Thank You Pets in Space--and Godspeed

As I previously announced, my run with the Pets in Space anthologies has now ended. I've opted out of writing for a third collection in 2018, in favor of working on more books in my own series. I found the time commitment involved in launching a major campaign to promote the anthology plus produce more of my own work is just a bit too overwhelming for this writer.

So even though it was a tremendously rewarding experience--not to mention nabbing me a USA TODAY bestseller status--I had to make a choice to do one or the other. And my choice was...the other.

So the time has come to part ways with the wonderful world of PISA, because a decision was made to cut the run shorter than the original anticipated April 2018 end date, so the print book will be going off sale any time now (it may have already been pulled as of the time this blog posts) and the digital book will disappear forever *poof* by the end of January.

(That's a not-so-subtle hint that this is your last chance to grab a copy if you're so inclined.)

Apart from all the knowledge and experience I gained in marketing and promotion, thanks to the wonderful Narelle Todd of GetMyBookOutThere.com, my two stories in this pet project (heh, see what I did there?) actually put a spectral shift on my entire series.

Back in late 2015, when I was asked if I wanted to be a part of an anthology built around the central concept of pets--in spaaaaaaace (Oh, heck yes, I did!) it actually turned out to be a couple of parsecs beyond "the right decision." I'm super happy I took part in the grand experiment, not only because it was so well received by readers, but also because it allowed me to create actual stories out of some of the backmatter that only existed in my head.

The two stories I ended up penning in 2016 and 2017 evolved into Inherited Stars Series books, and allowed me to give readers an expanded view into the fictional universe, as well as reveal a few surprises. Here's a couple of major things that happened in the course of writing the stories.

And Then There Were Four: Revealing the Unexpected

The established "quo" in the novel, Inherit the Stars, suggested that there were only two known surviving Mennelsohn prototypes--Specter and the ship designer's-slash-visionary's final product, Spirit. Since Zaviar Mennelsohn is deceased in the novel's timeline, it's clear there will be no more vessels of their kind produced in the future.

But that didn't eliminate all the options from the past.

Get it on Instafreebie

StarDog in the original Pets in Space collection allowed me to expand on a storyline that was only briefly mentioned in the novel: Whatever happened to Jaeo Gant's original ship?

In Inherit the Stars readers learn that Jaeo Gant is actually a Mennelsohn--Zaviar's brother. More importantly, like his niece, Captain Drea, and nephew, Admiral Ry, he once had a Mennelsohn prototype of his own. In fact, it was a "P" class vessel, just one generation removed from Specter and Spirit--the two state-of-the-art "S" class ships--though her name was later changed to help disguise her...and her new captain.

I should slip in an aside here and mention that although Pets in Space 1 is no longer available, StarDog as a standalone short is still currently offered on Instafreebie, but the promotion will end in the very near future. Originally slated to run with Pets in Space 2 until the end of April, the decision to end the PISA2 sooner means the StarDog free promotion will also end. With approaching 2000 copies downloaded, it's been a popular offering.

In the second Pets story, Courting Disaster: StarDog 2 in the just-about-to-end collection, readers are let in on another secret. There's a fourth surviving Mennelsohn craft, a much earlier prototype that was discovered in ship's graveyard and brought back from the dead. (This was actually a bit of a surprise for the author as well, since this facet hadn't originally been a planned part of the series, but one that evolved organically in creating Courting Disaster.)

In fact, this vessel is a "B" class--the original working prototype--has a long and colorful history of her own. A history that just might be explored in future books. *winkwink*

In time, the significance of both of these newly discovered Mennelsohn ships will be brought into much sharper focus.

The StarDog Effect

I recently had a reader ask why there were no StarDogs in Inherit the Stars. I had a good chuckle at that.

The simple answer is because the role of the StarDog wasn't originally planned although some form of StarDog-ish pet was always a part of the arc. Creating these two anthology stories with a futuristic pet as a focus helped evolve this generic shipboard mascot into the remarkable little bio-engineered beastie it became.

Adding StarDogs to my universe led to a few series-altering changes. For example, how does the heroine come by such an exotic animal? Surely they’d be expensive. What was the backstory of my StarDog?

As those ideas began to unfold, the entire series evolved with it.

New characters appeared, such as the scientist who bio-engineered StarDogs and his covert affiliation with an organization that played an important role in the companion novel, Inherit the Stars--the Network. (That affiliation ended up putting the hero and heroine of StarDog in great jeopardy.)

Fresh conflicts sparked; StarDogs were employed as spies on enemy ships.

