"Sazana of Persia creates exquisite pottery that graces Susa's finest tables, but her master, Lord Haman, does not know her secret: Sazana is one of the Jews he despises. When Haman discovers her true identity, he forces her into indentured servitude. In an unexpected reversal, at Haman's downfall, Queen Esther becomes the new master of the pottery workshop, restoring Sazana to her rightful place. But her troubles are not over. The loss of their inheritance has enraged Haman's ten sons, so the queen assigns one of her men to the workshop, posing undercover to root out any spies.
Sazana is shocked to discover that the queen's agent is none other than the man who left her heart in ruins years ago. On assignment from the queen, Jadon safeguards the workshop, yet the situation escalates with the need to discover an ancient artifact. Can Jadon and Sazana set aside past heartache and unearth the secrets that will allow them to thwart the impending tragedy threatening their people?
Rooted in biblical truths and detailed historical research, Tessa Afshar paints a moving and captivating tale of life, love, and intrigue in Queen Esther's royal court."
"In the heart of ancient Persia, the empire’s Jewish citizens face an ominous edict that threatens their very existence. Roxannah, the daughter of an impoverished Persian lord, is devastated by the news but feels helpless to come to the aid of her Jewish friends. Desperate to support her family, Roxannah approaches the royal physician, Adin—the man whose kind eyes haunt her—and seeks his help to find employment in Queen Esther’s kitchens.
In the opulent palace of Susa, Roxannah tries to survive the spiteful ploys of the other cooks as she ascends through the ranks. Her loyalty earns her the trust and friendship of Queen Esther, who is navigating dangerous politics with wisdom and grace. When Roxannah and Adin uncover a sinister plot against Amestris, the king’s most powerful wife and Esther’s archenemy, they find themselves tasked with the impossible job of discovering the culprit. As secrets unravel and alliances are tested, the fate of Esther’s reign hangs in the balance.
“A tender and touching tale. Tessa Afshar has given us two wonderfully charming heroines.”—Angela Hunt, New York Times bestselling author of The Emissaries series"
"Jemmah has always thought of herself as perfectly ordinary … until she faces extraordinary circumstances.
When her mother, the Persian king’s famous senior scribe, is kidnapped, Jemmah and her sister must sneak undetected into enemy territory to rescue her. But infiltrating their adversary’s lands proves easier than escaping them. As they flee through dangerous mountain passes,
their survival depends on the skills of a stranger they free from prison: a mysterious prince named Asher.
Asher is not who the world believes he is. Despite his royal blood, he has had to climb his way out of poverty to forge success from nothing. A manufacturer of some of the best weaponry in the East, Asher has only one goal: to destroy his father. But following his escape from prison,
Asher is irresistibly drawn to Jemmah, unaware that she guards her own secret.
Jemmah must convince Asher to give up everything he has worked for, all for the sake of a higher purpose he’s not sure he believes in. The fate of the Persian Empire—and possibly the Judean people—hangs in the balance and in the persuasive power of one ordinary woman."
"Two women. All alone. With no provision…Can they find hope in a foreign land?
Ruth leaves her home with a barren womb and an empty future after losing her husband. She forsakes her abusive parents and follows the woman she has grown to love as a true parent, her late husband's mother, Naomi.
Ruth arrives in Israel with nothing to recommend her but Naomi's love. She is destitute, grief-stricken, and unwanted by the people of God.
But God has great plans for her.
While everyone considers Ruth an unworthy outsider, she is shocked to find the owner of the field—one of the wealthiest and most honored men of Judah—is showing her favor. Long since a widower and determined to stay that way, Boaz finds himself irresistibly drawn to the foreign woman with the dark, haunted eyes. He tells himself he is only being kind to his cousin Naomi's chosen daughter when he goes out of his way to protect her from harm, but his heart knows better.
Obstacles. Heartache. Withered dreams. How can God forge love, passion, and new hope between two such different people?"
"The prophet Nehemiah's cousin can speak numerous languages, keep complex accounts, write on rolls of parchment and tablets of clay, and solve great mysteries. There is only one problem: she's a woman in a man's court.
In her early childhood years, Sarah experienced the death of her mother and her father's subsequent emotional distance, and she came to two conclusions: God does not care about me, and my accomplishments are the measure of my worth.
Catapulted into the center of the Persian court, Sarah is working too many hours, rubbing elbows with royalty, and solving intrigues for the Queen. Ironically, it isn't failure—but success—that causes Sarah to lose her only source of external validation.
Sarah soon learns that she has something of worth to offer beyond her ability with languages and sums; her very being proves to be a blessing to others, particularly the aristocrat Darius, whom she is given to in marriage.
Sarah and Darius' story continues in Harvest of Gold. Darius may be able to learn to love his wife, but can he ever learn to trust Sarah and her Lord?"
"As an Israelite slave, she sees no hope for a future. But she soon discovers the fate of nations may rest in her hands.
