Queen of Lies

New Rome. An unholy trinity. 9th Century Constantinople. A new age of prosperity dawns amid war, invasion and religious upheaval. Viking-Greek Empress Eudokia Ingerina tells her sons the real story behind the myth of their fathers. It is a tale of humiliation, cunning, intrigue ... and love! Vassilis, a village lad, loses his family to marauders in the forests of eastern Macedonia. He must learn quickly to survive, both in the wilds and at the Bulgar court. Eventually he finds his way to Constantinople, where he gains the favor of the young Emperor Michael, and Ingerina, Michael's mistress. Michael resents his mother, the Regent Theodora, and his guardian, the Eunuch Theoktistos, who forced him to marry against his will. His uncle, the brilliant but degenerate Vardas, returns from exile and encourages Michael's more capricious side, only to fall foul of both Patriarch and Pope. As the Roman court lurches from crisis to crisis, Michael, Vassilis and Ingerina find common purpose, friendship and affection in one another. But now Ingerina must convince both her lovers that her sons have a right to the imperial throne, though the price may be greater than anyone ever imagined!About the AuthorI have spent more than 20 years publishing extensively in science and the last five writing fiction. I am passionate about world literature, the arts and travel, because I believe the reality of the human experience is far more exciting than fantasy. I am on a mission to bring this splendor back into public awareness. I want people in the 21st century to know that Byzantium was full of hardy people as well as magnificence. That there were ordinary people who lived bravely in difficult but exciting times and who showed great endurance in the face of adversity, sometimes rising to the highest positions in society because they dared to, not just because they were born to them. Many know that the Byzantines may have been pious on the surface, sometimes murderous in practice, and obsessed occasionally by religious zeal, but they were admirably courageous and boldly human in a way which seems to be lost to us blasé post-moderns. Please join me in my quest to bring this forgotten reality back to life!