Overcoming Fear by Grace Duncan

​It's been four years since a global pandemic has ravaged the world and almost a year since Mark and Duncan had their fateful meeting at a tiny pharmacy. Duncan has spent that time doing everything he could to ease Mark's fears of losing him—fears that go beyond the normal danger of their new world. When a minister and his wife seek out Mark for help, Duncan sees an opportunity to show Mark another level of commitment—if Mark will dare to take it.

The world is no longer one we recognize. A pandemic wiped out a huge portion of the world’s population. On the heels of the pandemic, chaos and anarchy reigned, bringing even more death to the world until barely twenty percent of the population was left.

Mark had to watch a disproportionate number of the pandemic victims near him die. He stood by helpless as his family, friends, and coworkers succumbed to the disease while he survived. Any of us who tried to live through a situation like that would find themselves leery of opening up to others.

For Mark, the pandemic was just the icing on the cake.

For those who have read Healing, they’re a little more familiar with how Mark got to the point he did with his fear. Having faced abandonment issues—and never really dealt with them—it’s no wonder watching his friends die was so hard. Add to that the fact that Mark is a nurse, it’s even harder knowing there was nothing he could do for them, or any of his other patients, for that matter. Beyond the pandemic, he came from a broken family with split parents—who didn’t do as much as they probably could have to make up for the fact that their family was split in two. In fact, Mark’s parents end up not even talking much to the kids, much less each other. Their estrangement only started easing right before the pandemic hit, much to Mark’s dismay.

If that wasn’t enough, Mark was married before the world fell apart. He’d just come out to his wife Julie, who had… not taken the news well. Thus they were all but estranged when the virus happened.

So, for Mark, opening himself up to another person, giving that person the power to hurt—even through simply leaving, even if it wasn’t voluntary on their part—was huge. He manages, at the end of Healing, to open himself up and lets Duncan in. Despite this step, despite some nine months together, he still has a lot of fear when Overcoming Fear begins. It’s understandable. Abandonment issues don’t disappear overnight—or even after nine months. It can take years with therapy, and Mark certainly doesn’t have access to that anymore.

And this is where Mark is when the preacher and his wife find Mark and Duncan’s cabin to ask for help. He’s still working through his fears, still worries. And if you want to know how well he handles the next step… you’ll have to read the story. *wink*

Thank you to Elizabeth for giving me space today! I hope you guys enjoyed the little insight into Mark’s background. And enjoy Overcoming Fear!

You can find Overcoming Fear at Amazon and on Kindle Unlimited.

About Grace:

Grace Duncan grew up with a wild imagination. She told stories from an early age – many of which got her into trouble. Eventually, she learned to channel that imagination into less troublesome areas, including fanfiction, which is what has led her to writing male/male erotica.

A gypsy in her own right, Grace has lived all over the United States. She has currently set up camp in East Texas with her husband and children – both the human and furry kind.

As one of those rare creatures who loves research, Grace can get lost for hours on the internet, reading up on any number of strange and different topics. She can also be found writing fanfiction, reading fantasy, crime, suspense, romance and other erotica or even dabbling in art.

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