I wanted to address something that you said in your review that is inaccurate, and that concerns your assertion that I "threw Alex and Macer in the trash" and my "abandonment" of the Arelate branch of the Pullus family.
Perhaps if I had begun this series when I was 40 and not at the age of 53, I would have been happy to continue telling the story of the Pullus family in the linear fashion that had taken 20 volumes to cover.
However, I'm about to turn 66, and I have never made a secret of having longterm ambitions for this family, which extend up through history to different eras, all the way to the American Civil War.
Simply put, while longevity runs in my family, I can't plan on still writing into my 90's to achieve my goals.
It was for that reason that I made the jump of 20 years, and in the process, I thought long and hard about why Gnaeus, using Alex as his scribe, would suddenly stop telling his story, and that of his family. And the more I thought about it, I realized that it would have to be a traumatic event, and Alex's self-sacrifice in saving Gnaeus from an assassin seemed to be an appropriately traumatic event.
However, that doesn't mean I "threw Alex in the trash", or Macer for that matter. (Who was nearing the end of his career, I would add)
The family of Diocles, along with the Arelate branch of the Pullus family figure prominently in the future plans of the Marching With Caesar series, and in fact they will be central characters in the years of 66-70 CE in the province of Judea.
Normally I don't respond to reviews, but I do take exception to the characterization that I toss characters away for purely selfish or commercial reasons. Also, I want to assure anyone who might think otherwise that, when they read about the descendants of Alex and the Arelate branch of the Pullus family, it's part of a larger plan on my part that I devised long before this review.
And I respectfully decline your demand that I "unpublish and rewrite" this book, both because the reception has been overwhelmingly positive...and because I'm about to publish Volume XXII, MWC-The Conquest of Britannia, which would be kind of confusing.
Regardless, I do appreciate you taking the time to read my books, and that you care enough to leave a review.
I wanted to address something that you said in your review that is inaccurate, and that concerns your assertion that I "threw Alex and Macer in the trash" and my "abandonment" of the Arelate branch of the Pullus family.
Perhaps if I had begun this series when I was 40 and not at the age of 53, I would have been happy to continue telling the story of the Pullus family in the linear fashion that had taken 20 volumes to cover.
However, I'm about to turn 66, and I have never made a secret of having longterm ambitions for this family, which extend up through history to different eras, all the way to the American Civil War.
Simply put, while longevity runs in my family, I can't plan on still writing into my 90's to achieve my goals.
It was for that reason that I made the jump of 20 years, and in the process, I thought long and hard about why Gnaeus, using Alex as his scribe, would suddenly stop telling his story, and that of his family. And the more I thought about it, I realized that it would have to be a traumatic event, and Alex's self-sacrifice in saving Gnaeus from an assassin seemed to be an appropriately traumatic event.
However, that doesn't mean I "threw Alex in the trash", or Macer for that matter. (Who was nearing the end of his career, I would add)
The family of Diocles, along with the Arelate branch of the Pullus family figure prominently in the future plans of the Marching With Caesar series, and in fact they will be central characters in the years of 66-70 CE in the province of Judea.
Normally I don't respond to reviews, but I do take exception to the characterization that I toss characters away for purely selfish or commercial reasons. Also, I want to assure anyone who might think otherwise that, when they read about the descendants of Alex and the Arelate branch of the Pullus family, it's part of a larger plan on my part that I devised long before this review.
And I respectfully decline your demand that I "unpublish and rewrite" this book, both because the reception has been overwhelmingly positive...and because I'm about to publish Volume XXII, MWC-The Conquest of Britannia, which would be kind of confusing.
Regardless, I do appreciate you taking the time to read my books, and that you care enough to leave a review.
Thanks,
Ron Peake