The Centurion's Musings

2011 – A Year of Triumph and Tragedy

Administrator — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:41:15 +0000

As I look back on 2011, I cannot help but call it a year of both triumph and tragedy. Epic trips and some awesome times were tempered by the loss of friends. It was also a year of transition, as one chapter in life closed and another began.

Two friends left us this year. The first was Robert Cutler, who was the serving pastor at the church I still belong to. As many know, I have my belief in God, but I have long since lost any use for organized religion. Robert Cutler was my last link to the church. He was also someone I greatly admired, having served his country as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force during the First Gulf War. He also served as a forward air controller, attached to the U.S. Army’s 75^th Ranger Regiment. It was because of his similar experiences that I felt I could talk to him about anything. He was also very nonjudgmental, respecting the rights and beliefs of others even if they differed from his own, as a true Christian should. He passed away from a heart attack in February. By a last-minute twist of fate, I ended up presenting the flag to Robert’s wife, Judith. It was an honor for me to be able to pay tribute to one who had been both a friend as well as one of my heroes.

By far the most difficult time for me this year was when I lost one of my closest friends, James Martin Shepard, to cancer. He had been diagnosed the previous October and it was already stage IV. Martin was more a brother than a friend. He and I had first met back in 1997 when we were tank crewmen with the Army Guard. We later ended up on the same crew and even went to Tank Commander School together. I find it difficult to put into words just how much Martin meant to me. We were a constant presence in each other’s lives for over fourteen years and went through so much together. He started a small publishing company in Boise called ‘Borderline Publishing’ and it was because of advice I got from him that I was able to establish my books on Amazon Kindle, which led to my greatest success of this year. A large reason for where I am today is because of him. It was the hardest thing watching the cancer slowly destroy him; for it is merciless and does not let one go with dignity. I hate what it did to him, especially at the end. Martin left us in August, just a few weeks shy of his thirty-ninth birthday. All of us who were his friends still struggle with comprehending that he is gone. I am forever thankful to Captain Jim Philpott and Staff Sergeant Keith Maxwell, who with me presented the flags to Martin’s family; and to the members of the U.S. Army’s Honor Guard, whose precision and professionalism helped us properly send our brother on his way.

Those were the tragedies that came into my life in 2011, yet there were many triumphs as well. My fourth book, Soldier of Rome: The Centurion, was published in January. Reviews have been almost universally positive, with readers constantly asking about when the next book will be out. I also published my first short novella this year. It is a side story about one of the secondary characters in the series and is a semi-erotic thriller called Centurion Valens and the Empress of Death. It’s a pretty raunchy story, filled with lots of sex, with a few murders thrown in for good measure. Go figure then that it is my best-seller in the U.K. I also had the good fortune of becoming very good friends with a well-respected Shakespearean actor, David Anthony Smith, who asked me to co-write a screenplay with him. After months of tireless effort we published the critically acclaimed screenplay, The Evil That Men Do. It is a thriller / cop drama set in Venice, California, and has been very well received by critics, audience at a reading, as well as those in law enforcement who reviewed it for authenticity. Our challenge now is getting it into the right hands to see if we can get it made into a movie.

My greatest triumph this year has been finding financial freedom and breaking forever the shackles of the dreaded Rat Race. Thanks to the eBook explosion, particularly Amazon Kindle, I now live very comfortably; making substantially more than I was working full-time for the Army Guard. Therefore, in what was quite possibly the biggest life altering decision I have made to date, I elected to resign from my federal job in order to be a full-time author. Though I’ve been on leave since the first part of December, my last actual day will be the 31^st. So 2012 will be my first complete year as a full-time author.

2011 was also a year I got to see a bit more of the country, as well as another part of the world I had never been. In August I attended Lollapalooza for the first time with one of my closest friends, Jim Philpott, and his wife, Erin. Chicago was actually a fun city and Lolla an experience to remember…in fact, I think it is becoming a yearly tradition now, as I hope to make it back again in 2012. I also made my first trip to England and Wales in September. Officially I was there to conduct research for an upcoming project; however, I spent a lot of time traveling around from London, to Cardiff, up to Brecon, and down into Bath. It was a wonderful trip and I look forward to returning this summer! New York was my final trip of the year, as I was there for a book-to-screen pitchfest, where numerous authors pitch their works directly to Hollywood execs. Though two studios have expressed interest in my books and have asked to review them, I have serious doubts about the whole thing. In fact, I’ll believe it when I have a contract signed and a fat deposit in my bank account. But hey, at least I got to spend an extended weekend at the Marriot in Times Square!

