Saturday 23 January 2016

My Guest ~ L.M. Brown

Destiny & Dragons


Darker Themes
Hi everyone.  Thank you, NJ, for letting me visit here today to talk about my newest novella, Destiny & Dragons.

My fairy tale series are light and humorous and quick little reads to pass the afternoon. But as some readers have already figured out, there are also more serious themes in the tales.

In Let Down Your Hair it was about acceptance of yourself and your partner, without trying to change them.  It was about living your life the way you want to, without fear of what others think of you.

For Potions & Prisons I delved into sacrifice, and what you would give up to be with the one you love – which seems to be a theme for more than one of my books.

Destiny & Dragons is my third fairy story and it also touches on the theme of sacrifice, but it is not the only topic I raise. 

Abandonment by your family is a popular theme in MM romances. Too many teens come out to their families only to be disowned or kicked out of their homes.  In a contemporary setting this can work very well.  In a fairy tale setting, not so much.  So I went with a different type of abandonment, more fitting for this particular kingdom. 

Runt, the sweet young dragon, has suffered the worst kind of abandonment and has lost hope entirely, when he is found by Marcus.  Left behind by his family, held prisoner, tortured, and abused, he has a lot of issues to work through if he is going to get a happy ending.

I hope you enjoy my fairy tales, whether for the simple humour or the more serious topics I raise in them.

Blurb
When Lord Marcus set out on his quest, it seemed a simple enough task to accomplish. Slay the dragon and rescue the princess, securing his father's approval and earning his happily ever after—only the princess is a witch and the dragon is nowhere to be seen. Instead he finds a young man who has a very big secret and is in far greater need of rescuing. Marcus's well planned quest might have taken an unexpected turn, but his happy ending could still be within his grasp, if he can earn the trust of a dragon who has been betrayed and hurt by everyone he has ever known.

Excerpt
  Once the servants had departed, Marcus went to fetch Runt from the bedroom so he could take a bath. As Runt stripped out of his borrowed clothes, Marcus tried not to stare at his body. When he caught Robert's knowing glance, he scowled and set about scrubbing at Runt's hair with a little more force than was necessary. When Runt cringed at his ministrations, he mumbled apologies and made an effort to take more care. He tried to keep his touches business-like, but he didn't fool anyone and certainly not himself. As he washed away the layers of dirt, bruises upon bruises were revealed, along with more scars than Marcus had ever seen on another living being. Marcus's heart ached when he saw the abuse the poor dragon had suffered.

  He was vaguely aware of Robert and Aiden leaving the chambers, but he couldn't take his eyes off Runt. A thin scar, several years old, stretched down the length of his arm. Marcus traced the raised flesh with his finger.

  "One of the princes did that," Runt whispered. "I was lucky. If I hadn't moved just in time, he would have pierced my heart. Sometimes I used to wonder whether I might be better off if one of them had."

  "No!" Marcus took Runt into his arms, cautious not to hold him too tightly. "Never say that. You're safe now."

  "I'd given up," Runt cried. "When you came to the castle, I'd given up hope of ever being free again. I longed for the pain to end. I just wanted everything to be over."

  Marcus carried Runt to the rug in front of the fire. He held the dragon while he sobbed and Marcus murmured nonsense words into his ear. He vowed the witch would be dead before the end of the year. No one else would suffer at her hands.



Author Bio
L.M. Brown is an English writer of MM and MMM romances. She believes there is nothing hotter or sweeter than two men in love with each other… unless it is three.

L.M. Brown loves hearing from readers so don't be shy.

Find L.M. Brown Here
Twitter: @LMBrownAuthor


2 comments:

  1. Thank you for letting me visit here today/yesterday (depending on those pesky timezones) :-)

    ReplyDelete