Sunday, August 31, 2014

Guest Blogger: LM Brown

Please welcome fellow author LM Brown, who is going to talk about her newest release, Forbidden Waters.

Welcome to Atlantis

Of all the underwater cities lost to us, hidden below the waves, Atlantis, if it ever existed outside of the imagination of Plato, is certainly the most famous. 

Goodness, wouldn't every writer want to make up a place that has lasted in the memories of mankind as long as Atlantis has? 

But I get side-tracked. What if the legend of this enduring continent which sank below the ocean thousands of years ago didn't end there?

For my Mermen & Magic series, I took the idea that Atlantis didn't simply end after the disaster that sank it.  What if the Atlantean gods and goddesses helped their people to survive beneath the ocean?  What if the indigenous mer people and the Atlanteans learned to share their space in the ocean?  An alliance between two vastly different species, both watched over by the Atlantean pantheon, who gave their human followers the ability to survive at great depths and at the same time adopted the mer people as their own.

Two worlds, combined into one centuries before, but now torn apart.

In the present day the Atlanteans are gone from Atlantis and only the mer remain there.  Atlantis is a decaying city protected and hidden by the controlled, but untamed, sea dragons.  It is the only safe haven in the ocean for the mer.

The temples of the gods and goddesses are deserted and the immortals who once watched over them are mostly absent.   No longer worshipped by the Atlanteans and the mer people, their powers are weakened, but are mysteriously growing once again.

In the Atlantis of my new series the city is about to come to life once more.

For as long as there are those searching for the lost continent, for as long as there are writers bringing it to life in fiction, the legend of the lost city of Atlantis never truly dies. 

I hope readers enjoy my take on Atlantis.



Blurb

To save his clan from ever-increasing shark attacks, merman Kyle seeks sanctuary for his people in the sunken city of Atlantis, even though he knows that as a homosexual merman, he will be sacrificing his own chance for love. Love finds him anyway in the form of Prince Finn, the rebellious young heir to the Atlantean throne.

When their relationship is discovered, Kyle is the one to pay the price. Banished from the oceans, he seeks shelter in England and finds a new love with human, Jake Seabrook.

For Jake, Kyle is the chance to move on from the crush he has on his straight best friend. The strange man he found naked on the beach seems to fit into his life with ease.  If only Kyle weren’t keeping secrets from him, Jake could see them having a future together.

Things are not what they seem for either of the men and when Kyle discovers the truth about Finn, he knows he must return to Atlantis.

Three men, a tangled relationship, and one chance for happiness—if they can trust enough to take it.


Excerpt

Kyle passed Calder his trident back and once he was alone, he started to test the weapons for weight, length and sharpness. He had just picked up his fifth trident when he heard a movement behind him. He spun round on reflex and nearly speared the young prince through the chest.
“That’s some weapon you have there,” the prince said with a grin, as he pushed the trident aside carelessly. Kyle hoped the prince realised how lucky he was the prongs on this particular weapon were blunt. “You insulted me when you left the palace.”
Kyle cringed. “I apologise, Your Highness. This is all very new to me.”
“Finn.”
“What?”
“My name’s Finn.”
Kyle felt a little ignorant at not knowing the name of the prince and heir of Atlantis already. He wondered if he was in trouble for his not entirely unintentional insult.
“You never answered my question, either,” Finn said.
“You didn’t ask me a question.”
Finn rolled his eyes. “Fine, you never clarified just how many of those mer-babies are yours—or whether my guess was right.”
Kyle thought about lying and repeating King Nereus’ reason for not knowing the answer, but he was by nature an honest merman and he decided the truth was probably the best option. If he chose to stay in Atlantis, he would no doubt be caught in the lie anyway. “You guessed correctly,” he admitted.
Finn’s grin widened. “And how many of those pretty mermaids you’ve brought with you to Atlantis have you taken?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” Prince or not, Kyle didn’t want to answer his impertinent question.
Finn moved forward and ran a finger down the centre of Kyle’s chest. “Would you like me to guess how many?”
“Not really.”
Finn learned close, as though he might whisper in his ear, even though they spoke telepathically. “None.”
“Wrong,” Kyle replied with a grin of his own.
“One then,” Finn amended, “before you realised your preference for the males of our species.”
Kyle kept his expression blank as Finn summed up his entire sexual experience with mermaids in one eerily accurate sentence.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Finn stroked his hand over Kyle’s smooth chest. Most mermen didn’t develop excessive body hair. Although there were a few exceptions, Kyle was with the majority in being smooth skinned. “How many mermen have you taken as a lover?”
The prince was certainly persistent in his questioning. Kyle pushed his hand away irritably. “What do you care if I’ve had relations with a hundred mermen?”
Finn didn’t take a hint and put his hand back where it had been a moment before. “Have you known a hundred?”
Kyle could tell he wasn’t going to get away with evasive answers, so he decided to stick to the truth in the hope Finn would be satisfied and disappear back to his palace before Calder or one of the trainees came in and saw them.
“I’ve taken just one merman as a lover.”
“Is he here in Atlantis?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I’m curious about my competition.” Finn smiled up at him through his flyaway hair. “Is he here?”
“No. He chose to find a new clan where he could love who he wants without censure.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?” Finn appeared genuinely curious.
“I have a duty to my clan to see them safe. That comes before my own selfish desires.”
Finn finally removed his hand from Kyle’s chest and swam back a couple of feet. “There are options if you still desire the touch of a merman here in Atlantis,” Finn said. “If you know where to look.”


Buy Link


By the time this post goes live Forbidden Waters will also be available at Amazon, All Romance Ebooks and many other online stories. 

Bio

L.M. Brown lives in England, in a quaint little village time doesn't seem to have touched. No, wait a minute—that's the retirement biography. Right now, she is in England in a medium sized town no one has ever heard of, so she won't bore you with the details. Keeping her company are numerous sexy men. She just wishes they weren't all inside her head.

L.M. 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.

Links

Where to find L.M. Brown
Twitter - @LMBrownAuthor


Thanks for stopping by, LM, come back again soon!

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