If it were up to him, Talorc—laird of the Sinclair clan and leader of his werewolf pack— would never marry. But when the king orders that Talorc wed an Englishwoman, the lone wolf is shocked to find his mate in the strong-willed Abigail. And after an intensely climactic wedding night, the two fiercely independent souls sense an unbreakable bond…

Deaf since childhood, Abigail hopes to keep her affliction from Talorc as long as possible. And for his part, he has no intention of telling her about being a werewolf. But when Abigail learns that the husband she’s begun to love has deceived her, it will take all of his warrior’s strength—and his wolf’s cunning—to win his wife back. And Talorc will have to face his biggest challenge yet: the vulnerability of a man in love…

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One of my favorite themes in romance is the concept of family and what that word really means to us.  I ascribe to the idea that family is both born and made.  You see that theme in romance quite a bit, especially in the gay subgenre.  I am lucky to have some wonderful siblings and a terrific mom, but my dad was a drug addict who died young.  I never really found a replacement, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get the idea of “making” a family.  And I don’t mean just popping kids out. 🙂

We adopted our oldest daughter when she was a teenager, and it was because of her that we brought two Korean exchange students into our home.  They lived with us for three years and are both very much our sons, though they have wonderful family back in South Korea.  One lives in our “sattelite” house with our oldest and her family while he attends college locally.  The other won a scholarship to Ohio State and we’re going to visit him the week of RT.  They’re both part of our youngest’s wedding on January 31st as they were for our oldest daugther last March, just as our biological son is and was.  We’ve had other teens and not-so-teens live with us as part of our family for short and long stretches of time.  My sibs and I have adopted other adults into our family as well.  My husband and I are considering foster parenting or adopting older children once the final teen finishes college and moves out.  Not sure if it’ll work with all the grandkids on the way, but my mom always taught us that love given away grows.  We agree!

Which makes it unsurprising that in my current release, Moon Craving, the concept of family is an important theme.  Just like my own daughters, the heroine Abigail is closer to her sister Emily than anyone else, despite the fact they share no parental genes.  She finds a place where she belongs amidst Talorc’s clan, when the best she thinks she can hope for is to somehow be reunited with her stepsister.

Share your thoughts: what is your favorite family concept from a book?  Is your personal family born, or made, or both?

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Thank you for visiting Novel Thoughts, Ms Monroe! You can learn more about Ms Monroe’s work by visiting her website.

Leave a comment to enter a drawing for an unsigned copy of Moon Craving, courtesy of our very own and oh-so-awesome! Fatin. The prize will be mailed as soon as the book comes out, but the winner will be chosen this Sunday.