I always knew that Lysander was
going to be a photographer. I saw some landscapes by Galen Rowell in one of
those coffee table books at a friend’s house and was mesmerised by images. A
bit of research revealed that Galen died tragically in a ‘plane crash long
before his time and that made his work all the more poignant.
In a retrospective of his work,
there’s a quote in the foreword which says, “Galen Rowell was a man who went
into the mountains, into the desert, to the edge of the sea, to the last great
wild places in the world to be absorbed by their grace and grandeur. That is
what he did for himself. For the rest of us, he shared his vision
with—click—the release of a shutter, creating photographs as timeless, as
stunning, and as powerful as nature itself.”
That was my vision for Lysander. He
takes pictures for himself, not just to make a living. His passion for his work
means that he lives a professional life without limits. I wanted to explore
whether the same might apply to his love life. Picturing Lysander began
the story, my earlier short story which set the foundation for the longer
adventure that now forms Testing
Lysander. And their journey truly is a test—of endurance, of spirit and of
love. This story throws the characters into some of the most extreme and
demanding situations I could come up with. Caving, climbing, impenetrable
forests and psychotic terrorists all feature. Through it all, Brock and Kyle
grow closer together, exploring dominance and submission with a backdrop of
intense pressure. If they can survive their mission, surely they can survive
anything. But it’s never that simple and a return to safety brings its own
demands. No relationship is easy but I hope that the love shines through in
this story. That doesn’t guarantee a happy ending though… you’ll have to read
the book to find out whether the passion endures.
Excerpt
Brock scooped
more ground coffee into the cafetière, then filled the kettle and put it on to
boil. At the rate he and Kyle were absorbing caffeine, the two of them would be
awake half the night. He grinned. That wasn’t a bad idea at all. He may have
resigned himself to this being a short-term thing, but he was sure as hell
going to enjoy it. It wasn’t every day a
man like Kyle walked into his life.
He took two
mugs from the draining board where they’d been left to dry from breakfast and
put them on the counter top, fiddling with their position until the handles
were aligned and perfectly parallel. The mugs were a sunny yellow color with a
daisy pattern around the rim. Ceramic cheerfulness wasn’t enough, however, to
dislodge Brock’s thoughts from the dark track they were heading along.
Talking about
the trip and all the planning that went into each and every expedition made the
danger a bit more real. Brock had spent many months refining every detail of
his expedition. The Colombian cloud forests were not a destination to be taken
lightly and he was well aware of the risks of traveling in such an inhospitable
area. As a legitimate trip, it was still a dangerous undertaking. Add into that
the secret mission Kyle had enlisted him for and Brock thought he might need to up the cover on his travel
insurance.
“Not that any
insurer in the world is going to give me a policy that covers this trip,” he
muttered.
“Stop
worrying,” Kyle said from the doorway.
“Stop
following me,” Brock snapped back. “I need a moment of panic, if it’s all right
with you?”
Kyle chuckled.
“You thrive on adventure and danger. Don’t try to tell me that this trip
doesn’t excite you, because I know it does. Forget about the terrorists and
concentrate on the territory you’ll be accessing. You’ll get pictures no other photographer is ever likely to see
through a lens.”
“There are
good reasons why people don’t venture into certain parts of the world,” Brock
said dryly.
“And better
reasons for taking that extra step, as you well know. This isn’t the first time
you’ll take risks for pictures. I’ve seen your work, Brock, remember? You’re
even crazier than I am. The shots you took in Irian Jaya—in the Jayawijaya
mountains. You had to have been dangling off the rock face by your fingernails
to get those pictures.”
“Not the same
thing, and you know it.”
Blurb
The
newest addition to the What’s his Passion? imprint.
Feel
the fear and do it anyway.
Extreme photographer Lysander Brock is
accustomed to challenging places and situations but nothing can prepare him for
the journey that his dominant lover, Kyle Dawson, takes him on.
A commission to photograph the cloud
forests of the Colombian Andes becomes the cover for a dangerous mission to
expose a terrorist group. Kyle and Lysander must negotiate treacherous terrain,
a hazardous climb and unexplored caves to achieve their goal.
When Lysander is captured and tortured, he
has no expectations of rescue. He understands that his life comes second to the
mission but Kyle has no intention of leaving his beautiful, submissive lover in
the hands of a madman. Kyle can deal with the intense pressure of fighting
lethal enemies but the guilt of pushing Lysander into a life he never asked for
is much harder to accept.
Lysander and Kyle journey together into a
life of adventure, Dominance and submission, and an uncertain future.
Publisher's
Note: This book is a sequel to Picturing Lysander and is best read in order.
Like
the sound of Testing Lysander? Buy it here.
About
LM Somerton:
Lucinda lives in a small village in the
English countryside, surrounded by rolling hills, cows and sheep. She started
writing to fill time between jobs and is now firmly and unashamedly addicted.
She loves the English weather, especially
the rain, and adores a thunderstorm. She loves good food, warm company and a
crackling fire. She's fascinated by the psychology of relationships, especially
between men, and her stories contain some subtle (and some not so subtle)
leanings towards BDSM.
Enter
Totally Bound’s Testing Lysander competition for the chance to win a copy of
Testing Lysander and two books from LM Somerton’s backlist!
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