So those are a few events that made up my 2011. The loss of my friends helped emphasize the triumphs and how we should make the most of every day and especially the people in our lives. Even as he was dying, I remember Martin telling me that he wanted to see my books succeed and that I should live a long and very prosperous life. I now look towards 2012 with excitement and anticipation. Fans of my books can expect to
see Soldier of Rome: Judea out sometime in the spring. I will also be testing the waters with a novella about the Napoleonic Wars entitled, Forlorn Hope: The Storming of Badajoz.

Here’s wishing everyone an epic and prosperous 2012!

James

Presenting the flags in honor of our fallen brother, SGT James Martin Shepard

My fourth book, “Soldier of Rome: The Centurion”

My first novella, “Centurion Valens and the Empress of Death”

One Chapter Ends, Another Begins

Administrator — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:14:44 +0000

My full-time career comes to an end on Thursday, 8 December 2011, when I finish the proverbial ‘Rat Race’ (which I tell everyone I cheated in order to win! lol). I look ahead to what the next chapter in my life will bring and am filled with feelings of both elation and fear.

The fear comes from the fact that in a horrid economy I am willingly leaving a very secure federal job that I have been in for almost fifteen years. The elation comes from the sense of freedom that one gets when they are financially able to do what they want with their lives, rather than what they have to. I have been very fortunate that within the last year my book sales have far surpassed anything I had envisioned when I first started writing back in 2005. As things stand right now, I could honestly never work or do another book and still live very comfortably for the rest of my life.

People ask me about retirement from the military, and the answer is that I will still finish out my time as a traditional Army Guardsman, except I will only be wearing the uniform one weekend a month as opposed to every day. I plan on being completely retired in spring of 2013, just shy of my thirty-eighth birthday. I also get asked, “What will you do with all the free time?” Well the immediate response to that is, “Um, have a life!” (lol) That being said, I will not be sitting idle either.

I had said from the get go that my intent was to live semi-retired and write books. Stories keep flooding my brain and I find I cannot write them down fast enough. So what can everyone expect from me over the next few years? The following are projects I am either currently working on or have in the cue (so to speak):

SOLDIER OF ROME: JUDEA I am currently working on this and am about a third of the way complete with the initial draft. It is the fifth book of the series, ‘The Artorian Chronicles’ and follows Artorius and his legionaries in Judea during the Procuratorship of Pontius Pilate.

SOLDIER OF ROME: THE LAST CAMPAIGN This will be the sixth and final book of ‘The Artorian Chronicles’ and follows Artorius during the Invasion of Britannia in 43 A.D.

OTHER PROJECTS

BRUTAL VALOUR: THE TRAGEDY OF ISANDLWANA I am moving on to new horizons as I branch out from Rome to the British Empire. This book will take place in 1878-1879 during the buildup to the Anglo-Zulu War and culminates at the Battle of Isandlwana; a terrible struggle that would prove tragic to both British and Zulu. This book will also serve as the first of a series and I have plans for two sequels: CRUCIBLE OF HONOUR, about the Battle of Rorke’s Drift, and THE ROAD TO ULUNDI which chronicles the end of the war and the fall of the Zulu Empire.

I STOOD WITH WELLINGTON Another way I am branching out is that this will be the first time I will have written a book in the first person. This book tells the story of the Waterloo Campaign from the perspective of a British Army Officer, Captain James Webster.

CITY OF THE DAMNED I plan on eventually returning to my Roman roots with a story about the Judeo-Roman War and the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

FUTURE NOVELLAS? The concept of doing a short novella was something new for me, and given the immediate success that CENTURION VALENS AND THE EMPRESS OF DEATH has enjoyed, it is certainly something worth looking into again. I’ve been approached with a story idea that I’ve been asked to write, and if I decide to take it up it will most likely be as a novella. Another short story I am looking at is giving the back history of Marcus Vitruvius, who has been one of the most popular characters within ‘The Artorian Chronicles’. This story would be called VITRUVIUS IMMORTALIS (i.e. ‘Vitruvius the Immortal’).

These are just some random thoughts about what is next for me. I feel I must thank all those who have inspired and influenced me over the years. There are too many to list right now, so maybe I will do a blogging about that and perhaps tell who influenced me and how, because I think many of you who have had a profound impact on me may not even be aware of it. Just know I love you all and it is because of you that I look forward to this next chapter in my life.

SAEVUS VIRTIS! AVE IMMORTALIS!

Latest Interview from My Publicity Tour

Administrator — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:23:12 +0000

Here is the latest interview from my publicity tour, where I talk with William Bentrim from ‘Pick of the Literate’.

