Dangerous times, difficult friendships, lives transformed by forgiveness and love Are some wounds too deep to forgive? With a ruthless father who murdered for the family inheritance, Marcus Drusus plans to do the same. In AD 122, Marcus follows his brother Lucius to Judaea and plots to frame a zealot for his older brother's death. But the plan goes awry, and Lucius is rescued by a Messianic Jewish woman. Her oldest brother is a zealot and a Roman soldier killed her twin, but Rachel still persuades her father Joseph to put his love for Jesus above his anger with Rome and hide Lucius until he heals. Rachel cares for the enemy, and more than broken bones heal as duty turns to love. Lucius embraces Joseph's faith in Jesus, but sharing a faith doesn't heal all wounds. Even before revealed secrets slice open old scars, Joseph wants no Roman son-in-law. With Rachel's zealot brother suspecting he's a Roman officer and his own brother planning to kill him when he returns, can Lucius survive long enough to change Joseph's mind? Forgiven is the first volume in the Light in the Empire series, which follows the interconnected lives of six Roman families during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. Each can be read as a stand-alone. The twelve novels of the series will take you around the Empire, from Germania and Britannia to Thracia, Dacia, and Judaea and, of course, to Rome itself.

Sometimes you have to almost die to discover how you want to live.It’s AD 114 in the Roman province of Germania Superior, and being a Christian carries a death sentence. Tribune Decimus Lentulus is on the fast track for a stellar political career back in Rome. When he’s robbed, blinded, and left for dead, a young German woman who follows the Way finds him. Valeria knows it’s his duty to have her and her family killed, but she chooses to obey Jesus’s command to love her enemy and takes him home to care for him.It’s not his miraculous recovery that shakes Decimus to his core. It’s the way they love him like family and their unconcealed love for Jesus. In spite of himself, he falls in love with the Christian woman Rome wants him to kill. Can Valeria hide her faith to follow him into the circles of Roman power? Or should he abandon his ambition to help rule the Empire and choose to follow a different way?Dangerous times, difficult friendships, lives transformed by forgiveness and love.Blind Ambition is the second volume in the Light in the Empire series. These novels will take you around the Empire, from Germania and Britannia to Thracia, Dacia, Judaea, North Africa, Roman Egypt, and, of course, to Rome itself. Each can be read as a stand-alone and includes discussion questions for groups."This is a fabulous ancient-world series of novels that follow the lives of fictional early Christians. Carol is meticulous with her research and a true expert on Ancient Rome! History lovers and those who enjoy my biblical books are going to LOVE this series!" — Roseanna White, best-selling author and Christy Award winner.If you enjoy the Roman-era Biblical fiction of Tessa Afshar and Francine River’s Mark of the Lion series, you’ll love the stand-alone novels of the Light in the Empire series.Buy Blind Ambition to enjoy a faith-filled adventure today.

When Rome has taken everything, what’s left for a man to give? Betrayed by a ruthless son who’ll do anything for power and wealth, Publius Drusus faces death with an unanswered prayer―that his treasured daughter, Claudia, and honorable son, Titus, will someday share his faith. But who will lead them to the truth once he’s gone? Claudia’s oldest brother Lucius arranged their father’s execution to inherit everything, and now he’s forcing her to marry a cruel Roman power broker. If only she could get to Titus―a thousand miles away in Thracia. Then the man who secretly told her father about Jesus arranges for his son Philip to sneak her out of Rome and take her to the brother she can trust. A childhood accident scarred Philip’s face. A woman’s rejection scarred his heart. Claudia’s gratitude grows into love, but what can Philip do when the first woman who returns his love hates the God he loves even more? Titus and Claudia hunger for revenge on their brother and the Christians they blame for their father’s deadly conversion. When Titus buys Miriam, a secret Christian, to serve his sister, he starts them all down a path of conflicting loyalties and dangerous decisions. His father’s final letter commands the forgiveness Titus refuses to give. What will it take to free him from the hatred poisoning his own heart? The Legacy is the third volume in the Light in the Empire series, which follows the interconnected lives of the members of three Roman families during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. The eight novels of the series will take you around the Empire, from Germania and Britannia to Thracia, Dacia, and Judaea and, of course, to Rome itself.

