GUEST POST: Dangerous Waves by LM Brown

 

Mythology by LM Brown

Mythology has always fascinated me. The only time I didn’t love it was when I sat my A Level General Studies exam and saw Roman Mythology on the paper, after being taught Greek Mythology by the teacher. But the less said about that, the better.

My favourite mythological beings to read about are the Greeks, Norse, and Egyptian. I have a tiny, relatively quiet, little plot bunny nudging me to write a story set in ancient Egypt, just so I can play about with their pantheon too.

Films like Clash of the Titans, Jason and the Argonauts (the originals) as well as the old Sinbad films, helped to foster my interest in mythology and fantastical creatures, as well as series such as Hercules and Xena, which I also enjoyed. Those series were worth watching just for the completely ditzy Aphrodite, who shares a few qualities with my version of the Atlantean Goddess of Love. I loved the way this series breathed new life and added interesting new twists to the old stories.

Most of the newer series like the modern version of Sinbad as well as Atlantis (which borrowed heavily from Greek mythology) didn’t last long enough to truly make their mark with me, though I enjoyed them while they lasted.

As soon as I started my Mermen & Magic series I knew the magic part of the series would stem from the Atlantean gods and goddesses. I see the merpeople as a race who are not so much magical as merely undiscovered in the vast unexplored oceans of the world.

Finding true accounts of the deities worshipped by the people of Atlantis is no easy task. After all, if the island and city ever did exist – I personally believe it did – then the records of their rulers and gods will be lost beneath the ocean, along with the land itself. That being the case, who but the inhabitants of the sea would ever know the truth?

Since I needed an Atlantean pantheon of immortals, I decided to take a leaf out of the book of Sherrilyn Kenyon and simply create my own. Thus the likes of Medina Goddess of Love, Cari Goddess of Prophecy, Caspian God of Justice, and many more came to life to help and hinder my mermen in their quests for love.

Creating an entire pantheon has been a lot of fun, and I have spent more hours than I care to admit scribbling down histories and tangled family trees for the various immortals, most of which will never make it into the final books.

The history of what happened to the gods and the Atlantean people who worshipped them will, however, be revealed throughout the course of the series, as a secondary story to the main romances that each book contains.

Thankfully for those readers who have taken a liking to the eternally moody and bad-tempered God of Justice, Caspian, will have his own story told in the final book of the series.

Dangerous Waves (Mermen and Magic #3) is now available to buy and download from all good eBook retailers.

About LM Brown:

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

When L.M. Brown isn’t bribing her fur babies for control of the laptop, she can usually be found with her nose in a book.

Dangerous Waves blurb:

A blind merman fleeing the sunken city of Atlantis is torn between the family he left behind and the love he swims toward.

When Dax lost his family to a shark attack he swam away from everything he had ever known. Now he has come to Atlantis, hoping to reconnect with those he left behind. When he finds his birth clan torn apart, he realizes his journey is just beginning.

Kai is an Oracle, a blind merman, who only has sight when he has a vision. Atlantis, a sanctuary for so many merpeople, is his prison. Desperation drives him to beg the Atlantean Goddess of Love for help.

With the goddess’s promise of love to tempt him, Kai persuades Dax to take him along when he leaves the sunken city.

Although Dax has some reservations about traveling through the ocean with a blind merman in tow, he quickly discovers Kai isn’t as helpless as he appears. Attraction comes easy, but Kai doesn’t seem to feel the same way.

Kai knows he must seduce Dax if he hopes to win his heart, but his inexperience may be his downfall. With Dax’s former lover waiting at the end of their journey, he knows time is running out.

A goddess can only help so much, especially when another immortal would see them part. If the two stubborn mermen want a life together, they will have to learn to communicate and fight for their love.

Excerpt

Now the mating season was here, Kai remembered Medina’s warning to him. If he should give Dax his body before he was sure of his heart, he would lose him. Unfortunately, Kai had no doubt Dax’s heart was securely in his own keeping right now. Kai had no intention of risking losing him for a quick romp in the sand. As painful as the solstice would be, he couldn’t let Dax take him. But what was he supposed to tell Dax about his decision? The truth was out of the question, unless he wanted Dax to think him a fool, or even worse, a manipulator.

“We’ll go to the island until the solstice is over,” Dax stated firmly. “You and I will use each other to break the damn fevers, then we’ll be on our way again.”

“Use each other?” Kai knew what Dax meant, but he still couldn’t quite believe the merman could be so casual about sex. Didn’t sharing his body with a lover mean anything to him?

“I need to take another merman to break the fever. I’m hoping your fever recedes when you’re taken. You’ll forgive me for saying so, but you do rather look like someone who would enjoy being on the receiving end.”

Kai pulled his arm from Dax’s loose grasp. “You think to judge what I need by my appearance? What would you say if I told you I needed to ram my cock into your arse to break my fever? Would you be so eager for us to use each other then?”

Dax grabbed hold of him again, but Kai used his tail to smack him sharply and push him away. “You aren’t going to use me this solstice or any other.”

“You’d rather suffer through the fever just to be faithful to Delwyn?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw the way he kissed you right before we left. Do you think he’ll be moping around waiting for you to come back? No, he’ll be up on the island the colony uses, getting what he needs from another merman.”

“No, he won’t.”

“Of course he will. As soon as he realizes how bad the fever gets when he doesn’t find his release he’ll be begging another merman to take your place.”

Kai smacked Dax again, this time sending him spinning through the water. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’ve been through enough seasons without breaking the fever to know how bad it is,” Dax argued. “You have no idea of the pain.”

Kai swam away from Dax before he answered. “I know more than you do. How many seasons did you go through without release? Four or five, perhaps? Try going through more than twenty, then speak to me again about the pain.”

“What do you mean, more than twenty?”

“Oracles are not allowed to engage in sexual relations,” Kai explained. “I came into my powers just as I hit puberty. I’m twenty seven years of age and there are two mating seasons a year. You figure out how many times I’ve had to ride out the fever without release.”

“You’re a virgin?” Dax sounded stunned. Kai hadn’t anticipated he wouldn’t believe him. He guessed Dax must have thought he had lots of experience before becoming an Oracle, or he didn’t realize just how much of a prison the city had been for them. Kai supposed it was better he knew the truth now, rather than finding out when they were in the midst of a more intimate situation, assuming they ever were.

“As I said, sexual relations are forbidden for us. We aren’t allowed to leave the city, for any reason.”

“You’re really a virgin?”

Kai smacked Dax with his tail again.

“And would you stop doing that! You know for a blind merman, you’ve got a damn good aim with that thing.”

“I’m the Oracle of the present,” Kai reminded him.

“So?”

“So, I can see anything happening right now, including where you are.”

“You know, when you describe it like that, it sounds like you aren’t blind at all.”

“Of course I’m blind, but when I use my powers I can see what’s happening around me or anywhere else in the world. It’s draining to use them all the time, but a glimpse now and then is enough for me to get by.”

Dax snorted. “And you choose to use your powers to perfect your aim when you want to assault me. Charming!”

Kai swam away from Dax, and, after a quick glance to get his bearings, he swam for a nearby cave entrance. It didn’t look particularly welcoming, but it would do as a place to wait out the solstice.

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