The above cartoon was floating around the internet during the California wildfires of early 2025. Those fires are a tragedy, as is any loss of human life and natural disasters. Having gone through Australia’s “Black Summer” in early 2020, I feel for all my friends in California and hope they are OK. That said, the […]
Ancient Rome
Announcing In Victrix!
Publication day is finally here! In Victrix, the third novel in the Togas, Daggers, and Magic series is finally available! 🎉🥂🎇🙌🎉🎆 It’s been a very long journey, but the novel has already received some AMAZING endorsements! Want to know more? Keep reading! Can’t wait? Then: Grab your copy here on Amazon, or treat yourself to […]
Laughing at Ancient People
No, I don’t mean making fun of the elderly (get off my lawn!). I mean that, since the divine social media algorithms have finally figured I respond best to memes about antiquity, here are some of the funniest I’ve seen recently 😁 Quick aside: did you know that In Victrix, the third full-length Felix Mystery […]
Book Review: Ancient Magic: A Practical Guide to Spells, Potions, and Power, by Philip Matyszak
I love Matyszak’s way of non-fiction story-telling, making antiquity highly accessible. The subject of this particular work is also very dear to me, and I can’t believe I missed it. Come to think about it, looking at the publication date, I can’t help but wonder if he wrote it specifically for me after an online […]
Mountain View (a short story from It Takes A Village)
Readers of this blog (and stories and novels) know that I’m fascinated by Roman culture and mythology, and antiquity in general. So naturally, when my publisher put out the call for short stories on the theme of the Merit of Care, I came up with a story that revolved around those themes. This one does […]
Fun with Latin
You might have noticed there’s a certain Latin flavour around here that has nothing to do with salsa. As Roman life makes one of the “Three-R” pillars of this blog (Reading, Writing, and Romans), this also seeps in to the language. Now, I’m the first to admit my Latin is atrocious, but that doesn’t mean […]
History and Use of Roman Numerals
While digging around my hard-drive, I found this old meme someone sent me ages ago. Naturally, I wanted to share the chuckles with you, my loyal Felix fans! But with my son learning about Roman numerals and me editing In Victrix (and making sure chapter numbers are correct), I thought it a great opportunity to […]
Life and Sudden Death
There’s a meme that’s been going around for a few years, about the cast of a man who died in Pompeii at the 79CE eruption of Mt Vesuvius. Pundits are quick to point at the posture, with a “haha, he died with a bang!” and other jokes about his own eruption. The reality is that […]
Book Review: An Evil Planned, by Theo Faurez
A murder mystery in Roman times but outside of the usual backdrop got me intrigued. What to Expect The story takes place outside Antioch, the capital of the Roman province of Syria. Early in Trajan’s reign, a girl is murdered on the road outside the town and the vigiles are called to investigate. Asking the […]
Roman Bones and Boners
Welcome to this month’s Ancient Rome News column, where we survey the latest unearthing of Roman bones — and boners — that get armchair archaeologists inappropriately excited 😜 Prepare yourself for a collection of old bones (sadly inanimate), large boners (hilariously decorated), and double entendres from this Roman enthusiast, who’s been known to weave all […]
FELIX THE FOX MYSTERIES 