Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora were a couple who accomplished more during their 6th-century reign in Constantinople and led more vivid lives than Antony and Cleopatra, yet their exploits are little known. They’re a significant and sexy couple, a rare combination. My historical novel is told in multiple voices, including those of Justinian’s brilliant general Belisarius and his promiscuous wife Antonina, Theodora’s best friend. Both women rose from the circus and their early lives as harlots to assume positions of power and pageantry in the last gasp of the Roman Empire.
It's the story of a love between two upstarts: Justinian (an ex-swineherd) and Theodora (an ex-exotic dancer and courtesan). Together they danced their way to the top and changed the course of Western history.