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Welcome to my Amazon author page. What a nice way for us to meet and learn about each other, which is what life is all about, isn’t it? For me, life is also all about following my imagination wherever it takes me, which includes Greece. There, my fascination with the "dark ages" of Byzantine history ignited, unveiling the intriguing figure of Empress Irini of Byzantium—a woman both beautiful and murderous. This encounter sparked an eleven-year journey of intensive research and the creation of a four-book series chronicling the remarkable life of Empress Irini.
Life is a journey of unexpected twists and turns—a constant evolution along different paths. My story began with my pursuit of a Comparative Literature major at the University of California, Berkeley. After that, I sold advertising for a weekly newspaper in Seattle, worked for the Milwaukee Health Department in Wisconsin, went to law school for a year (and decided I couldn’t tolerate lawyers), wrote three crime novels for Fawcett Publishers, and taught Business English to people from all over the world at Berlitz in New York City. Everything I did and everyone I met in those places were an inspiration to the books I’ve written.
Years ago, when I was writing a detective series for Fawcett Publishing, at a book-signing at the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, I asked what my readers wanted from my next book in the series. They all said, ‘We don’t care about the plot; we just want those characters.” They also appreciated how the city of Milwaukee was a character itself and played a significant role in the narrative—a sentiment that emphasized the allure of exploring the lives of people. Now, my focus has shifted to a different era, immersing myself in the stories of those who lived between 760 AD and 803 AD, precisely when Empress Irini roamed the labyrinthine streets of Constantinople. In that bustling city, amidst the echoing church bells from hundreds of churches and monasteries, Irini plotted her ascent to the throne.
There's a profound joy in resurrecting the stories of people who walked this world 1,220 years ago. When I say "back to life," I mean it literally—each character in my book is a portrayal of a real person I unearthed from the annals of history (with a few imaginative liberties, of course). Navigating the historical gaps with creativity, I strove to bring these people to life, offering readers a glimpse into a bygone era where reality meets imagination.
The four books of my Empress Irini series are still being released—two are now in bookstores and on Amazon and two more are being released in 2024 by Scotland Street Press. Lucky me, for another year, I will wander around with my head filled with stories of those who lived over a thousand years ago in Constantinople in that glittering, fascinating metropolis.
Let me know in the Amazon reviews if you have enjoyed reading about Constantinople and the people who lived there, as much as I like writing about them. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok at @janetmcgiffinauthor. I’d love to hear from you!
Janet McGiffin
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