A natter with Dan Scott

Everybody’s talking about Gladiator School, but just who is behind it all? Who’s the mysterious man lurking behind all that blood, sweat and sand? How does he know so much? And what’s all the fuss about Ancient Rome? theSalariya decided to find out….

Your fabulous Gladiator School series is set in Ancient Rome. Why did you choose to write about this time in history?

I’ve been fascinated by the Romans ever since I was Lucius’s age and I visited Fishbourne Roman Palace in Sussex. I was amazed by their engineering, their art, their gods and their military power, not to mention their endless appetite for the blood and gore of the gladiatorial games! After that, I read every book about the Romans I could find. I became obsessed! So, when I decided to become an author, there was only ever going to be one subject that I could write about… the Romans!

Blood and Fire, the sequel to your first book Blood Oath has just come out. Will this be the last we hear of Lucius and Quintus, or is there more in store?

There certainly will be more! I’ve written a third book, called Blood and Sand, due to publish next year. It’s set during the opening games of the amphitheatre we know today as the Colosseum, and it focuses on the animals that fought and died there. Lucius, Quintus and all the other major characters from the first two books will play their part in this story.

I’ve also just been commissioned to write three more books in the Gladiator School series, which I’m very excited about. I plan to write them over the next few months. So the adventures of Lucius et al look set to continue for a little while yet!

How do you think you’d get on if you were at Gladiator School?

Good question! I think I’d be okay, because I’m quite fit from all the rock climbing I do. I’m not that brave, but they train with wooden swords, so you’re not too much danger, at least while you’re in the school — the arena is a different matter! If I was a gladiator, I’d definitely want to be a retiarius (net-fighter) like Quintus. I’m quite slim and quick, so I think I’ve got the right build for it.

Hmm, it’s still probably a good job you’re a writer! Less perilous. If you weren’t an author, what would you be doing?

I’d be a rock climber, a geologist, or possibly a guitarist — something rock-related anyway.

What do you do when you are stuck for inspiration?

I go for a swim. My best ideas usually come when I’m doing something else.

Do you have a motto? If so, what is it?

Dum spiro, spero — While I breathe, I hope.

Nice motto! What is the biggest obstacle you face when writing?

How to start, and then, once I’ve got started, how to stop.

Got any advice for budding authors?

Decide what interests you, then read as much as you can about that subject, both fiction and non-fiction. Immerse yourself in that world so much that you start to bore people because you can’t talk about anything else. You may not win many friends, but you might just become a decent and respected writer.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

Sneaking off to the hills near where I live for a spot of rock climbing when I should be working.

And finally…What’s the one thing you would take to a desert island? Just one thing? You’re so cruel! It would have to be the complete works of Publius Cornelius Tacitus — the greatest of all Roman historians.