Keren, a gifted young Jewish scribe in the household of Daniel, learns languages and swordsmanship alongside the great man's sons and their friend Jared. But a tragic accident changes the course of her life, and she finds herself far from home,
charged with a mysterious task: teach a shepherd boy to be a lord. She soon hears hints of the child's true parentage and realizes she must protect him from a bloodthirsty king.
Though Jared struggles to forgive Keren, he still travels over mountains to fetch her back to the safety of home. When he discovers the secret identity of Keren's pupil, love battles bitterness as Jared joins Keren on the journey of a lifetime to
save the boy who may one day deliver their people from captivity in Babylon."
"A hidden message, treachery, opposition, and a God-given success will lead to an unlikely bounty.
In Harvest of Gold (Book 2), the scribe Sarah married Darius, and at times she feels as if she has married the Persian aristocracy, too. There is another point she did not count on in her marriage—Sarah has grown to love her husband. Sarah has wealth, property, honor, and power, but her husband’s love still seems unattainable.
Although his mother was an Israelite, Darius remains skeptical that his Jewish wife is the right choice for him, particularly when she conspires with her cousin Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Ordered to assist in the effort, the couple begins a journey to the homeland of his mother’s people. Will the road filled with danger, conflict, and surprising memories, help Darius to see the hand of God at work in his life—and even in his marriage?"
"Whispered secrets about her parents’ past take on new urgency for Chariline as she pays one last visit to the land of her forefathers, the ancient Kingdom of Cush.
Raised as an orphan by her aunt, Chariline has only been told a few pieces of her parents’ tragic love story. Her beautiful dark skin is proof that her father was Cushite, but she knows nothing else. While visiting her grandfather, Chariline overhears that her father is still alive, and discovering his identity becomes her obsession. Both her grandfather and the queen forbid her quest, however, so when her only clues lead to Rome, Chariline sneaks onto the ship of a merchant trusted by friends.
Theo is shocked to discover a stowaway on board his vessel. But drawn in by Chariline’s story, he feels honor-bound to see her safely to shore, especially when it appears someone may be willing to kill for the truth she seeks.
In this transformative tale of historical fiction, bestselling author Tessa Afshar brings to life the Kingdom of Cush and the Roman Empire, introducing readers to a fascinating first-century world filled with gripping adventure, touching romance, and a host of lovable characters."
"A woman with a devastating secret. A man bent on proving his worth. A chance encounter that catapults them into the heart of history.
When the daughter of a prominent Roman general meets a disinherited Jewish immigrant, neither one can dream of God’s plan to transform them into the most influential couple of the early church. Nor can they anticipate the mountains that will threaten to bury them. Their courtship unwittingly shadowed by murder and betrayal, Priscilla and Aquila slowly work to build a community of believers, while their lives grow increasingly complicated thanks to a shaggy dog, a mysterious runaway, and a ruthless foe desperate for love. But when they’re banished from their home by a capricious emperor, they must join forces with an unusual rabbi named Paul and fight to turn treachery into redemption.
With impeccable research and vivid detail, Daughter of Rome is both an emotive love story and an immersive journey through first-century Rome and Corinth, reminding readers once again why Debbie Macomber has said that “no one brings the Bible to life like Tessa Afshar.”"
"First-century Corinth is a city teeming with commerce and charm.
It’s also filled with danger and corruption—the perfect setting for Ariadne’s greatest adventure.
After years spent living with her mother and oppressive grandfather in Athens, Ariadne runs away to her father’s home in Corinth, only to discover the perilous secret that destroyed his marriage: though a Greek of high birth, Galenos is the infamous thief who has been robbing the city’s corrupt of their ill-gotten gains.
Desperate to keep him safe, Ariadne risks her good name, her freedom, and the love of the man she adores to become her father’s apprentice. As her unusual athletic ability leads her into dangerous exploits, Ariadne discovers that she secretly revels in playing with fire. But when the wrong person discovers their secret, Ariadne and her father find their future—and very lives—hanging in the balance.
When they befriend a Jewish rabbi named Paul, they realize that his radical message challenges everything they’ve fought to build, yet offers something neither dared hope for.
Be transported back in time by this gripping tale of adventure, bravery, and redemption, and discover why Debbie Macomber says, “No one brings the Bible to life like Tessa Afshar.”"
"Purple. The foundation of an influential trade in a Roman world dominated by men. One woman rises up to take the reins of success in an incredible journey of courage, grit, and friendship. And along the way, she changes the world.
But before she was Lydia, the seller of purple, she was simply a merchant’s daughter who loved three things: her father, her ancestral home, and making dye.
Then unbearable betrayal robs her of nearly everything.
With only her father’s secret formulas left, Lydia flees to Philippi and struggles to establish her business on her own. Determination and serendipitous acquaintances—along with her father’s precious dye—help her become one of the city’s preeminent merchants. But fear lingers in every
shadow, until Lydia meets the apostle Paul and hears his message of hope, becoming his first European convert. Still, Lydia can’t outrun her secrets forever, and when past and present collide, she must either stand firm and trust in her fledgling faith or succumb to the fear that has ruled her life."
