So, we are back in Tomis – will there be another murder to be solved by the Roman love poet Ovid?

Oh yes! I was chatting about this the other day with some fellow crime writers, and we decided that the ideal detective and hero for a mystery series is – a writer. There are some very interesting real-life writers starring in historical mystery fiction at the moment, such as the scientist Copernicus in Anna Legat’s new series, or the playwright Sheridan in the upcoming series from R.M. Cullen. I have a theory that writers like people-watching so they make great detectives!

As for Tomis on the shore of the Black Sea, we shall be there for some time. Ovid was exiled there by the Emperor Augustus, and history tells us that he was never recalled, not even after Augustus’ death. If only he could escape without anyone noticing…

 In your last book Ovid was deeply unhappy. Has he managed to move on at all?

 It is now five years on from the events of “Poetic Justice” and Ovid has made progress. For one thing he has acquired a good housekeeper, Bella, who organises him, and his friends keep him going. Avitius the ex-centurion runs a bar with his sister and brother-in-law, and that is Ovid’s happy place. Unfortunately the sympathetic governor of Moesia from “Poetic Justice” has also been moved and the new governor is useless. I must apologise to the real Poppaeus Sabinus who shows every sign of having been an efficient governor in real life. The Emperor Tiberius did not move him from Moesia until 35 CE so he must have been satisfactory at the least.

 You’ve always said that the mystery behind Ovid’s exile will be answered in your books about him – is this the book where that happens?

 Not quite, though there are hints! I realised that when you write a trilogy, you don’t give away the big secret until the last book. Besides, the Emperor Augustus is dying so this book has quite enough to deal with. I did toy with the idea of getting the wonderful Livia, wife of the Emperor, into the book, but there was no way I could realistically get her to Tomis so she makes a cameo only.

I should emphasise that my great revelation as to the reason Augustus exiled Ovid is just one of many theories put forward by scholars and authors over the years. And it is probably the one that will make the scholars groan.

 Is Ovid writing poetry while in exile? In the last book, his poem about the seasons and religious festivals was important.

 Ovid is always writing poetry, he can’t not write, I feel. In exile, we know he wrote poetry that expressed his unhappiness; in this book he is in the middle of his last great work, the Letters from the Black Sea, in which friends are lobbied to plead for his release. Interestingly, the poems addressed to his wife stopped round about this time – which gave me the idea for an unexpected visitor to Tomis, someone who makes a huge impact on Ovid.

 Without giving the plot away of course, what will Ovid be up to in this book?

 He starts off investigating the murder of a vegetable seller, helping out his friend Avitius. It moves on to discovering local corruption, but always looming in the background is what is happening to the wider Roman world, as the Emperor Augustus falls ill and dies. I enjoyed this contrast between the mighty Roman Empire of our text-books and the small-town world of Tomis, where the people are concerned with getting hold of fresh vegetables!

 Do you ever find yourself confusing your version of Ovid and the real poet from two thousand years ago?

 All the time. My Ovid will do something and then I realise that it isn’t compatible with what we know of the real Ovid and I have a dilemma. I know that I have some leeway as a fiction writer, but I do like to stick to what we know of life then. I do hope the real Ovid was less self-centred than my Ovid – he can be quite annoying and I sometimes feel that I’m letting a charming but wilful child live in my head.

Fiona Forsyth is the author of Death and the Poet, published by Sharpe Books.