Ready for time travel to Ancient Rome? This is an upcoming trilogy that Susan has been wanting to write for more than a decade, and she has finally taken the plunge. Prepare to be immersed in a time vastly different than our own, but in surprising ways, also similar. How? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Grace King, the main character, is twenty-eight and recently divorced when she decides to go on a vacation to Rome. While touring the city in the present day, she is magically transported to the first century. A chaotic series of events ends with her at the famous Ludus Magnus gladiator school, where she’ll have to learn to fight and survive if she wants to earn her freedom. As if that weren’t enough, adapting to life in this period isn’t easy either, but she has a mysterious sponsor who knows how she really came to this time and is willing to help her for a price. Whether that price will be worth it or not remains to be seen.

A TIME OF GLADIATORS AND FATE (BOOK 1)

*Cover reveal coming July 2026*

Be careful what you wish for, or you might end up in 97 CE.

I grew up on a farm in Kansas, so nothing could have prepared me for landing in the Roman Colosseum when it was still intact. I was surprised, the audience shocked, and my rental car unamused as we hit the sand. After a heart-pounding chase around the arena involving spear-throwing legionnaires, armed gladiators, and a couple of wild animals, they cornered me. I punched and kicked my way through as many of them as I could before being forced to surrender in my floral sundress meant for vacation, not blood sport. The emperor offered me two choices.

One: my immediate execution
Two: become a female gladiator.

I chose to live. While I’m not afraid of hard work, the ludus where I’ll train is brutal. It’s an environment most modern women would find unlivable, aside from all the bare-chested men, but that isn’t as spectacular as one might think in a place where violence is the goal. I’m about to discover all the unpleasantness of this period that most movies skim past. On top of that, an enigmatic man who knows I’m from the future has offered to sponsor me. What he wants in return could be dangerous. I’m in way over my head with no ruby slippers to send me home.

If you’ve ever wished for a story with Spartacus-meets-Outlander vibes, including the grit, this might be the book for you.

Book releases October 12th, 2026. Pre-order the ebook on Amazon HERE.