Good Morning Monday!! Nova Praetorian has a release date!

Good morning!! Yes, Nova now has a release date!  Nova Praetorian will be going live and exclusive to Amazon on October 26th and I cannot wait for you all to meet Quintus and Kaeso!! I just love these two guys so much, I reeeeally hope you guys do to!

So, some quick facts about Nova:

• It’s 103,000 words long.
• It’s a historical. While some events are factual, all senators and the emperor are fictional. A lot of creative license has been taken.
• It’s a romance. There is love and honour and heart-swoony moments. There is definitely a HEA.
• It’s set in the Roman era – the story begins in 62 CE. That means there is also going to be things like slavery, brutality, murder.
• It uses language and vernacular of the era. Like all historicals, this is important for it to be true to its time. There are no/few contractions, and the absence of words like yes, left, right, friend, love, etc because those words didn’t exist then. Basically, if the etymological root of the word was in Latin, I went with it. And yes, there is even some Latin. Did I get 100% correct? Probably not. Please bear in mind this is a fiction novel, not an essay. So while it needed to be truthful to its era, it also needed to be readable for today’s market.
• Kaeso is pronounced Kai-so, or Ky-so.  He is not Spanish cheese LOL (a proofer thought it sounded like Kay-so LOL)
• Quintus is not Qantas. LOLOL (one of my pre-readers kept calling him Qantas LOL)
• And it was one of my most favourite stories to write, ever.

OFFICIAL BLURB:

Quintus Furius Varus is one of the best lanistas in Rome. Tall and strong in build, fearsome in manner, and sharp of wit, he trains the best gladiators bound for the arenas of Rome. When Senator Servius Augendus seeks personal guards, he attends the Ludus Varus for purchase of the very best. He puts to Quintus an offer he cannot refuse, and Quintus finds himself in Neapolis contracted as a trainer of guards instead of gladiators.

Kaeso Agorix was taken from his homelands of Iberia and delivered to Rome as a slave. Bought by a senator to be trained as a guard, his fate is handed to the man who would train him. Absent free will, Kaeso knows his life is no longer his own, though he soon realises the gods have favoured him when he learns his new master has a kind heart.

Quintus and Kaeso forge a bond that far exceeds the collar at Kaeso’s neck, and together they discover the senator’s move for promotion has an ulterior motive. Thrown into a world of politics and conspiracy, of keeping enemies close, they move against time to save Rome before traitors and the gods themselves see to their end.

And in doing so, see the dawn of the nova praetorian—the new guard—rise.

WIP update:

I’m currently 12K words into my next story. It’s going to be around 20K all up – so only a short one. But this time we’re revisiting some familiar faces. Yes, existing characters! But this time it’s a side character who gets the stage. No hints or clues, but I will say it is NOT in the Red Dirt Heart universe.

I’m having so much fun writing this story! The words are really flowing and I am hopeful I can have the first draft done this week.

I leave for the US on Saturday morning and it’s school holidays here, and I’m running around after my kids like crazy, plus I have appointments before I leave, and my mother in law will be visiting so I’m not confident I’ll get it finished, but I’ll be happy if I get a chunk of it done.

I don’t know what I was even thinking when I had considered the chance of getting Nova out before I left for the US! I got through a round of edits (on 103,000 words) and still managed to write 10K plus a bunch of admin stuff, but pushing a release that wasn’t ready would have been foolish/crazy.

Speaking of leaving for the US, I don’t know if there will be a Good Morning Monday post next week. I’ll be in Virginia doing sight-seeing and touristy things 🙂  I’ll be posting pics on my Instagram and in my Readers Group on Facebook, or in the M/M Daily Grind. Follow me or join the groups – we have a lot of fun!

Okay that’s enough for this week! I’ll be sure to post when I can! I’m SO excited for GRL this year!!!!  For just one week of the year, I get to be with my tribe.  Until then…

<3