name derives from the officers’ original duty - the purchase and distribution of grain for the imperial armies. Under Domitian, these soldiers (who were well placed to observe the army, the imperial bureaucracy and the local populace) became the emperor’s intelligence service, with its own headquarters on the Caelia Hill in Rome. What I found intriguing was that as well as being involved in tax collection, religious persecution and various imperial scandals, these men also acted as messengers, spies, agents provocateurs, investigators, even assassins.
My protagonist, Cassius Corbulo, was always intended to be a rather unconventional military man, and I realised that if I made him a member of what I decided to term the “Imperial Security Service”, the potential for interesting, dramatic stories was vast. In The Siege he has to masquerade as a centurion, but in the second novel he finds himself in the employ of Aulus Abascantius: sly, ruthless head of the Service’s eastern division. My young, naive, well-intentioned hero is far from a typical “grain-man”, whereas Abascantius represents the more likely historical reality. We know that by the end of the third century (my stories begin in 270 AD), these feared agents had acquired a notorious reputation as corrupt spies and informers. Recently, novelists such as Harry Sidebottom and Anthony Riches have featured frumentarii as vicious, shadowy figures pitted against their heroes.
Call me a hopeless optimist if you will, but I don’t believe they could have all been bad; and individual officers must have had their own particular methods and motivations. In Cassius’ case, he has been forced to join the army by his father after bringing shame to his family, and hopes to avoid front-line service while still fulfilling his duty to the Empire. Certainly the agents’ undercover activities would have endeared them to few, but as they were dedicated to serving the emperor’s interests, their conduct surely often reflected the nature of the man at the top. From AD 222 to 235 that man was Alexander Severus, who was praised for choosing only honest individuals for his “grain men”. Cassius’ adventures take place during the eventful reign of Aurelian, a remarkable leader noted for restoring the fortunes of the Empire and his restraint in dealing with those he defeated.
The Agent of Rome series is predicated on the idea that some of the frumentarii’s assignments would have been noble ones, carried out in the name of a well-loved, inspirational commander-in-chief. Armed with their symbolic spear-heads, these men acted outside the traditional hierarchies of the imperial administration and army, with their orders often coming directly from the emperor himself. We know very little of the individual tasks they undertook, but there are tantalising glimpses of involvement in almost every sphere of Roman life, and dangerous missions to far-flung corners of the Empire.
In short, the stuff of which historical novelists’ dreams are made.
My protagonist, Cassius Corbulo, was always intended to be a rather unconventional military man, and I realised that if I made him a member of what I decided to term the “Imperial Security Service”, the potential for interesting, dramatic stories was vast. In The Siege he has to masquerade as a centurion, but in the second novel he finds himself in the employ of Aulus Abascantius: sly, ruthless head of the Service’s eastern division. My young, naive, well-intentioned hero is far from a typical “grain-man”, whereas Abascantius represents the more likely historical reality. We know that by the end of the third century (my stories begin in 270 AD), these feared agents had acquired a notorious reputation as corrupt spies and informers. Recently, novelists such as Harry Sidebottom and Anthony Riches have featured frumentarii as vicious, shadowy figures pitted against their heroes.
Call me a hopeless optimist if you will, but I don’t believe they could have all been bad; and individual officers must have had their own particular methods and motivations. In Cassius’ case, he has been forced to join the army by his father after bringing shame to his family, and hopes to avoid front-line service while still fulfilling his duty to the Empire. Certainly the agents’ undercover activities would have endeared them to few, but as they were dedicated to serving the emperor’s interests, their conduct surely often reflected the nature of the man at the top. From AD 222 to 235 that man was Alexander Severus, who was praised for choosing only honest individuals for his “grain men”. Cassius’ adventures take place during the eventful reign of Aurelian, a remarkable leader noted for restoring the fortunes of the Empire and his restraint in dealing with those he defeated.
The Agent of Rome series is predicated on the idea that some of the frumentarii’s assignments would have been noble ones, carried out in the name of a well-loved, inspirational commander-in-chief. Armed with their symbolic spear-heads, these men acted outside the traditional hierarchies of the imperial administration and army, with their orders often coming directly from the emperor himself. We know very little of the individual tasks they undertook, but there are tantalising glimpses of involvement in almost every sphere of Roman life, and dangerous missions to far-flung corners of the Empire.
In short, the stuff of which historical novelists’ dreams are made.
