Award-winning author of Far Away Bird
A novel of Byzantine Empress Theodora
AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK & HARDCOVER
Cover art illustration by George Frei treehousemachine.com
AVAILABLE IN AUDIOBOOK
Narrated by Mary Sarah
Original Music by Luci Williams
Byzantium, Sixth Century. From the brothels to the bathhouses, a poor girl named Theodora learns to embrace her exploitation and let go of the people she loves most. But when Theodora finally chooses her own personal sovereignty, no matter the cost, her battle leads her to an impossible destination–the throne of the empire.
GOLD MEDAL – Best New Voice in Fiction
2021 IBPA Ben Franklin Award
MONTAIGNE MEDAL FINALIST – The Eric Hoffer Book Award
GOLD MEDAL – Historical Fiction Personage – 2021 Readers’ Favorite
GOLD MEDAL – Best eBook in Historical Fiction – 2021 eLit Award
Covert art illustration by George Frei @ treehousemachine.com
– Finalist – 2021 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition
– Winner – 2020 NYC Big Book Award
– Winner – of the B.R.A.G. Medallion by indieBRAG
– Finalist – 2020 International Book Awards – Historical Fiction
– Distinguished Favorite by the 2020 Independent Press Awards
– Book of the Year – Medieval Historical Fiction by the Coffee Pot Book Club
ON SALE NOW
PRAISE
“…elegantly written historical tale in which [Burton] effortlessly weaves sweeping emotion and fine detail…”
-KIRKUS REVIEW (RECOMMENDED)
“More than just an imagining of Theodora’s rise to notoriety and power during the Byzantine Empire, the novel is a vivid tale of survival, healing, and femininity.”
-US REVIEW OF BOOKS (RECOMMENDED)
“Far Away Bird is astoundingly ambitious, for Theodora’s life is surrounded by historical controversy…Burton has taken this controversy and with a keen novelist eye for human fragility has penned a story that is not only tautly gripping but one that is utterly irresistible and impossible to put down. This book is, in all ways, an absolute triumph.”
-Mary Anne Yarde (Author of The Du Lac Chronicles)
“I don’t think I can properly explain how much this book impacted me as a woman. Burton honors Theodora’s struggles and victories with a kind of grace not often seen in writing.”
-Quiet Fury Books
“We see her battle against constraints created by a patriarchal society, and this fight for female rights, for human rights, is why this book is amazing and why I think every woman should read it.”
-Literature Aesthetic
“The way [Theodora] is portrayed in this book, from losing her father at a young age, to the way she has to grow up quickly in a society that gives women no rights whatsoever, to paving her way in a ‘shameless’ manner through a society that judges harshly is the best character development I’ve ever seen.”
-The Bookish Bellee
“The story is one of power, as in having none, yet rising, through sheer force of will, in dramatic fashion like the noonday sun to the astonishment of all.”
-Books & Zebras
“Unflinching in its depiction of cruelty and seduction, haunting in the trials of a girl who might prefer revenge to the forgiveness of a crucified “god,” and authentically relevant to the present day in its questions of social and personal control, the pages turn quickly, and great characters reveal great wisdom.”
-Sheila Deeth (Author of Divide by Zero)
Meet Theodora
Who’s the woman behind the book? Women’s rights have many currents that flow into the 21st Century—from the early Jewish tradition to ancient Egypt to classical Greece—but Theodora’s personal influence in drafting legislation, her direct oversight in implementation, and her incredible follow through on enforcement are truly unique to history. Theodora’s efforts can be traced to no less than the foundation documents of the Western legal tradition. Click below to learn more!
Theodora and the Origin of Women’s Rights
See the Book Trailer
Immerse yourself in Far Away Bird
Blogs and Articles
Claiming the Sacred Fire: Conflict in Heroine-Led Fiction
The heroine’s sacred fire symbolizes her vast untapped, untested, and unrealized human potential. She has aspirations that exceed her current reality. The colorful and exotic native culture is just outside her window and the heroine intends to merge with that world. She’s aware of her potential and relies upon her imagination to compensate for her lack of experience. This vital pulse of the human spirit is relatable to all of us. We are stirred to the core when the heroine claims her sacred fire in fiction.
Cobra Kai vs. Star Wars: 6 Lessons
The calendar has flipped to 2021 and Cobra Kai, not Star Wars, is leading the way to the future of streaming entertainment. As of this writing, Cobra Kai is trending #1 on Netflix, gaining both critical acclaim and nearly universal praise. Like Star Wars, Cobra Kai shares its roots in 1980’s Generation X, and like Star Wars, Cobra Kai has mass appeal and an ethical framework wrapped into the brand. So, how is the Karate Kid outdoing Luke Skywalker?
Wonder Woman 1984: Likeable but Very Sloppy
In 2017, Wonder Woman broke out to the adoring approval of women and men around the world, giving us all a top tier superheroine. This time around, Diana Prince had higher expectations but fell a bit short of the mark. The film isn’t terrible, but I just found myself irritated by the sloppy writing and incoherent plotlines, only to slip back into a stretch of satisfying viewing. Bizarrely, Wonder Woman is half Bruce Almighty and half Superman 4: The Quest for Peace.
What Heroic Personality Type are YOU?
See which fictional heroines in film, TV, and literature share your exact personality. Discover what they all have in common as well as what it takes to push you into villainy.
Which heroine are you?
Plus, get weekly updates from Doug about heroic figures in general and heroic women in particular
*Results based on the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator.
Meet Douglas A. Burton
The Writer
Douglas’s debut novel, Far Away Bird, has been recognized for numerous distinctions including Best New Voice in Fiction for the 2021 Ben Franklin Awards, a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Award’s Montaigne Medal, eLit’s gold medal for Best eBook in Historical Fiction, and numerous other awards. Before the novel was published, Far Away Bird also won the grand prize for Historical Fiction in the 2019 Manuscript Contest (Writers’ League of Texas) and received a ‘recommended’ status by Kirkus Reviews and the US Review of Books. Articles written by Douglas have been published in Ms. Magazine and Focus on Women Magazine. The author has also been featured in Kirkus Reviews and Texas Lifestyle Magazine. Doug currently lives in Austin, TX with his wife and two sons.
Read Now: How Writing Far Away Bird changed me
The Speaker
Douglas is also a public speaker who enjoys engaging with other people who share his passions. He loves discussions about heroic men and women as they relate to story. He would love to come to your event to discuss the Heroine’s Labyrinth, which is a comprehensive analysis of recurrent themes for heroic women in pop culture. Douglas also covers topics on story structure strategies that incorporate both the Hero’s Journey and the Heroine’s Labyrinth models.
If you would like Douglas to speak at your event, please reach out.
Explore and enjoy.
Being a writer is like having a box of 10,000 puzzle pieces but with each piece from a different puzzle. You then spend your entire life following an inborn directive to put the damn puzzle together. This goes on no matter how old you get nor how complex your life becomes.
The Heroine Project
The Heroine Project is an ongoing study of heroic women in their popular portrayal, their many archetypes, and distinctive qualities. At the core, a heroic figure is universal. And yet, I’d like us to consider that there are subtle differences amongst our heroic models. The Heroine Project is the theory that female-oriented heroines are indeed bringing a unique and powerful perspective to the heroic landscape and their emergence into the heroic Pantheon is generating greater dynamism for all of us. The Heroine Project seeks a better, more complete look at the human phenomenon of heroism.
Who’s your favorite heroine?
I want to hear from you. Who was, and is, your favorite female hero?
I’m collecting data for my next book: The Heroine’s Labyrinth.
I’d love for you to share your experience with me.