NY Times and USA TODAY bestselling author, RITA Award winner, and 747 airline pilot Susan Grant is here today with an Interview with Puppy from Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2.
Puppy's story The Prince, the Pilot and the Puppy, also known as Star Puppy in her very popular Star Series, will join Star King, Star Prince, Star Hero, Star Champion (aka Champion of Baresh) and the other wonderful books in this outstanding science fiction romance series.
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I can’t wait for you to meet Trysh, Rornn, and Puppy, and the rest of the crew of Bezos Station, a city in space that orbits the planet of Barésh. Readers may recognize some of these places and characters from Star Champion (previously titled The Champion of Barésh) and Star Hero (expanded from the short story “Stray” from Pets in Space 1).
Puppy is a canine type of animal, an alien street dog—called a “yipwag” in the local dialect. Smarter than Earth dogs, yipwags are experts in predicting human behavior and reading our emotions. They have wagging tails and wet noses like the dogs we know, and come in different colors. Puppy has a brownish-black coat, black eyes, and huge upright ears.
Let’s ask Puppy a few questions about herself and the people in her life:
1. Is Puppy really your name?
Yes! My Tall Ones tried a few times to give me a “real name”—Cocoa, Blackie, Kaylee, Lucky—but none stuck. It’s okay. My mother called me Puppy and that’s who I am.
2. Is it true that yipwags are being used in an experimental K-9 program on Bezos Station?
Yes, but there’s just two of us so far. Me, and my friend Bang-Bang. Like border collies and other herding dogs on Earth, we yipwags are good a reasoning, but our powers are supercharged. The Tall Ones are first beginning to realize how much we can help them—and they need our help a lot. I’m being trained for contraband detection, bomb sniffing, search and rescue, and protection.
3. Where’s your favorite place to nap?
With my favorite Tall Ones in their bed. But on My Trysh’s side. My Rornn is too tall and his feet get in my way.
4. You say your two favorite people are Trysh and Rornn. Who else?
That would have to be Danger. He’s a starfighter pilot like My Rornn and My Trysh. He helped My Rornn say and do the right things to win Trysh’s heart. He’s funny and when no one is looking he gives me pieces of bacon.
5. and your least favorite person?
Sergeant Spratt. He’s also called “Sarg” or “Box Cutter.” He’s the station’s cargo wrangler. We got off to a bad start when I ate the pie his girlfriend baked for him.
Please enjoy this excerpt of how Puppy got on Sergeant Spratt’s bad side:
Puppy trembled as her shelter swayed and seemed to lift off the ground. There was a terrifying noise and shaking, then it subsided, replaced by a gentle swaying, a low rumbling. Her ears felt stuffy.
Then she floated off the floor.
She bobbed and bounced along the walls and ceilings of the dark, cavernous space. A delicious smell made her forget the pain in her hind leg. She pushed away from the wall to follow the scent to its source, grabbing hold of a small box with her teeth and claws lest she float away again. Glancing around for Others who would steal her prize and maim or kill her, she decided she was still alone. Frantically, she peeled off the outer covering, ripping apart the casing under that, and sank her muzzle into a warm, crumbly mess that tasted of the sweetness of her mother’s milk and the savory richness of fat. It was almost too sweet, too sticky, but food meant survival. Half-choking in her frenzy to eat, awash in a swirling cloud of torn paper and crumbs, she wolfed it down.
A jerking movement knocked her loose. She dropped, hitting the floor with the remains of her meal. The den swung wildly, throwing her around. She slid across the floor and smacked into containers, hurting her ribs. Then, with a powerful boom, the crate went still. Her lungs heaved, her body hurting. She could hear the voices and footsteps of Tall Ones. Crumbs dangled from her whiskers, her nose was sticky. Bright light hurt her eyes as the entrance banged open.
Faces of Tall Ones peered in. “Sarg! Sergeant Spratt! We got a hitchhiker!”
“A what?” Feet stomped closer.
“A stowaway. And…uh…it got into that pie you said your nurse friend was sending up.”
“What! Someone got into my pie?” yelled the raspy voice.
“Something. It’s one of those yipwags from the colony, Sarg. A street dog. A puppy.”
Find out what happens next in Embrace the Romance, Pets in Space 2!
About the Author
When NY Times/USA Today bestselling author and Air Force veteran Susan Grant isn’t driving an 18-wheeler (a 747 jumbo jet) she loves writing romantic, action-packed stories featuring gutsy woman and honorable men. Flying to exotic places and trying every kind of food imaginable helps Susan bring her sci-fi worlds alive for readers. She is a winner of the prestigious RITA award for her book Contact, an alien abduction sci-fi romance.
FB Handle: @Author.Susan.Grant Twitter Handle: @flyerdreamer
Just Released: October 10th
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Fun interview with Puppy Susan! One of the things I really liked about The Prince, the Pilot and the Puppy was Puppy's voice.
ReplyDeleteIt's so fun, isn't it, Riley? Thanks to Susan for being our guest today on Spacefreighters Lounge.
ReplyDelete