Historical Fiction
Books
EMPIRE in APOCALYPSE
It’s 535 A.D., and the Eastern Roman Empire is thriving under Emperor Justinian. The Romans have thwarted the Persians in the East, and Africa is once again among the Roman provinces. Justinian sends his greatest general, Flavius Belisarius, to Italy to reconquer the Western Empire from the Goths.
An epic historical fiction novel set in the turbulent times of Emperor Justinian, the strong and much loved Roman General Flavius Belisarius is waging war on the Emperor's behalf, desperately attempting to reconquer lands lost in Italy while keeping the eastern frontier safe for posterity. As Despite his many successes on the battlefield, Belisarius is a wounded man, traumatized by the sensual scene he witnessed months before in the darkness of the Vandal's wine cellar.
But there is more devastation on the horizon as darkened skies blanket the earth, bringing famine, more war, and pestilence. No one can deny that the apocalypse has come.
When the bubonic plague reaches Constantinople’s harbor, unleashing death in the city and threatening the life of Justinian, it seems as though a lone monk's prophecy about the End of Days has come to pass. Belisarius must face the cold, hard truth Brendan brings that the new world order he is working to establish may be burning to the ground.
EMPIRE
RESURGENT
It's 532 CE and while the Western Empire has collapsed, the East is thriving under the leadership of Emperor Justinian and his fierce and conniving wife, Theodora.
Belisarius boldly leads the Roman Empire in the East from victory to victory and garners the love of all those around him, or so he thinks. Everything he touches yields to him, except for his beautiful and wandering wife. After he is sent across the known world, from Carthage to Italy to Persia, Belisarius sees the world for what it is and has to come to grips with the reality that he doesn’t like: his wife as a serial adulterer and the ruins of what was a majestic Empire. Used to victory, Belisarius must come to grips with his own helplessness. He is fearless in battle, but can he be fearless in love as well?
EMPIRE in TWILIGHT
The year is 543 A.D., and the Eastern Roman Empire is struggling under the plague-stricken Emperor Justinian.
General Flavius Belisarius is a soldier known for his sense of honor, duty, and diligence on the battlefield and loyalty to the Emperor after Rome emerges victorious against the Persians, Vandals, and Goths. But underneath this triumphal façade, his patience for his wife’s ongoing infidelity and deceit weighs heavily on his broken heart.
His fortunes change when he is recalled to the capital in shame and reprisal for the third time, on the whim of the vengeful empress Theodora. Her retribution goes even further when he faces trumped-up charges of high treason for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the Empress while Justinian was incapacitated. He barely escapes the prison cell intended for him, but many generals closest to him are not so fortunate. He is chastised with an impossible order that is certain to end in disaster and disgrace: to retake Italy from the resurgent Goths—but without a field army or gold from the treasury.
Well-connected and seemingly beloved by all but the imperial couple, Belisarius’s once-ascendant military career seems to be over. Continued stalemate in the battle leads to disillusion. Belisarius and his men suffer under the stingy constraints of an economy ravaged by plague, depopulation, and despair. He slowly realizes that prestige, honor, and victory are mere vanities, and he yearns for a simpler life tending to his garden and vineyards.
But enemies of the Empire still lie in wait, and the tongues of wicked conspirators never rest. Will Belisarius have the strength to fight one final battle or confront one more slanderer? Will his endeavors help fend off another season of famine, pestilence, and barbarian invasions that could usher in the last days of the Empire? Most importantly, will his love finally conquer the heart of the woman he adores?
