In the Shadow of a Dream is a reimagined fairytale filled with potions, magic, and true love, but even fairytales traverse dark roads and face scary monsters. Brinna's story—while a romance that does focus on that happily-ever-after—doesn't preclude her (and others in her story), and thereby the reader, from facing some very real and possibly disturbing obstacles. It is important to share what could possibly be triggering for those who wish forewarning. If you don't want to know, please stop reading here, turn the page, and begin the story.
Brinna Fareview and her siblings have lived in a land dominated by men, where women are subjugated just based on their gender, and while Kaloma and its politics isn’t as prevalent in this story, this loss of autonomy and agency has still occurred closer to home. Their mother, Scarlett, has been lying to her family, and is keeping them trapped. While her lies have been told with good intentions, they have resulted in a loss of power and choice for each of her grown children, unaware of her duplicity.
As this story reveals Scarlett’s secrets, the reader learns that Scarlett, too, has suffered at the hands of men. While none of it is glorified or explicitly described, this story touches upon loss of agency, entrapment, kidnapping, incestual intent, grooming, and thoughts of self-harm-suicide. None of these situations are graphically highlighted, but sometimes the allusion is enough. Please rest assured that I have done my utmost to care for the various characters (and my readers) in the narrative scope of these situations. My hope is that all scenes are presented with that caution in mind. Please note, that given the fantasy elements, there are some dark creatures with frightening intentions depicting violence.
Thank you so much for being willing to take a chance on In the Shadow of a Dream. I hope you love Brinna and Luc’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it, and that in all your endeavors, you are able to dream sweetly (and hopefully with some spice thrown in for good measure).