Carol Maginn has a thrilling time in Rome
[image error]Having lived in Rome Carol Maginn knows the city like the back of her hand. No wonder she chose to set her thriller Daniel Taylor there. She’s here to tell us about it. Over to you Carol!
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Daniel Taylor:
The ring of the emperor Diocletian was lost long ago. However, a modern-day Russian Oligarch is willing to pay whatever it takes to find and own it.
He has hired an expert, Daniel Taylor, to track it down. Meanwhile another Englishman, tired out and in search of a holiday, has also arrived in the Eternal City. The only thing he has in common with Daniel Taylor is his name….but as their identities are mistaken, their fates become increasingly entangled.
This is fast-paced thriller which has garnered some excellent reviews.
And as for me…..I’m a slightly restless writer, lawyer and teacher. I’m currently back in my watery home city of Liverpool, where my third novel is set, and preparing to see my first play on stage, which is both exciting and terrifying.
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But back to Rome. I spent two very happy years there teaching English, exploring, eating wonderful food and developing a taste for Cinzano bitters. However, for some reason, amid the splendours of the city, the fact that there were no barriers between the carriages on the Metro lodged in my consciousness. It occurred to me that it would be quite tricky to hide from someone who was following you….This thought continued as I navigated the world-famous, and very crowded Via del Corso….and so Daniel Taylor began. I wanted to write a story set in Rome while I was living there, and its sights, sounds and smells were fresh in my mind.
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And as for Rome itself, well, it’s wonderful. Go there at once if you haven’t already. Only don’t go in summer. It is simply too hot, and everyone in Rome who can escapes to cool places like Germany and the UK. But do, of course, eat ice cream there. Do potter.
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It’s a stunning but compact city, designed for walking, and you’ll find pizza there which (in my humble opinion) is better than that of Naples, all the bridges your romantic heart could desire, churches and fountains on every corner, and fabulous markets.
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And that’s without mentioning the stunning buildings. The Spanish steps, wreathed in flowers in May, the Pantheon, the grim old Colosseum, the extraordinary Roman remains, are all there, while a lively modern city buzzes alongside and around them.
And meanwhile, if you can’t get there just yet, Daniel Taylor is there on your behalf!
