Please join me in congratulating Eileen Stephenson on the publication of Imperial Passions: The Great Palace! I had the pleasure of working with Eileen on a developmental edit and a copyedit, and I designed the cover! This is the second book in a series based on the life of Anna Dalassena, a powerful Byzantine woman instrumental in founding the Komnenian dynasty. Here's the book description:
Constantinople 1057. The magnificent Byzantine Empire continues to exist only because its enemies have not yet realized how years of corrupt rulers have weakened it. A new emperor, Isaac I Comnenus, seizes the throne expecting to reverse the decline but is overwhelmed by an empty treasury, a troublesome patriarch, and invaders at every border.
Isaac struggles against foes both in Constantinople and at the borders, while his brother John shrinks from his growing responsibilities to the dismay of his wife, Anna Dalassena. Anna’s disappointment in her husband is outweighed only by her horror at her enemy Constantine Ducas’s growing importance. Her husband’s reluctance and the turbulence of these troubled years finally forces Anna to recognize her own pivotal role in the destiny of the empire’s fortunes and that of her family.
Imperial Passions: The Great Palace is available now in ebook and print format on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! Add it to your shelves on Goodreads, and visit Eileen's website for her fascinating photos and blog posts on Byzantine history and culture.