Lurking dangers threatened; those enemies sought to wipe out the StarDog lab.

The finished StarDog story was one I was truly proud of but that also added some unexpected twists and layers to the whole storytelling arc behind the series.

Courting Disaster: StarDog 2 wasn't a prequel to the novel, but a sequel--picking up where StarDog and Inherit the Stars left off and allowing me to take readers three calendars (years) into a brave, but uncertain new future beyond the close of the novel.

And to introduce a new StarDog to the series.

So don't be too surprised if at least one more StarDog turns up in a future work. Yup, StarDog Effect. :)

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Both of the Pets in Space works allowed me to open the door a bit wider into the Inherited Stars universe, as well as lay the foundation for future books. Both novellas will be expanded and re-released as standalones because the stories have now become important components in the overall series.

Working on the two anthologies also gave me an opportunity to get to know a host of other SFR authors much better, including a few bestsellers and at least one former idol. The peer relationships have been golden. I'll very much miss the daily background conversations that have been so much a part of my life for the last two years, and I'm sure I'll keep in close touch with several peers going forward.

So thank you Pets in Space for being the amazing experience that you were. I'll miss being a part of the next collection, but I have other stories that are waiting to be told.

Have a wonderful week.

The Future of Time

After reading Donna's excellent blog on Daylight Savings Time on Friday--WHAT'S THE TIME? IT DEPENDS--it got my wheels turning on a subject that's sometimes come up in reviews. Because if you think adjusting to/off daylight savings is confusing, just wait. It's going to get worse. Much worse! Imagine when we start dealing with multiple planets, all with different measurements of time, seasons, years instead of a silly little one-hour shift in time.

From time-to-time (*grin* see what I did there?), I’ve had critics question why I create different words for time references in my novels, because, you know, why don't I just say "hour." No, it isn’t just to make the words sound more “science fictiony.” In a future setting, I have to think beyond life on this world. To think about timekeeping in the future it's important to think outside the box, or at least, outside the planet.

Our system of timekeeping is bound to the natural rhythms of our own planet. By that I mean, it was developed according to the cycles of our world and its insignificant sun. A year is based on one orbit around our sun. A day is based on one rotation of our world, with hours, minutes and seconds all divisions of that 24 hour period. But what about when we leave our birth world?

Yup. You got it. That's when things really get interesting. Because when that happens, the concept of time as we know it breaks down.

A scientific precedent has already been established on Mars, where ‘days’ are known as sols. (For the record, that wasn’t done just to sound “science fictiony” either.) A brief explanation defining the sol is in this quote from the Wikipedia page for Timekeeping on Mars: “The term sol is used by planetary astronomers to refer to the duration of a solar day on Mars. A mean Martian solar day, or "sol", is 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds.” (If you want to read more on the whole complex subject of time on another planet, just click the link above.)

So if we, in our fledgling attempts to explore other worlds, have already found a need to use a new specific term for a day on our nearest neighbor, imagine what's going to happen when we start colonizing dozens of other worlds, each with its own orbit and natural cycles.

And that’s why I envisioned the known galaxy getting together in this distant future and saying, “Whoa. Wait a minute. Errr, make that a moment. In order for business, commerce and governments to mesh and function, we need to standardize this whole mind-boggling timekeeping mess so we can do things like plan and schedule using a shared universal measurement.”

And so they did.

That’s why “years” in my fictional universe are referred to as calendars. Seems logical, right? When we schedule future events, we use a calendar to record when that event will take place. So in the future, that term might just be borrowed to represent a standardized measurement that universally replaces our Earth year.

To follow suit in my stories, “months” became moons, “hours” became haras, “minutes” became tempas and “seconds” became sectas. All are standardized units of timekeeping that are the same wherever a person happens to be in the known galaxy—on any planet or off.

But wait, what about days? Well, yeah. Day is still day, because although day is also an exact measurement of timekeeping on Earth, the word is also embedded in our language as a much more ambiguous reference that isn’t precise. Someday. One day. The day will come. So carrying "day" over to represent the standardized unit for 24 haras as well as the more vague reference made sense to me--and even more importantly made sense for the characters' dialogue, so they weren’t saying things like: “Some zeron you’re going to regret that!” (‘Cuz, you know, that does sound “science fictiony.”)

As a writer, I also have to concede that it’s important to temper creative thinking with some degree of common sense. Day was my compromise. :)

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An Update and Announcement

 

You probably noticed for the first time in many weeks my blog wasn't all about Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2. That's because our primary objective--maximizing our donation to the wonderful Hero Dogs organization--ended at midnight on Veterans Day this past Saturday.