Is the price of true friendship ever too high? In AD 122, Adela, the fiery daughter of a Germanic chieftain, is kidnapped and taken across the Roman frontier to be sold as a slave. When horse-trader Otto wins her while gambling with her kidnappers, he entrusts her to his friend and trading partner, Galen. Then Otto is kidnapped by the same men, and Galen must track them half way across the Empire before his best friend loses a fight to the death in a Roman arena. Adela joins Galen in the chase, hungry for vengeance. As the perilous journey deepens their friendship, will the kind, faithful man open her eyes to a life she never dreamed she’d want? A trip to the heart of the Empire poses mortal danger to a man who follows Jesus, especially when Galen must seek the help of an enemy of the faith for Otto to survive. Tiberius hunted Christians when he governed Germania Superior and banished his own son when he became one. When Tiberius learns sparing Galen offers a chance at reconciliation with his son, he joins the trio on their journey home. Can his life-long hatred for the followers of Jesus survive a trip with the Christian man whose courage and faithfulness demand his respect? Dangerous times, difficult friendships, lives transformed by forgiveness and love Faithful is the fourth volume in the Light in the Empire series. These novels will take you around the Empire, from Germania and Britannia to Thracia, Dacia, Judaea, North Africa, Roman Egypt, and, of course, to Rome itself. Each can be read as a stand-alone and includes discussion questions for groups."This is a fabulous ancient-world series of novels that follow the lives of fictional early Christians. Carol is meticulous with her research and a true expert on Ancient Rome! History lovers and those who enjoy my biblical books are going to LOVE this series!" — Roseanna White, best-selling author and Christy Award winner.If you enjoy the Roman-era Biblical fiction of Tessa Afshar and Francine River’s Mark of the Lion series, you’ll love the stand-alone novels of the Light in the Empire series.Buy Faithful to enjoy a faith-filled adventure today.

Must the shadows of the past destroy the hope of the future?In AD 122, Cornelia Scipia, proud daughter of one of Rome's noblest families, learns her adulterous husband plans to betroth their daughter to the vicious son of his best friend. Over her dead body! Cornelia divorces him, reclaims her enormous dowry, and kidnaps her own daughter. She plans to start over with Drusilla a thousand miles away. No more husbands for her. But she didn’t count on meeting Hector, the widowed Greek captain of the ship carrying her to her new life.Devastated by the loss of his wife and daughter, Hector’s heart begins to heal as he befriends Drusilla. Cornelia’s sacrificial love for Drusilla and her courage and humor in the face of the unknown earn his admiration…as a friend. Is he ready for more?Marriage to the kind, honest sea captain would give Drusilla the father she deserves…and Cornelia the faithful husband she’s always longed for. But while her ex-husband hunts them to drag Drusilla back to Rome, secrets in Hector’s past and the chasms between their social classes and different faiths erect complicated barriers to any future together. Will God give two lonely hearts a second chance at happiness?Dangerous times, difficult friendships, lives transformed by forgiveness and loveSecond Chances is the fifth volume in the Light in the Empire series. These novels will take you around the Empire, from Germania and Britannia to Thracia, Dacia, Judaea, North Africa, Roman Egypt, and, of course, to Rome itself. Each can be read as a stand-alone and includes discussion questions for groups."This is a fabulous ancient-world series of novels that follow the lives of fictional early Christians. Carol is meticulous with her research and a true expert on Ancient Rome! History lovers and those who enjoy my biblical books are going to LOVE this series!" — Roseanna White, best-selling author and Christy Award winner.If you enjoy the Roman-era Biblical fiction of Tessa Afshar and Francine River’s Mark of the Lion series, you’ll love the stand-alone novels of the Light in the Empire series.Buy Second Chances to enjoy a faith-filled adventure today.

