Conquering Venus, A Novel by Collin Kelley is out now from Vanilla Heart Publishing. Order your copy from Amazon.com or BN.com.


In the summer of 1995, young American writer Martin Paige agrees to help chaperone a group of high school seniors on their graduation trip to Paris as a favor to his best friend, teacher Diane Jacobs. Diane hopes Europe will act as a catalyst to lift Martin from his grief following the suicide of his lover, Peter. But the trip proves to be more than either of them bargained for, as Martin finds himself falling in love with one of her students, David McLaren, who is unprepared to cope with his burgeoning sexuality.

Once in Paris, Martin meets a mysterious widow, Irène Laureaux, who is debilitated by agoraphobia and spends her days spying on the hotel guests across from her apartment. Martin and Irène discover they have a logic-defying connection: a small tribal tattoo on their left hands that means equal but opposite. This is same tattoo that Martins lover and Irènes husband had inked into their skin.

All the characters lives are irrevocably changed in a horrifying terrorist attack at a Paris metro station. Liberated by the blast, forced from her own self-imprisonment, Irène learns her husbands death was not an accident, and dares Martin to acknowledge the role he played in Peters suicide. Diane, harboring her own secrets, takes a drastic step to force David out of the closet and admit his feelings for Martin.

From America to England to France, the globe-hopping story places fictional characters amidst historical events such as the Nazi occupation of Paris, the student/worker riots of 1968 and the terrorist bombings of Paris in 1995.

http://www.vanillaheartbooksandauthors.com or http://www.collinkelley.com

Video Editor: Tim O'Donnell
Music: "Heart of Wax by Vanessa Daou, from the album Joe Sent Me. Used by permission of Daou Records. http://www.vanessadaou.com (less info)