By Rich Linfield & Leilani Darling
Love and truth, pain and peace, spies and war, joy and reconciliation – the suspenseful Roman saga of Love and Empire pulls you into the epic story of a rare and powerful love threatened by the upheavals of a tumultuous era in history, a love that shakes the thrones of the mighty.
The setting is the waning years of the greatest empire the world had ever known. Vengeance rules the heart of Samara, a beautiful young Hebrew. She is furious with herself for being in love with the enemy, a high-born Roman official, Valerius. He is torn by the conflict between his duty and his passion.
In the first novel, The Rebel and the Ruler, Judea, an occupied province of Rome, is embroiled in political and religious strife. Valerius is striving to clean up Rome’s corruption in the capital city of Jerusalem when meeting Samara destroys his momentum. Their passion sweeps them into each other’s arms, as if the violent conflict between their cultures. After a bitter confrontation with Valerius’ brother, the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the lovers flee the Empire together. Will Samara’s shame and Valerius’ guilt drive them apart?
In book two, The Seeker and the Spy, reaching remote lands unknown to the Empire, the Hebrew woman and her reluctant Roman plunge into one extraordinary danger after another – first in China with a lost tribe of Hebrews and a hostile, conniving Emperor, then in an uncharted African land ruled by an inscrutable, suspicious Queen.
In the third book of the epic, The Guardian and the Warrior, unexpected suitors come forward to court Samara and Valerius ardently, which threatens to end their intense, unpredictable relationship. But it is a bizarre battlefield conflict between Romans and Africans that puts their love to its supreme test.
The drama of these headstrong lovers sweeps across decades and continents, with each successive story drawing the reader into its intriguing spell.
http://www.loveandempire.com
THE DARLING LINFIELD TEAM:
RICH LINFIELD, a college professor, teaches film, literature, writing and philosophy, and has worked as a journalist, publisher, editor and musician. LEILANI DARLING is an attorney and personal growth counselor certified in Gestalt therapy. The couple lives in southern California. Their first novel won two pre-publication awards.