Twists and turns test Empress Beatriz’s fortitude time and again in this page-turning companion volume to Our Lady’s Troubadour.
In an Ancient Rome that never was, Empress Beatriz is surrounded by loyal subjects and the emperor, who cherishes her above all else. Due to one man’s lust and greed, she must fight, alone, for her dignity—and her life.
The primeval tale of the valiant empress has been adapted from Cantiga 5 of the thirteenth-century Spanish Cantigas de Santa Maria. Though this volume stands alone, it is also a companion to the ten short stories in Our Lady’s Troubadour (Encircle Publications, 2021).
Between fantasy and history, this thrilling novella takes us on an imaginary tour of the ancient Mediterranean and inspires us to rely on our own best nature.
Includes two deluxe color illustrations from the Códice rico of the Cantigas de Santa Maria.
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Empress of Misfortune is now available in a softcover edition with black-and-white interior: Amazon |
Excerpt
“Beatriz stood with her hands out and faced the wind, daring it to knock her into the water. A scream had been building inside her for years, since the moment Felix had laid his hands on her. It had gained power when Antoninus sent her to die without a second thought, when she lost the chance to see her children ever again, when Rufus embraced her, and especially when that miscreant robbed the world of little Evander. It stood back when the captain treated her humanely, and she hoped for a simple life in the East. But now that every person she’d ever cared for, every possibility for peace she’d ever come upon, and every hope she’d ever held to had been mercilessly taken from her, the scream pressed on her heart and clawed at her throat.
“She loosed it to the winds. No one heard it but St. Mary.” –from Chapter VI
Reviews
“Empress of Misfortune reads as part fairy tale, part hagiography. It’s about piety but also about a woman taking charge of her destiny. The reader can’t help but like Beatriz and really want the villains to get their just deserts. The chapters end in a suspenseful way and make this reader want to turn the page.” —author Kim Rendfeld
“There is a mythic quality to this story. If there’s room for feminism in the Catholic tradition, this is it.” —author Anne Britting Oleson