Special Guest Interview with Melissa Addey, Author of The Flight of Birds (The Colosseum Book 4)

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

A dangerous emperor brings darkness close to home…  Rome, 83 AD. At last, Althea and Marcus are married, dreaming of a peaceful life in the country, far from the blood and chaos of the gladiatorial Games. But Emperor Domitian has other plans. His erratic demands grow darker with each passing day, and the couple – alongside their loyal backstage team – must navigate three final tasks that test 

courage, loyalty, and survival itself.

I'm pleased to welcome author Melissa Addey to The Writing Desk:

Tell us about your latest book

My latest historical fiction series is the Colosseum series, four books which follow the backstage team of the Colosseum as they first inaugurate it in 80AD and then have to keep up with the demands of the emperors they serve to put on ever more spectacular events, including flooding the amphitheatre for naval battles. Each book focuses on one element – fire, water, earth and air. 

The first book is From the Ashes, which got Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society. It starts with the destruction of Pompeii when Vesuvius erupts and includes a fire in Rome and an outbreak of fever which killed thousands. 

Lots of hot fiery events and amongst it all they have to inaugurate the Colosseum with 100 days of Games, a bit like staging the Olympics nowadays, a huge undertaking. It’s a lot about found family and plebian life – no fancy villas, rather a shabby apartment block in a rough part of Rome.  

What is your preferred writing routine?

My rule with research is – if I can write an ordinary average day in that era without looking at my notes, then I can start writing. Then I try to write 2,000 words a day over two one-hour stints, any more and my brain hurts. I use music relevant to that era to help me get in the mood. The rest of my day is marketing, research and endless life admin that seems to creep in there somehow despite my best efforts!

What advice do you have for new writers?

Read a lot in your genre – and in others. It’s enjoyable anyway, but it also constantly updates your brain with how other writers have tackled writing about certain subjects, emotions, how they have used structure and words, etc. It’ll make you a better writer – and it also makes you aware of what readers in that area enjoy, which is very important if you start writing in a new genre – you can subvert their expectations as well of course, but knowing what they are in the first place will make you better at that genre. 

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

A good website is a fundamental aspect. I also love making book trailers, which my readers seem to enjoy, it helps them visualise places and clothing if they are unfamiliar with a particular era, since I tend to era-hop. 

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

Gladiators were more like prize boxers: a lot of time and money went into training them up, so they weren’t all ‘to the death’ fights, most of them had referees involved. I spent time with a professional boxing promoter as part of my research, and his stories helped me develop two gladiator trainers – one upright and ethical, the other a real showman with very little in the way of ethical concerns! We like to think the Romans were brutal for watching gladiatorial games – but we still watch boxing, knowing full well that it can cause brain damage so…

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

For From the Ashes, a scene where two characters return to Pompeii after the eruption of Vesuvius – this hardly ever appears in fiction, it’s always the buildup and never the aftermath. I had to get myself ready emotionally, so I wrote quite a lot of the book so that I really knew and cared about the characters before returning to that point and looking at a lot of upsetting images from nuclear bombings, volcanic eruptions and other devastations. I think I wrote the whole scene in one sitting, which I rarely do for quite a long section. But I’m proud of it, I think it’s an important scene and readers have told me it made them emotional.

What are you planning to write next?

I’m working on a book set in Regency England where a young Indian ayah (nanny) is abandoned by her British family with no money to get home. This really occurred so often that eventually there was a Home for Ayahs set up in Victorian times. I was very shocked you could do that to anyone but especially someone who raised your children. I’m currently researching and having to read a lot of unpleasantly racist material, which can be a bit depressing, 

I find it’s going a lot slower than usual because I feel sad or angry after reading, rather than curious and interested which I usually do when researching. I’m about to go to Amsterdam to see one of the only ships left where you can still get on board that is close to the one my characters would have used to travel from India to England (about six months on board!), so I’m looking forward to that, I’m very fond of immersive research – eating the food, wearing the clothes, being in locations. It makes history come alive for me and I hope I then transmit that to my readers.

Melissa Addey

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About the Author

Melissa Addey writes richly researched historical fiction inspired by what she calls “the footnotes of history” – forgotten stories and intriguing lives from the past. Her 15 novels span Ancient Rome, medieval Morocco, 18th-century China, and Regency England. She has a PhD in Creative Writing, was Writer in Residence at the British Library, and lives in London with her family. Discover her books (and get a free novella) at www.melissaaddey.com and follow Melissa on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky @melissaaddey.bsky.social