I have read a ton of historical accounts and also novels about the ancient Roman republic and also other books on ancient Greece, Crete, Parthia, etc. etc.

In most novels I've read, the characters are always two dimensional and many aspects of their lives which are essential to understanding their behavior and motivations are left out.

In my novel, I have attempted to bring realism to their lives, although the characters themselves are purely fictional and a product of my imagination.

I do not claim to have written the greatest Roman historical novel. However, I have tried to incorporate history into cinematic adventure and raw story telling to inject a healthy dose of realism into the fantasy I've spun in my first novel, now available as an ebook (download at www.lulu.com/skarr). The first novel will encourage you to read my second and third and if you read the first one, I know you will not be disappointed with my second, which has some of the most spectacular scenes of combat, love, romance, revenge and compassion.

Also, please post your comments on which novel set in ancient Roman times is the most spectacular.

My current vote goes to "The First Man in Rome" by Colleen McCullough, which rekindled my interest in Rome in the early 1990's.

For my current novel, I labored over it for several years and finally, after writing and editing more than a thousand pages, I have developed three novels to tell the story of a barbarian princess descended from an obscure line dating from the time of Alexander the Great.

The first Queen of that tribe is always Greek, per the family's tradition. The princess is therefore, half barbarian and half Greek and there is a considerable clash of three cultures - barbarian, Greek and the Republican Roman, which had its own unique flavors. A lot of the cultural shock in the novel and series comes from the open sexuality of the barbarians and even the Greek cultures, as opposed to the more conservative lifestyle adopted by the patricians and knights of the Republic.

The word 'barbarian' has acquired a different meaning and connotation today, primarily influenced by the plethora of video games and literature on the familiar medieval representation of barbarians. I use the word 'barbarian' in its proper context, meaning something outside of Rome's influence at the time. Many of the barbarian cultures were actually a mix of various migrants from different parts of the world, including Egyptian, Phoenician and even Hittite populations, including Persian and Greek influences.

The areas in Northern Gaul and Germania were always being resettled by various people, as many of them were nomadic and migrated from one region to another. Even for the Romans, it was difficult to keep track of the various tribes and the enormous number of chiefs and leaders, as some clans were really tiny and some were extremely large. The concepts of one government, one body of senators, and other Roman concepts and laws were difficult to accept as most of the tribes and clans in that region pursued their ancient family traditions and did not wish to Romanize their world. However, we also have smart, erudite barbarian chiefs emerging who see a need to ally with Rome and benefit from such an alliance by backing the right men in Rome. It is just amazing to them how they can influence Roman policy and get what they need by backing the right horse or right patrician in Rome. However, there are men who take money sent by the chiefs and still cannot be bought, as they always act in Rome's interests. One of them is Scaurus.

In my novel, I also try to establish relationships between the characters based on trust and feeling, as opposed to the pure sexuality that exists between a man and a woman, which is also expressed in different ways throughout the novel.

Some of the readers may find parts very graphic and maybe unnecessarily explicit, but I have decided to incorporate these to fully flesh out the characters and really show who and what they were.

In the ancient cultures, the concept of time as we know it did not exist, and neither did they have the luxury to examine their own thoughts, with introspection.

I think the closest equivalent we have to the modern mind in ancient times is the Roman mind and in the novel, three Roman characters, two knights - one an ambitious young man who could become a senator and the other, a rich merchant and one soldier, a grizzled veteran who's seen it all, come into contact with a barbarian princess, whom they seek to dominate in their typical Roman fashion.

However, the tables are turned on them by the behavior of the barbarian princess and her lover, who accompanies her to Rome, along with her newly married husband. The men are all overcome by the raw sexuality of the princess and her very presence poses a threat to the Roman knight, who realizes what he's done, only after the marriage. His dignitas, the most precious possession of any Roman, is under constant attack and he is a very confused man, a complex man who is caught between his greed and his common sense.

The very thought that he would have to present her in Roman society as his wife horrifies him and he can't wait to get away from Rome and bury himself in military affairs, by serving as a junior legate for one of the Caecilii in the East. In the meantime, there are other complications on the domestic front, as the knight's own family is not exactly the most virtuous either.

The first novel also introduces a host of other characters, including a mysterious character who will play an important role in the third novel.