Joni graduated magna cum laude from Washington University, then earned her J.D. degree from Saint Louis University School of Law. She served as a law clerk to a federal judge, and worked as an international litigator and as business and employment lawyer. A member of the Historical Novel Society, Ms. Okun is passionate about writing and reading historical fiction. She lives in Orlando with her husband and two exceptionally destructive silky terriers.
       Her debut novel, To Hold the Throne: A Novel of the Last Maccabee Princess and King Herod the Great, has won the 2020 e-Lit Awards Gold Medal for Religious Fiction. The book is a #1 Best Seller on Amazon.