The chains we cannot see can be the hardest ones to break.When Aulus runs up a gambling debt to his father’s political enemy, he’s desperate to pay it off before his father returns to Rome. His best friend Marcus suggests they fake the kidnapping of Aulus’s sister Julia and use the ransom money. But when the man they hired kidnaps her for real, Aulus is catapulted into a desperate search to find her.Torn from his childhood home by Rome’s conquering armies and sold as a farm slave to labor until he dies, Dacius’s faith gives him strength to bear what he must and serve without complaining. After a deadly accident makes him one of Julia’s litter bearers, he overhears Marcus advising her brother to kidnap her. When Dacius almost dies thwarting the kidnapping, a Christian couple take them in to keep her brother from finding them before her father returns.But pretending to be free again makes returning to slavery more than Dacius can bear, while acting like a common woman opens Julia’s eyes to dreams and destinies she never knew existed. With her brother closing in and her father almost home, can she find a way around Roman law and custom to free them both for the future they long for?Dangerous times, difficult friendships, lives transformed by forgiveness and loveTrue Freedom is the sixth volume in the Light in the Empire series. These novels will take you around the Empire, from Germania and Britannia to Thracia, Dacia, Judaea, North Africa, Roman Egypt, and, of course, to Rome itself. Each can be read as a stand-alone and includes discussion questions for groups."This is a fabulous ancient-world series of novels that follow the lives of fictional early Christians. Carol is meticulous with her research and a true expert on Ancient Rome! History lovers and those who enjoy my biblical books are going to LOVE this series!" — Roseanna White, best-selling author and Christy Award winner.If you enjoy the Roman-era Biblical fiction of Tessa Afshar and Francine River’s Mark of the Lion series, you’ll love the stand-alone novels of the Light in the Empire series.Buy True Freedom to enjoy a faith-filled adventure today.

Can the deepest loss bring the greatest gain? Rome’s conquering army took Ariana’s family and freedom, but nothing can take her faith in Jesus. When she rescues a tribune’s wife from certain death, her reward is freedom and a chance to free her brother and sister. But first she must catch up with the slave caravan before they vanish forever, and tracking them from Dacia to the coast seems impossible for one woman alone. Discharged from the legion with a hand crippled by a Dacian knife, Donatus faces a future without hope. When the tribune asks him to escort Ariana on her quest, it’s the only work he can find. It means four weeks with a Dacian woman and a gladiator bodyguard, but it takes money to eat. A man without options must take what he can get. But a lot can happen in four weeks. Even battle-hardened men can be touched by love and forgiveness, and it’s easier to face an enemy with a sword than to face the truth. When his moment of truth comes, what will Donatus choose, and what will that mean for both of them? Dangerous times, difficult friendships, lives transformed by forgiveness and love Hope Unchained is the seventh volume in the Light in the Empire series, which follows the interconnected lives of four Roman families during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. Each can be read stand-alone. The nine novels of the series will take you around the Empire, from Germania and Britannia to Thracia, Dacia, and Judaea and, of course, to Rome itself.

Honor had forced him to act. Time would tell if he’d regret it. Marcus Brutus owns estates, ships, and gladiator schools that increase his fortune daily, but his greatest treasures are his honor and his wife. When she reveals her faith in Jesus before dying after the birth of their son, he’s consumed by hatred for the unnamed Christian woman who led his beloved to abandon the Roman gods, making him lose her in this life and the next. For fifteen years, Licinia’s father hid her Christian faith. But now her father is dead, and a ruthless political enemy is hunting for anything to destroy her brother. When she becomes the target, her brother sends her to their estate in Germania. But is that far enough to protect her from an evil man who will stop at nothing? A carriage accident leaves Brutus injured and his best friend near death, and Licinia cares for them. When her brother's enemies come and he learns she’s the Christian who corrupted his wife, does honor require him to protect her or turn her over as an enemy of Rome? And when Licinia’s heart is drawn toward the pagan man who makes money off death, can she reconcile her growing affection with her love for Christ? Dangerous times, difficult friendships, lives transformed by forgiveness and love The Light in the Empire series follows the interconnected lives of four Roman families during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. Each can be read stand-alone. The nine novels of the series will take you around the Empire, from Germania and Britannia to Thracia, Dacia, and Judaea and, of course, to Rome itself.