 

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the readers who supported our cause, who wrote well over 120 wonderful Amazon reviews for the anthology to date, who helped catapult the collection to #1 Amazon Bestseller on the first day it became available for preorder, and a USA TODAY Bestseller in its first week of release! The science fiction romance readership continues to grow stronger with every passing year, and these achievements were a direct result.

 

 

Although the book will still be available until April 30, 2018 (before it goes supernova and is forever scattered to the stars), the most important phase in our mission is now behind us.

 

I'd also like to take a moment to announce that if there is a Pets in Space 3--and that decision is a still a couple of months off--I won't be a part of the anthology next year. The time has come for me to focus on getting more of my own work published, and although my involvement with the two volumes has been an amazing and career-altering experience, it's time to refocus.

 

But that's not to say I'll never have another StarDog story to tell. The future is never certain...  :) 



Have a great week!

One Last Hurrah for Hero Dogs!

Okay, this is the post where I beg a little. Oh readers, hear my humble plea.

Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 has had a great run so far, but our window to donate to Hero Dogs is closing and we want our donation this year--if at all possible--to be better than the $2,000 we donated last year...but we're not there yet.

The donation period closes at midnight on November 11th, Veterans Day, so there's still a few days to get 'er done!

Please, please help us help Hero Dogs!

For $3.99 -- the price of a cup of coffee -- you can help a veteran and have a lasting impact on their life.

If you haven't already purchased a copy of Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2, would you please consider it now?

What's in it for you?

How about some great reading adventures. This collection features 12 novellas by best selling and award-winning Science Fiction Romance authors, it's received many rave reviews--about 100 on Amazon as I write this--and 98% of them are five or four stars! Check out a few quotes by readers.

 

And to top it off...Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 is a USA TODAY Bestseller!

It's a limited release so after April 30 -- *POOF!* -- it's gone forever. You don't want to miss it, so by grabbing your copy now you have the added benefit of helping Hero Dogs.

If you love SFR already, this is a must read.

If you've never tried SFR, this collection by a dozen talented authors is a great way to experience what this very diverse genre is all about!

Plus pets! Every one of these stories has a cute, zany, smart, resourceful or highly imaginative pet! The variety on the theme is pretty amazing. You can read a blog where some of the authors talk about their creations here:
It's a Pet (in Space) Parade: Check Out These Stellar Sidekicks

This collection will also introduce you to eleven different SFR series--many of them popular and/or bestselling. You can experience many of these award-winning universes all in one place. There's a recap of most of the series on an earlier blog you can read here:
Quantum Connections-Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 Spans Multiple SFR Series

You've already bought a copy? Thank you, thank you! Would you please consider gifting a copy to a friend who may enjoy it? Amazon has an easy gifting process -- just look for the "Give as a Gift" button on the right side of the Pets in Space 2 sales page. Just think, you may gain a friend for life!
Go to Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 Sales Page on Amazon

So let me show you why the Hero Dogs organization is so important to me and why I'd like our donation to be the best that it can be this year.

Here's a video where veterans and staff explain what they do and how much it means to vets:

And here I'll end my appeal, because I can't put it into any better words than this video just did!

So to recap...

Buy or gift 

Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 

before November 11th.

You'll get a hit USA TODAY bestseller to read 

and you'll help a vet for Veterans Day!

 

Thank You!

Universal Link to Your Favorite Bookseller

Snippet Saturday: The Message - from Courting Disaster

Welcome back for the third Snippet Saturday!

For the last two weeks, I've shared excerpts from Courting Disaster, my Inherited Stars Series story that's included in Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2.

If you'd like to see the previous Saturday snippets, you can read them here:

October 21 - Jagger and Ketsia First Meet
October 28 - Off on a Bad Foot

Today I have a brief, but important scene -- The Message -- where Jagger first realizes all is not as it seems with his vexing new assignment.

_________________________________________________

 



Promotional cover for Courting Disaster

Once he’d piloted Sheeban clear of her berth, Jagger input the course into the nav-system and pulled the packet with the code card from the thigh pocket of his coveralls. He opened it and dumped the contents into his palm. Along with the safe’s lock code, a square of paper slipped out. Jagger unfolded it to discover a handwritten note from Admiral Kareek himself.

Captain Jagger:

The fact that you’re reading this letter means you didn’t file a protest of your assignment at first sight of this junk dealer reject. If so, you will have pleasantly surprised me. It proves you’ve got more mettle than I gave you credit for.

