Amazon 2011 Breakthrough Novel semi-finalist It's AD 123. On the edge of the Roman Empire, a dead governor leaves behind the opportunity of a lifetime. Mysteriously promoted, a senator s son finds himself in an ancient world of trouble. Within days of taking office, Hispania s taxpayers are in open revolt, all legionaries depart to build Hadrian's Wall, and the once-sleepy province is rocked by slave revolts, bread riots, and fad religions. A quixotic saga steeped in humor and history, "No Roads Lead to Rome" chronicles the clumsy schemes of the new governor and his shadowy adviser, a...

More humor and historical friction from the author of "No Roads Lead to Rome " 123 A.D. Saturnalia-the winter festival where slaves become masters and masters, slaves - is in full, raucous swing. Gaius Severus, a young misfit searching for love, identity and breakfast is working a dull job as a security guard when the worst governor in the Roman Empire is accidentally overthrown and a band of female pirates takes over the town. While Severus stumbles through dark rites of passage and near-fatal coming of age adventures, his feisty girlfriend finds her true calling as a seer and his dissident...