Go get my new biography of the (most interesting) emperor of Rome, Maxentius, through Pen & Sword. If you get to the end & he's not your favorite emperor I'll eat my hat. (The marzipan one, obviously.) www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1036130533/ And please leave a review, unless you hate it, but then you won't.

I thought, what with it being a weekend, I ought to come up with an interesting post...

Out today & available in digital and physical formats at your favourite retailers Amazon www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FR2VWPWY Google play.google.com/store/books/... Apple books.apple.com/.../marius-m... Kobo www.kobo.com/.../marius-m... B&N www.barnesandnoble.com/.../marius..... Audio to follow in 2026

One more week until Fronto returns to your lives, younger, fitter, but still dangerously unstable and grumpy... ;-) Up for pre-order on Kindle and most other digital formats, paperback and hardback will be available on release day. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FR2VWPWY

Marius' Mules is back. 69BC, and Fronto is heading for Spain, in support of its new quaestor, Julius Caesar! 🙂 www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FR2VWPWY

BOOKSHOP Since the festival season has passed for 2025, this is the stock I have in the office. All available signed, lined and dated, and personalised if you wish. Some fiction, some non-fiction. Paperbacks £12 delivered in UK, hardbacks £20. Foreign postage on request. Message me if you want any.

Signed books available at the moment. If you want any of them, send me a DM. Paperbacks £12 delivered, harbacks £22. Discount for multiples: Terra Incognita PB Para Bellum PB Kings of Stone and Ice PB A Song of War PB Agricola HB (non fiction) Auxiliary units of Roman Britain HB (non fiction)

Trump is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In other news: Jeffrey Dahmer, Aleister Crowley and Fred West to be canonized...

The phrase 'skyrocketting' sets my teeth on edge. Just one of those phrases that gets to me...

The current crop of despotic absolute rulers of "democratic" nations include Putin, Erdogan, and Trump. Politically, it's like being faced with the worst ever game of "shag, marry, kill"!

A niche post for most people but here's 5 favourite German language metal tracks. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlAv... www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ2u... www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeQM... www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R-V... www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLs6... Do tell me what you think

'nuff said...

Rather taken with the new Avatar track... www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRSF...

The two right hands of the Colossus of Constantine in the Capitoline. Yup, you heard it. Two right hands. One pointing, the other holding something. The original was probably of Hadrian, but in AD 312 it was both Maxentius and then Constantine. More in my coming biography of the last Roman emperor.

Hen party out on the town in Harrogate. If cowgirls had really looked like that, cowboys would have hung up their lassos and gone into accounting...

Don't you just hate those itches you can't quite reach...

Spent a very happy hour or more this morning having a beer and talking all things Maxentius with the fantastic Marco Aurelio Valerio Massenzio (Marco Cecini). That's a life goal complete... :-)

That's right... your worst nightmare has come true...

A windswept historian blathering on about his favourite emperor. #rome #roman #tetrarchy #maxentius #ancient #forum www.instagram.com/reel/DKVSJBA...

Today, in the Capitoline museum: The emperor Septimius Severus and his sons Geta and Caracalla. Things are slowly coming to a head in that family in the Praetorian series. Want to see what happens next? Go buy Praetorian 8: The Bandit King. Out now... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FB6QWXS8/

A fabulous piece of stonework. Imagine it with a vane/windsock and working. How wonderful is this?#roman #rome #history #wind #weather #ancient www.instagram.com/reel/DKU7irl...

It's not polite to call out "Jeeesus!" in the Vatican, but when you turn round to this, it's a natural reaction...

"Welcome back from battle, Horatius." "Thanks mum." "Ready for dinner yet?" "No. Bit of a headache. Going for a lie down first..."

Today is release day for Praetorian book 8: The Bandit King. To celebrate, here's a little video I just took of the Praetorian fortress in Rome, which features quite heavily. Go get it now. www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0FB... www.instagram.com/reel/DKPCX2i...

Today is release day for Praetorian book 8: The Bandit King. To celebrate, here's a little image I just took of the Praetorian fortress in Rome, which features quite heavily. Go get your copy now. Happy reading, folks... www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0FB...

So there's a new post on my blog thingy.... sjat.wordpress.com/2025/05/26/i...

If you're in Yorkshire this weekend, or even just on an easy rail link, come to the 2025 Eboracum festival. Roman reenactors everywhere, talks, crafts, kids' fun and even a few humble writers with signed books available, including yours truly. Veni vidi scripsi.

Possibly the best Far Side toon ever...

I have a friend called Angharad, and I live not far from Arrathorne crossroads. Am I in Lord of the Rings?

May is a Turney 'Twofer'. Halfdan & the Wolves are now out in book 6: Kings of Stone and Ice, while Rufinus returns on the 29th in Praetorian 8: The Bandit King, now up for pre-order. Get the latest adventures for your favourite hero: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F941QS52/ www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DP5XVQQX/

Faintly disappointed in myself to discover that, despite the extensive academic library in my office, I have nothing on 15th century Byzantine obstetrics. Hmmm.....

Have you missed Halfdan? Looking forward to his and his Wolves last adventure. The wait is almost over. Kings of Stone and Ice is out tomorrow. Go grab your copy and see the saga complete. 🙂 www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DP5XVQQX/

Live in the midlands and not busy this weekend? Come along to Leicester for the first Roman festival, watch Roman reenactors, have fun, and maybe get some signed books from acclaimed Roman writers... :-)

So what? Everyone else was doing it... ;-)

Today is release day for my pal Gordon Doherty's latest opus. Devotio is the 10th & final book in the storming Legionary series. If you've read the rest, don't miss the conclusion, & if you've not, then now is the perfect time. Get a copy. You'll NOT be disappointed. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DZL55MDM/

My review of the thrilling Warrior (Agricola #2) by Simon Turney set in a turbulent year in Roman history @sjaturney.bsky.social @headofzeus.bsky.social #books #historicalfiction #booksky

Do we want trump back across our borders at all, let alone on a state visit? Sign the petition. Tell the king to tell the president where he can go... you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/no...

Good idea, eh?

I can do no better commenting on the state of western politics now that leaving it to The Disturbed. cover versions, admittedly, but the video to Land of Confusion is particularly apt, and there is always a place for Sound of Silence. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV4o... www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg...

Out today - Agricola: Warrior, book 2 of the series, which finds the eponymous legend facing enemies domestic instead of foreign as the world slides towards civil war. Go get it now. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1035913410/

To help distract you from the political chaos of the world, today I give you two photos of Spring, showing just how different it can be, with the warmth of the Porphyrogenitus Palace in Istanbul, and the brooding storm over Porolissum in Romania. :-)

Out today - Agricola: Warrior, book 2 of the series, which finds the eponymous legend facing enemies domestic instead of foreign as the world slides towards civil war. Go get it now. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1035913410/

In a simpler time, in my youth, when we didn't have to worry about Orange nutcases, Russian warlords, South African Nazis and Rick Astley, there was M*A*S*H. 50 years since Hawkeye and BJ first starred together, and they still have that same mischievous look. Heck, BJ still has the same smile! :-)

The very idea of renaming Greenland Red-White-And-Blue-Land should be a warning of having a seriously unhinged governing body. Beware...

I propose that everyone in the world engages an American (preferably a Republican MAGA loon) once a day in a conversation in which they refer to the Gulf of Mexico. Who's with me?

Daily attempt to lighten the mood #2 Probably my favourite card I've ever received, this one from Callie when she was about 6...

Come on, you Eagles...