Must the secrets we hide destroy our hope for a future? For a gladiator slave, each time you step on the sand, it’s kill or die. When Ursus decides to follow Jesus, he must choose to die the next time he’s ordered to fight…or run away. He runs, taking again his childhood name, Matti. But he isn’t just trying to escape. He’s running to Thessalonica, where he hopes to find other Christians like the woman who led him to faith. When Felicia’s new husband, Falco, almost kills her in a fit of rage, her uncle won’t help her end the marriage with his business partner. He will send her to her sister in Thessalonica, but only if she tells no one she plans to divorce Falco and demand her dowry back before she gets there. When Matti interrupts a robbery too late to save Felicia’s money for traveling by sea, he offers to bodyguard and escort her overland to their mutual destination. After Matti risks everything to save her from Falco’s assassins, Felicia fears taking the danger to her sister’s family. When his Christian friends take them in, she discovers the deepest desires of her heart. But will the secrets of Matti’s past make a future together impossible? Dangerous times, difficult friendships, lives transformed by forgiveness and love Hope’s Reward is the ninth volume in the Light in the Empire series. These novels will take you around the Empire, from Germania and Britannia to Thracia, Dacia, Judaea, North Africa, Roman Egypt, and, of course, to Rome itself. Each can be read as a stand-alone and includes discussion questions for groups."This is a fabulous ancient-world series of novels that follow the lives of fictional early Christians. Carol is meticulous with her research and a true expert on Ancient Rome! History lovers and those who enjoy my biblical books are going to LOVE this series!" — Roseanna White, best-selling author and Christy Award winner.If you enjoy the Roman-era Biblical fiction of Tessa Afshar and Francine River’s Mark of the Lion series, you’ll love the stand-alone novels of the Light in the Empire series.Buy Hope’s Reward to enjoy a faith-filled adventure today.

As he hunts the one who killed her father, will he learn the secret that could lead to her death?Devotion to duty and dogged determination make Tribune Titianus the most feared investigator of the Urban Cohort. Honor drives him to hunt down anyone who breaks Roman law, but it becomes personal when Lenaeus, his old tutor, is murdered in his own classroom. Why kill a respected teacher of the noble sons of Rome, a man who has nothing worth stealing and no known enemies? Had he learned something too dangerous to let him live?Pompeia was only a girl when Titianus studied with Father before her family became Christians. She and her brother Kaeso can’t move their school from the house where their father was killed. But what if the one who killed Father comes to kill again? Kaeso’s friend Septimus insists they spend nights at his father’s well-guarded home. But danger lurks there as well. As Titianus hunts for the murderer, will he discover their secret faith and arrest them as enemies of the Empire?When Titianus gets too close to finding the killer, the hunter becomes the hunted. While he recovers at his cousin Septimus’s house, Pompeia becomes the first woman to touch his heart. But a tribune’s loyalty is sworn to Rome, no matter how he feels. When her faith is revealed, will truth and love mean more to him than honor? Does honor require more than devotion to Rome?Dangerous times, difficult friendships, lives transformed by forgiveness and loveMore Than Honor is the tenth volume in the Light in the Empire series. These novels will take you around the Empire, from Germania and Britannia to Thracia, Dacia, Judaea, North Africa, Roman Egypt, and, of course, to Rome itself. Each can be read as a stand-alone and includes discussion questions for groups."This is a fabulous ancient-world series of novels that follow the lives of fictional early Christians. Carol is meticulous with her research and a true expert on Ancient Rome! History lovers and those who enjoy my biblical books are going to LOVE this series!" — Roseanna White, best-selling author and Christy Award winner.If you enjoy the Roman-era Biblical fiction of Tessa Afshar and Francine River’s Mark of the Lion series, you’ll love the stand-alone novels of the Light in the Empire series.Buy More Than Honor to enjoy a faith-filled adventure today.