COELIA CONCORDIA: THE LAST VESTAL VIRGIN OF ROME The epic novel you must read by candlelight: immerse yourself in the world of ancient Rome, Vesta, and her privileged yet imperiled priestesses. For over a thousand years, the esteemed priestesses of Vesta were tasked with keeping the goddess's Eternal Flame burning in her temple. As the guardians of Rome, the Vestal Virgins were revered, for as long as the fire was alive, the Eternal City would endure. This is the violent, emotional story of Rome's last Vestal Virgin—Coelia Concordia—and her battle to save the sacred flame from an encroaching darkness. It is also a story about an ancient prophecy, a curse fulfilled, and the relentless suppression of Rome's great gods and goddesses as seen through the eyes of those people who were losing everything—not just their gods and ancestral customs, but their freedoms—yet fought on and never lost hope. And all set against the backdrop of the biggest cultural shift in the history of Western civilization. Because the end of the Vestal Order heralded the fall of the Roman Empire. Based on real events. COELIA CONCORDIA is the seventh novel by Debra May Macleod, the author of six previous novels on the Vestal Virgins, books that chronicle the Vestal Order in Rome from its rise in the 8th century BCE to its banishment in the 4th century CE. While part of the larger world of the author's previous novels, COELIA CONCORDIA can be read and enjoyed as a standalone novel, or as an entry point into the captivating world of the Vestals. Debra May Macleod is the author of seven (and counting) historical fiction novels set in ancient Rome and featuring the powerful Vestal Virgins, guardians of Rome's Eternal Flame. Her novels chronicle the history of the Vestal Order over a thousand year period, from its quasi-mythical rise in distant antiquity, through its golden age, to its extinguishment during the fall of Rome. Debra holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and the Classics, and a Juris Doctor. She is privileged to have participated in research excursions in the Roman fora and informs her writing with this invaluable perspective. Her passion project, All Things Vesta, offers a wealth of resources on the Vestal Virgins and the world of ancient Rome.