We Have Come From Rome to Bring you Civilization, or We'll Kill You.

I must be crazy to have thought I could write a novel set in ancient Rome. There are only a couple of examples which come to mind, "I, Claudius by Graves, and "Julian" by Vidal. Gore, not Sassoon. Actually, Vidal wrote about a byzantine emperor but most Americans don't really make the distinction between the eastern and western empires, so therefore, nor will I. A third comes to mind, "Justinian" by Turteltaub. Otherwise, the field leaves little else for me to ponder. Perhaps I have missed huge masses of literature. If I have, I will leave the blame affixed to myself for having ignored for so long a field of interest I love.

Forgive me if this project takes a while, but I really am busy managing a legal practice in Fresno, California. for those who may wish to visit, check our web site at Bruce Nickel Attorney at Law .

Now: Some text!
START TEXT <---------

Salutations, the Emperor sends us to bring you civilization. Or we will kill you.

The translation couldn't have been exact, old Lydius wasn't known for his skills in the Latin language, but the tone was undoubted. The benefits of the Pax Romana were about to rain from the mouths of the gods at the point of spears and arrows. Blessings to the Emperor, whom ever he may be this year. Lydius' battle weary face wrinkled while he contemplated the implications of the parchment he held, knowing well that the gods had abandoned him leaving only his wits to deal with the world's most powerful force, the Roman peace.

END TEXT <---------



There, the ink has hit the page, now, all we have to do is expand on it. I hope the process of writing is as interesting to you. May you enjoy this blog.

I have violated a rule by allowing the above to jump out of my brain and escape into the world of the web, but it is done and I'm going to be stuck with it for a bit. The opening likely will, or perhaps not change once or a hundred times over the time it takes me to write this story.

What I should have done, first and foremost is to realize that the text above is only an idea, and perhaps use it later. The real task at hand is to formulate one fairly brief sentence which is a summary of the story.

formally, I suppose it is this:

Rome is at the doorstep offering peace and prosperity. Death is the more likely prospect. Now what do we do?

A little longish, but I can work with it.