The Venus Cure
by A.K. Leigh
GENRE: Romantic Suspense
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A.K. Leigh will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to one randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter and an ebook copy of The Venus Cure to three randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.Please visit GoddessFish.com to follow the tour, remember the more you comment better your chances on winning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Torrance Monroe couldn’t be happier. She has landed her dream job as a botanical scientist for the Parks and Wildlife Service in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her specialty will be the conservation, study, and propagation of the native plants that have fascinated her since her earliest memories: the Venus Fly Trap. Dominique Black isn’t happy. As a Wildlife Officer, he has been working at the grass roots level to save the endangered traps from poachers looking to make a quick buck. It is grueling work, with the majority of offenders going unpunished. How could a scientist with zero experience in the field help him when even the law was failing? The two are at immediate odds even though they share the same underlying passion for the plants…and each other. However, after a well-known poacher harvests traps from one of the local swamp lands, Tori and Dom must set aside their differences in order to catch the criminal and keep the remaining plants from being harmed. In the process, Tori learns to rely on the mysterious Venus Fly Trap folk lore she remembers from her childhood. Dom learns to release control and have faith in another person. The Venus Cure is a fast-paced, erotic, and lightly mystical romantic suspense novella that centers around the serious issue of Venus Fly Trap poaching. The author chose the title based on five possible meanings. See how many you are able to discover!
The Venus Cure will be $0.99 during this tour.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
She smiled as she used her palm to cover the plant. It had been too long since she’d touched one, seen one, in its natural habitat. Weekends spent at her grandmother’s, within walking distance of the swamps of Wilmington, rushed forward. She couldn’t remember how old she was when she’d first seen a Venus flytrap; they’d been in her earliest memories. Her grandmother had taught her so much about the plants: how to discover their secret locations, how to dig them out without hurting them, how to propagate them. And, most importantly, how to care for them. Back then, the plants had seemed abundant. Too many to count. She’d never dreamed their existence would be threatened.
But they were.
More memories came.
Her grandmother clasped a trap gently between her palms. She whispered, “If you love the trap, it will reveal the secrets of the universe to you.”
“Have they revealed the secrets to you, Nonna?”
Her grandmother smiled, “Yes, my child … and they will for you too. I promise.”
. . . “You’re teaching me the secrets aren’t you, Nonna?”
“Yes, my darling. The traps are just like the Goddess they are named after … but you will need to learn what I mean by that for yourself … remember this: it cannot be taught, it must be felt with the heart …”
That was where it faded. Nothing else came. What had Nonna meant?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q & A with A. K. Leigh
. What books/authors have influenced your writing?
As a child, I read a lot of Enid Blyton, Jane Austen, and the Brontes, as well as detective and mystery stories like Nancy Drew. Though I don’t really see their influence in my writing. Perhaps in the love stories and suspense aspect? In my adult life, Nora Roberts and Nicholas Sparks have been big inspirations.
Tell us something you hate doing. Why?
The dishes! If it wasn’t so bad for the environment, I would get everyone to eat off disposable plates and cutlery at every meal. I don’t have a dishwasher–unless you count my hands?–and with 3 children, the dishes pile up every time I blink.
Share a funny incident in your life.
Just one? Ha! The first time I visited Thailand, I was at Vimanmek Palace and approached a set of four or five steps leading to the garden. I was too busy looking around trying to catch a glimpse of everything that I missed the first step … and slid all the way down to the last one. Luckily for me, everyone saw and proceeded to crack up about it. I can imagine how funny and awkward it would have looked (
… yes, I did have bruises (
What's your pet peeve?
When people don’t respect my boundaries.
When you are in writer mode, music or no music? If music do you have a playlist?
Definitely music, or a movie. I play them on low on my computer and wear headphones. The familiar noise helps me relax and get in the flow of inspiration better. As far as a playlist, for music it’s usually: Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Guns ‘N Roses, Storm Large, or country music (Travis Tritt is my favorite country singer, but I like a bit of Cash and Kenny too). The movies I play are mostly classics (like Captain Blood with Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland) or a martial arts movie.
P.S. Thanks for having me (
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A.K. Leigh is an international selling romantic suspense author, huge Michael Jackson fan, martial arts movie buff, astrologer, and identical triplet. She has a Graduate degree in Counselling, which she uses to help her develop rounded characters in her stories. When she’s not reading, writing, dreaming, or star-gazing, she spends her time with her three beautiful children. Though her books are set in North Carolina, USA (because she loves the state!), she lives in QLD, Australia.
You can keep up to date with her releases, events and news by liking her on
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for hosting today
ReplyDeleteIntriguing concept. What kind of research did you have to do?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the question Debby :-) The research was mostly on how to care for Venus flytraps. I also looked into some folk lore.
DeleteLove that cover, thanks for sharing an excerpt with us :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, Angela :-)
DeleteYour funny incident, been there a couple of times. Falling down is never fun.
ReplyDeleteI never know whether to laugh or cry :-D
DeleteI enjoyed the post, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rita :-)
DeleteCouldn't find 5 things but loved the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of doing a blog on the 5 meanings :-)
DeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Becky :-)
DeleteThanks for hosting me :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading this one, thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really interesting. I didn't know that Venus Fly Trap poaching was a problem.
ReplyDeleteI didn't either! It was only after I listened to the podcast my brother gave me that I started researching it a bit more.
DeleteI am really enjoying following this tour, thank you!
ReplyDeleteSounds good.
ReplyDeleteI think that is so interesting that are an astrologer. Does it show up in your books? Change the way that you write?
ReplyDeleteOh wow, I've never been asked that question before. It seeps into my stories in subtle ways. For instance, in astrology the planet Venus relates to love and romance. Hence, one of the meanings of the title "The Venus Cure" relates to that :-)
DeleteThank you for your comments and questions everyone xo
ReplyDelete