Today I'm hosting fellow Pets in Space® 5 author Alexis Glynn Latner with a special blog about the pet in her story, "Pastfinders." Thanks for visiting Spacefreighters Lounge today, Alexis!
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Here’s the most important thing about the pet in my PISA 5 story, “Pastfinders”: Rusty is a trauma service animal. There are some VERY unusual traits and special effects in his makeup, but he exists to help a traumatized warrior live a better life. Rusty has a real-life prototype. A dear friend of mine has PTSD, which is an incredible hardship for her. But she has a service dog which has been incredibly fortunate for her. She’s not a military veteran. The PTSD came from a car wreck—an impaired driver smashed into her car on the freeway in broad daylight. Like my friend, my story’s hero, Haze, had the extreme misfortune to be traumatized while going his way on a sunny day on what should have been a safe world. Luckily Rusty finds him and it makes all the difference in the world.
A profound bond forms between Haze and Rusty. This isn’t just a plot device. Service animals and their owners form very deep bonds. My friend says about her dog, Rinnie, “She saved my life, then made it worth living. Two hearts, one beat.” Of course, I DO show my story’s heroine, Mercury, worrying about what the bond between Rusty and Haze means for her!
It was clear to Mercury where the creature’s loyalty lay now: bonded to Haze. Where does that leave me? In frustrated tension, Mercury thought there was no way this situation could possibly get more complicated or fraught or, in a word, worse.
Then she hastily squelched that thought lest she tempt the god to demonstrate otherwise.
Rusty’s name came from a different source. When my fiancé Mark was a teenager, he had Rusty the Wonder Dog, a mutt of unflaggingly cheerful and adventurous disposition. Rusty even flew in a glider once. A glider is an engineless airplane that stays aloft on warm air rising under clouds and wind deflected up by ridgelines. Visualize a cockpit with a young pilot in the front seat and his dad and dog in the seat behind him while he flies the glider a couple of wingspans from a ridge where sheep are grazing. Standing on Mark’s dad’s lap, Rusty watched the sheep intently. And he was fascinated by a vulture nearby in the air. I think hearing about Rusty’s glider flight was part of why Rusty in “Pastfinders” turned out to be a creature with the ability to fly written in his alien genes.
Rusty the Wonder Dog was a great pet. Trauma service animals aren’t just pets, though. This is because they are required to think: to assess situations independently, protect their owner from danger, and yet be perfectly calm in situations that aren’t dangerous. People with PTSD have runaway flight-or-flight reactions in their nervous system. They suddenly feel in danger, even that there’s something that wants to kill them. The service animal knows better. The person tunes into the animal’s reaction and calms down. It’s like magic. It’s how some people with PTSD finally get a night’s sleep. This is exactly what our PISA charity, Hero Dogs, wants veterans and first responders with PTSD to have: a companion animal with keen senses and an absolutely trustworthy disposition. Better days of life, and better nights’ sleep. PTSD I’m proud that we support Hero Dogs!
That Rusty has a raptor’s big golden eyes, talons on his back feet, a feathery ruff on his neck, and opposable toes on his forepaws is fantasy, of course. Yet . . . an animal who can do what service animals do has real magic. I just turned the truth inside out to show the inner, invisible magic as the fantastic exterior of such an animal.
Interestingly, there is no correlation between canine breed—or lack of recognizable breed—and aptitude as a service dog. A dog whose breed or mix of breeds sounds ideal can flunk PTSD service dog training. A dog from the pound can be perfect. There might even be a dog like this in a pound near you, or in your neighborhood some cold night this winter as a stray. It will be an ordinary dog on the outside—and a magical protector on the inside.
Alexis Glynn Latner writes tales of romantic adventure that touch readers’ hearts and their minds as well.
https://www.alexisglynnlatner.com
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I found "Pastfinders" a fascinating and engrossing story in a remarkable setting that hooked me right from the first sentence. "Pastfinders" is just one of twelve amazing reads--all with unique and memorable pets--in Pets in Space® 5.
PETS IN SPACE® 5
It’s time for an escape! Pets in Space® 5 is back for the fifth amazing year! Escape to new worlds with twelve of today’s top Science Fiction Romance authors. They have written 12 original, never-before-released stories filled with action, adventure, suspense, humor, and romance that will take you out of this world.
The giving doesn’t stop there. For the fifth year, Pets in Space® will be donating a portion of the first month proceeds to Hero-Dogs.org, a non-profit charity that supports our veterans and First Responders. If you are ready to forget the world around you and make a difference while you are having fun, grab your copy before it’s gone!
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I love this story behind the story! Thank you for sharing! PASTFINDERS is a wonderful story!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by, Pauline. I totally agree it's a wonderful story.
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