Thank you, James Mace, for your response to these questions. I have to say that your answers were among the more interesting and thought provoking I have received. Oddly enough, the only thing that got me through my second year of Latin was Caesar’s Gallic Wars so I have a smidgen of understanding of your motiviation. I also liked the advice for those of us who want to write, perseverance is sadly underrated, Mr. Mace makes it clear that perseverance is crucial in writing. Thank you for your time and your insights.

1.) What motivated you to write this book?

I chose the campaigns of Germanicus Caesar because they had always fascinated me, yet were scarcely talked about. Most ancient historians know about the disaster in Teutoburger Wald, where three Roman legions were betrayed by the Germanic war chief, Arminius, ambushed and destroyed. What is not covered in detail are the campaigns of retribution that took place six years later, when the Emperor Tiberius sent his adopted son, Germanicus Caesar, with a huge army to destroy Arminius and the Germanic Alliance.

I made the protagonist, Artorius, very young because from the beginning I contemplated turning this into a series. I got the idea from the C.S. Forrester series, ‘Horatio Hornblower’, which follows a British Naval officer throughout his entire career. I wanted to do the same with a Roman legionary, since it had never been done before.

2.) How has your personal military experience impacted your writing?

I believe my experiences allow me to help the reader reach a mental and emotional bond with the characters and their experiences. One thing I have found is that throughout history soldiers are soldiers. Whether it’s the Greek hoplites, Roman legionaries, Japanese samurai, British Empire soldiers in South Africa or modern American GI’s in Afghanistan, there are certain similarities that can be found amongst all of them. My own experiences allow me to convey the grind of everyday life, as well as the abject moments of terror in battle. It also allows me to share more readily the bond that exists between soldiers who are willing to fight and die for each other.

3.) Is your process to outline and then fill in the blanks or just sit down and start to tell a story or ?

Since I am writing about historical events, the basic outline of significant events is already done for me. I can’t say that I sit down and write out an actual outline, although I will look at how long of a time period I want to cover in each book and what historical events took place. I am more inclined, though, to let the story take itself where it wants to go, regarding the main characters. I believe it was Stephen King who said that books take on a life of their own. I first realized this when writing the second book of the series, The Sacrovir Revolt. Events started happening that I never planned on, and certain characters who had once been bit players or one-off jokes all the sudden became an important part of the story.

4.) Do you have a favorite character in the book and if so why?

Well since Artorius as an idealized version of my alter ego, I confess that I’m a little biased. Vitruvius was an early favorite, because he was the invincible killing machine who all the legionaries looked up to and wanted to emulate. An unexpected favorite that occurred later in the series is the perpetual letch, Valens. He was meant to be little more than comic relief in The Legionary; that soldier who every veteran knows that has no sense of shame whatsoever. In the third book, Heir to Rebellion, events happen that suddenly give Valens a lot more depth as he suddenly becomes a significant player in the overall story arc. He became such a favorite that I’ve written a short story about him called Centurion Valens and the Empress of Death; which will be available soon on Amazon Kindle.

5.) What do you like the most about writing?

I like the idea of telling stories to a large audience and perhaps getting them interested in the historical eras that I cover. I hope that when someone reads The Artorian Chronicles it will inspire them to pick up Tacitus or Cassius Dio; or perhaps some of the phenomenal works by Dr. Adrian Goldsworthy, who is probably the most respected ancient historian of our time.

6.) Where do your new story ideas come from?

I sometimes wonder if I will always write military historical fiction or if I will come out of my comfort zone and cover other topics. Until I find something that overwhelmingly inspires me, I will probably stick with what I’m good at. The story ideas for The Artorian Chronicles came simply from the desire to cover the life and career of a Roman soldier. Once I decided what time period to cover, I looked at historical events that occurred over a span of twenty-five to thirty years that I could insert Artorius into.

The major events in every book are based on actual events, and I like that I’m covering events that are largely unknown, even to those with an interest in Roman history. For example, I have yet to meet one person who knew about the rebellion in Gaul under Julius Sacrovir before they read my second book. The Battle of Braduhenna, which serves as the climax for Book Four, The Centurion, is one of the most tragic and heroic stories of ancient battles that I have ever read, yet sadly most have never heard about it.

The stories for my non-Roman books come from a variety of sources. Brutal Valour came from my love of the Michael Caine movie, Zulu. I then read numerous books on the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and am traveling to Brecon in Wales to conduct research for this project. I want to reintroduce this generation to the valiant stories of the British and Zulu.

