Today I have the lovely Marie Higgins on The League of Rogues to talk about her upcoming release and the Amazon Jungle!
Romance in the Jungle
Katrina Landon’s life is about to change.
The wealthy father she has never known wants to meet her, but she has to
travel from the slums of Boston through the Amazon rainforest to his
plantation. As if that’s not bad enough, her guide is the handsome,
self-assured, too confident for his own good, Mr. Knightly, who immediately
stirs her temper.
Felix Knightly isn’t looking forward to escorting a spoiled rich girl
through the jungle no matter how much her father pays. Yet when he meets her,
he finds Katrina’s distracting innocence and charming demeanor unsettling. She
makes it nearly impossible to concentrate on his job—a problem he’s never had
around women. He’d rather fight off the fire ants, howler monkeys, and crocodiles
than risk losing his heart to her, since he’s never met an honest wealthy
woman.
As they delve deeper into the shadows of the rainforest, they discover they
weren’t just wrong about each other, they were wrong about the dangers of the
jungle. Someone wants them dead and they have to find out who and why before
it’s too late.
My newest release, “Amazon Sunset” takes place in the Amazon
Rainforest—during the late 1800’s. I
know what you’re thinking. You’re
wondering how a romance could
possibly happen in the middle of a jungle, right? Well, let me assure you, I had wondered the
same thing when I first had an idea to write this story. I wanted to write about something different,
something unique. I have never read a
romance that has taken place in a jungle.
All I knew was that there were no paved roads, lots of plants and trees,
many variations of animals / insects and other creatures, and let’s not
forget…lots of rain! So really…how could
my characters fall in love at all?
Not only am I a romance writer, I enjoy writing
suspense. Not only does there have to be
some kind of mystery between the characters, but in the plot itself. I thrive on keeping my readers turning the
pages to find out what really happens throughout my adventure of twists and
turns. While putting together the plot
to “Amazon Sunset” in my head, I realized that the dangers of the jungle were
the very key to bringing my hero and heroine together.
A line in my
blurb states: He’d
rather fight off the fire ants, howler monkeys, and crocodiles than risk losing
his heart to her, since he’s never met an honest wealthy woman. Which is exactly how the hero feels, but
because of everything they share together, it brings them closer together. (I’ll tell you a secret...there are more
dangers than just ants, monkeys, and crocodiles.)
Researching what
I needed for this story was very entertaining, and I realized one thing. I am not the kind of girl who would enjoy
traipsing through the jungle. Not
today…and certainly not in 1890. I’m the
type that doesn’t like to get dirty.
It’s a good thing my heroine’s not like this, or she would have never
met the hero—the man of her dreams.
Here is a
snippet of my new release –
“Mr. Knightly?”
she whispered only for his ears. “What is wrong?”
He turned toward
her and grasped her wrist. His hold wasn’t tight, but his actions still worried
her.
“What you see in
those trees are howler monkeys,” he spoke in a low tone.
His voice was
calm, yet his expression didn’t match the tone. “Howler monkeys?” she asked. “That’s
an odd name for them.”
Extremely hairy
and mostly brown in color, they were odd looking primates, but it was their
heads that had her really studying the creatures, because their faces appeared
almost…orange. At first she wondered if they had all been slapped with orange
paint, but then she realized that was what they were supposed to look like.
Their tails were longer than their bodies, and were the very things keeping
them attached to the tree branches, while their hands and feet clutched different
branches—almost forming a spider web. Dozens of them filled one tree alone, yet
all the trees held about the same amount of monkeys.
“I’ve never seen
anything quite like it before,” she continued. “I suppose they are cute in an
odd sort of way—”
“Listen closely,”
he cut her off with a slow but steady voice. “Do not make any sudden movements. You might think they are cute, but
they are easily irritated. Making them upset is not wise, because they have
been known to attack.”
A surprised gasp
stuck in her throat. They would attack?
They looked harmless. But as she watched his crew cautiously prepare for the
battle they thought could possibly happen, she realized she’d better follow
Felix’s warning this time. “Attack?” her voice squeaked out.
“Mostly they will
urinate or fling their um…waste…on us. However, there have been a few times
I’ve witnessed them springing out of the trees and physically beating a person
to death.”
“Oh, dear.”
He loosened his
grip on her arm. “Stay by me and I’ll protect you. We don’t want to do anything
to agitate these wild primates.”
“All right,” she
whispered as fear slowly seeped into her body.
One of Felix’s
crew members slowly approached him and passed him a machete. He gripped the
handle and stepped closer to Katrina. All talking—and even whispering—on the
small vessel stopped as the barge crept underneath the trees. Panic knotted in
her throat as she switched her attention from one monkey to the next, trying to
study their eyes. They all appeared to be watching her and the rest of the crew
with great intent, and she prayed they could pass beneath the trees without any
disturbance. Even the thought of them flinging their…unmentionables…on her or
urinating made her want to gag.
Her heart
hammered, and she tried not to get too frightened. Felix promised he’d protect
her, so she must trust him.
He took careful
steps, shifting even closer to her. “Katrina,” he whispered, “you’re breathing
too loudly. Try to calm down.”
Silently she
groaned. How in heaven’s name could she calm down when everyone around her was
on guard for a battle to the death?
From one of the
trees, a monkey rose higher than the others as if the animal was ready to
pounce. She held her breath. Oh, please
don’t! The grip Felix had on her wrist tightened. He, too, must be
preparing for something to happen.
Without being able
to stop it, a small peep escaped her throat as fear consumed her.
“Shh…” he said
softly.
The barge inched
its way underneath the watchful monkeys. They only needed to pass two more
trees before they were out of harm’s way.
Her body shook,
and for the life of her, she couldn’t control it. Felix released her wrist and
gently slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her against his frame. The
warmth from his body brought a strange sense of comfort to her.
“We’re almost
there…” he said.
Marie Higgins is a best-selling, multi-published author
of sweet romance; from refined bad-boy heroes who make your heart melt to the
feisty heroines who somehow manage to love them regardless of their faults.
Visit her website / blog to discover more about her – http://mariehiggins84302.blogspot.com
Find her on Facebook – facebook.com/marie.higgins.7543
And Twitter - @MarieHigginsXOX
.jpg)
