Empire - target release date April 2026
"Blurb"
Dying Theodora pens the story of her life for Justin, the husband she was always destined to meet.
As her life fades, Justin faces a conspiracy which could rob him of The Empire he had served for nearly fifty years.
The consequences of a historical betrayal, the threat from a secret vendetta, and the suborning of a one-time friend, shatter the comforting illusion that we can ever know the truth.
I conceived this novel while reading about the Middle Ages, where I discovered Emperor Justinian, founder of the Byzantine Roman Empire, an empire that outlasted the Western Roman Empire by nearly 1000 years.
My fascination with Justinian deepened when I learned he ruled alongside his wife, Theodora.
Theodora's rise from child prostitute and travelling courtesan to the most powerful woman of her time was astonishing.
But what truly captivated me was The Secret Histories by Procopius, a contemporary writer. This scandalous account, hidden for nearly a millennium and rediscovered in 1623, upends conventional history.
Procopius portrays Theodora not as a dynamic leader but in a far darker light, while Justinian’s legal and political achievements—many foundational to European law—become tainted with questions of morality and ambition.