The inspiration for another project I have been doing on the side came from an unusual source. I love Heavy Metal music, especially bands from Europe. I was listening to a song called 40 to 1 by the Swedish band, Sabaton. The lyrics caught my attention, especially the end of the chorus where the singer shouts, “Soldiers of Poland, second to none! Wrath of the Wehrmacht brought to a halt!” I did some research into the song, and discovered they were singing about the Battle of Wizna (pronounced ‘Vyzna’) in September 1939. It is a heroic story about seven hundred Polish riflemen under Captain Władysław Raginis, who held for four days against the entire XIX Panzer Corps of over forty-thousand men under Heinz Guderian. Research has proven to be a nightmare, since so many records about the actual defenders were lost during the war. Despite this, I am determined to tell the story of Captain Raginis and his men. It is a long term work in progress under the working title, Wizna Kampf: Wrath of the Wehrmacht.

7.) What advice has helped the most in your writing?

The idea of story arc has been invaluable to me. A good friend introduced me to the series, Babylon 5; though it is science fiction, it is a great model of how to build an overall story arc when writing a series. Having numerous people proof read my work has also helped, not just to correct spelling and grammar, but also to make sure I don’t use the same descriptive words over and over.

8.) Your Artorian Chronicles seem very successful, has that success impacted your work on “Brutal Valour”?

The success of The Artorian Chronicles has given me the confidence to branch out into another era in history. I wrote a couple of sample chapters to see if I can write battle scenes involving firearms as effectively as I can those with swords. I have not yet decided if Brutal Valour will be the name for the entire series, or just the name of the first book. I’m leaning towards using that name for the series, which will be broken into three parts.

I am trying to strike a balance and tell the story from both the British and Zulu perspectives. In order to do this, I am reading books about the infrastructure of the Zulu Empire, along with its culture and political makeup. The Zulu government was extremely complicated and rife with political rivalry and intrigue; a far cry from the depictions of mindless barbarians in loincloths wielding spears. Intertribal politics severely complicated matters for the Zulu king, Cetshwayo.

I think that readers who are fans of The Artorian Chronicles will be willing to give Brutal Valour a chance. One thing that I am conscious of is that I don’t end up recycling characters from one series into the other. In other words, I don’t want to give Private Arthur Wilkinson the exact same personality as Legionary Tiberius Valens.

9.) Who is your favorite author and why?

I have a number of favorites, though Tolkien will always be at the top for me. His works are timeless and still as relevant today as they were sixty years ago. This is evidenced by the huge success of the Lord of the Rings movies as well as the upcoming Hobbit prequels. Another current favorite is J.K. Rowling. The Harry Potter books are the only ones I have ever seen that truly transcend generations. I don’t know of any other series that an eight-year old and fifty-year old can both get the same joy from reading.

10.) What advice would you give for the want to be writer?
The sad truth is most people who set out to write a book never even come close to finishing what they started. I constantly have aspiring writers asking me for advice regarding publication before they have even finished their first book. Knowing that most of these will quit before their work is done, to even talk about publishing is a waste of time. So my most blunt advice for the want to be writer is, finish what you start! In order to do this, you must have belief in both yourself and the story you are writing. Yes, we all get assailed with self-doubt about what we are writing; however, if you let this become your focus, then you will quit and all your previous work will have been for nothing.

While one needs to have a clean and edited product when finished, don’t get too wrapped up in that when writing a first draft. Even if it is a grammatical mess, one can easily tell if there is a viable story within. If there is, then spend the money to have a professional copyeditor proof read it. Also, don’t take constructive criticism as a personal attack. You want proof readers to be critical, because it will only improve the end result of the story. Once it is finished and proofread, then you can look into publication and sending your story out to the world.

View this interview on http://bookrevues.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-james-mace-author-of.html

The Legionary on Tour 5 July 2011!

Administrator — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:14:28 +0000

The countdown has begun for The Legionary’s publicity tour:

http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2011/06/09/soldier-of-rome-the-legionary-virtual-book-tour-july-and-august-2011/

New Promotional Video, “Soldier of Rome: The Legionary”

Administrator — Sat, 28 May 2011 23:51:19 +0000

Soldier of Rome: The Legionary (Promotional Video)

Soldier of Rome: The Legionary – On Tour, Starting in July!

Administrator — Sat, 28 May 2011 14:42:45 +0000

The Artorian Chronicles are getting ready to go into advertising mass-syndicate overdrive, starting with the “Pump Up Your Book!” online book publicity tour for “Soldier of Rome: The Legionary”. This will consist of at a minimum thirty “stops” that will include blogging sites conducting in depth reviews, with book overview, sample chapters, and possible podcasts to follow. Some of these blogs are syndicated into USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Times, and other high-traffic publications.

What this means is that The Artorian Chronicles will for the first time be reviewed and advertised on a massive scale, with exposure to hundreds-of-thousands of potential readers. The tour for “The Legionary” will last through July and August, with subsequent ones to follow for the other books of the series. I will be posting additional details periodically as we get closer to going on tour. For now, here is a list of some of the reviewers, as well as their sites (with more to come):

Freda Mans
Hamilton, ON
Canada
http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/

Valorie Tucker
Chesapeake, VA
http://morbid-romantic.net/

Tiger Holland
Moulton, AL
http://tigersallconsumingbooks.blogspot.com/

Michelle Vasquez
Hewitt, TX
http://lifeinreviewblog.wordpress.com/

Jennifer Chatham
Brockville, ON
Canada
http://bookreviewsandotherstuff.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth Petrovich
Lower Burrell, PA
http://silversolara.blogspot.com/

Britt Chapman
Magna, UT
http://bookhabitue.blogspot.com/

Karoline Chue
Richmond, BC
Canada
http://fashion_piranha.livejournal.com/

Laura Ashlee Graves
Locust Fork, AL
http://lagbookreviews.blogspot.com/

William Bentrim
Doylestown, PA
http://bookreviews.blogspot.com/

Tracee Gleichner
Appleton, WI
http://reviewfromhere.com/

Patty Woodland
Superior, MT
http://brokenteepee.blogspot.com/

Jozica Krevs
Slovenia (SI)
http://beyondstrangenewwords.blogspot.com/

Vera Omidpanah
South Euclid, OH
http://luxuryreading.com/

Special thanks to Dorothy Thompson and Tracee Gleichner for giving me the
opportunity to take part in the “Pump Up Your Book!” publicity tours! www.pumpupyourbook.com/book-your-tour/

Valens and the Empress – An Artorian Short Story

Administrator — Tue, 10 May 2011 17:36:56 +0000

I’ve started to work on my first short story, based on characters from The Artorian Chronicles. It will be available through Amazon Kindle this summer.

This particular work is a semi-erotic thriller called Valens and the Empress.

Summary:
In 44 A.D., following the Conquest of Britain, Centurion Valens returns to Rome to take part in the Triumphal celebrations. It will be his last official act as a soldier of Rome, as he looks forward to retirement. Instead, a night of drunken debauchery leads him into a web of deceit, betrayal, and unholy lust. Valens tries to salvage his sanity and his life, as he plunges further down a harrowing decent into madness, wrought by the hands of the Empress Messalina herself.

Help Spread the Word!

Administrator — Thu, 05 May 2011 01:29:59 +0000

To all faithful fans and readers, there is something you can do directly to help me get the story of Artorius and his legionaries to a broader audience. For those who have read and enjoyed the series, I ask that you write up a review for each book you’ve read onto Amazon.com. Please do not write a review unless you’ve read the book, and make certain that your review is substantive, with specific details as to what you did or did not like about each book. Just saying, “It was awesome!” will not generate interest of new
readers. Please let people know why you think it is awesome.

The other thing I ask that you can do is to go through all the reviews of each book and click “Yes” or “No” where it asks if a review was helpful to you. It is expected that books will get the occasional bad review, but those who have read the books can help readers decide whether or not a review is actually helpful in depicting the series.

One last thing you can do is tag each book. Towards the bottom of each book’s Amazon page are a series of tags. Please feel free to click on whichever ones you think are relevant, and also add your own if you wish. Something else in addition to this is you can go to other similar books and add my name as a tag. I’ve noticed that this has been done with some of
Simon Scarrow’s books; which makes sense since he is often regarded as my closest contemporary.

These may seem like little things, but it is through small actions like this that great things come from. Thank you for your assistance!

Valeo Decus!

James

Amazon Kindle Sale!

Administrator — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:09:59 +0000

In an effort to reach a much larger audience, I have decided to run a sale of The Artorian Chronicles on Amazon Kindle from 29 April to 30 May. Prices have been cut from $6.00 to $2.99. As an added incentive, I have dropped the price of The Legionary all the way down to $1.99.

I have entered the world of blogging

Administrator — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:51:22 +0000

Having fought against it for some time, I have finally relented and started a blog, which I’ve appended to my website, www.legionarybooks.net

My intent is to use this page to keep fans and readers updated on all my projects, as well as providing the occasional article of interest. I hope this finds everyone well, and please check back once I figure this page out and have items of interest to post.

Valeo Decus!

James