But then, if you have half the intelligence your IQ tests avow, you might have realized that neither the Carduwan government nor Ambassador Gant would allow his ward to be transported through a dangerous sector of space in a second-rate shit-hauler.

There’s a reason he chose you…and a reason he had this ship delivered to Talstar for your assignment.

Once you’re set to leave dock, insert the enclosed datacube into the side port of your helmet for your full briefing of mission parameters and this craft’s capabilities. Let me assure you that, despite appearances, piloting this vessel will afford you a very unique opportunity.

Once you leave the Talstar Traffic Perimeter, you’ll make no further contact with Command, to maintain your cover. We can’t risk a rogue ship picking up any official communications from the Sheeban. You are to dispose of this message and the instructional datacell in the ship’s waste incinerator before you enter the Bradley Rift.

Be safe out there, Captain Jagger. Take good care of your passenger. Much is riding on your success.

Jagger lowered the note to his thigh. The admiral’s last words carried the punch he was sure the man had intended. 

 

We'll be back with more snippets from this and other works on future Snippet Saturdays.

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~ ~ ANNOUNCING A VERY SPECIAL GRADUATION ~ ~

 

As a participating author in both of the Pets in Space anthologies to date, one of the bonuses is being able to help support the Hero Dogs organization with a 10% donation from all preorders and first month's sales.

 

My Hero -- Hero Dog Mitch
Photo credit the Hero Dogs site

A year ago, while involved with the original Pets in Space, I "adopted" one of the Hero Dog trainees -- Hero Dog Mitch -- as a side project and made special donations to assist with his training toward becoming a service dog over the last year. (You can read Mitch's blog here.)

 

I am absolutely delighted to announce that tomorrow, November 5th, Hero Dog Mitch will successfully graduate the Hero Dogs program as a service dog and will be paired with a US Coast Guard veteran!

 

Much is asked of these dogs, and not every candidate has the right stuff to successfully graduate as a full-fledged service dog, so this is a very special occasion indeed. I received a personal invitation to attend from Hero Dogs, but will be unable to make the trip to Maryland this weekend to witness Mitch's graduation.

 

I want to take this opportunity to wish Mitch and his veteran a very long, happy, and successful partnership.

 



_______________________________________________

THERE'S STILL TIME TO ENTER TO WIN A PRINT COPY

OF EMBRACE THE ROMANCE: PETS IN SPACE 2

I'd also like to let everyone know about this special drawing for a FREE PRINT copy of Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2. This USA TODAY Bestseller is over 800 PAGES of great stories by bestselling and award winning science fiction romance authors.

To enter, all you need to do is click this link to my Laurie A. Green web site, read the brief instructions, and post a comment. The winner will be chosen on November 7th via a random number generator. But that's not all!

There will also be a second *BONUS* drawing round for the winner's choice of a selection of e-books or an Amazon e-gift card. That winner may select which of the following prizes they'd like:

An e-copy of Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2

An e-copy of my novel Inherit the Stars

An e-copy of Susan Grant's Star Hero

An e-copy of Kara Lockharte's Wanted by the Werewolf Prince

OR an Amazon e-gift certificate for $5

 

Winners choice!

(All e-prizes will be gifted via the Amazon USA site)

But time is running out, so click here to enter today!

 

 

Snippet Saturday -- Off on a Bad Foot

Welcome back for the second installment of Snippet Saturday. This week I'm featuring another passage from my story in the Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 collection which is now a USA TODAY Best Seller!

Last week, we found the hero and heroine of Courting Disaster had gotten off to a bit of a rocky start over the accommodations for the heroine's pet StarDog, Luna.

This passage is a continuation from the previous snippet, which you can read by clicking here.

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The future cover of
Courting Disaster

“Right,” Jagger said, reaching for the crate. “We need to get underway. I can stow the animal while you get settled in your quarters.”

Now her black eyes snapped with alarm. “You won’t be stowing her anywhere. She stays with me. And her name is Luna.”

No Sundog—or whatever she’d called the creature—was going to have free run of his ship. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we have strict protocols regarding live cargo.”

“With all due respect, Captain, it seems your military protocols have been thoroughly dispensed with for this mission. Luna stays with me.”

So this beautiful face had a bite to it? He didn’t like making exceptions, but he owed a lot to Jaeo, and by extension, his family. Jagger backed off a step, dropping his voice a full octave to rumble, “Noted. I can allow it a trial, but if it causes any mischief, I’ll insist it be confined.”

“She won’t be any trouble.” Ketsia lowered her head to soothe the creature in a voice soft with affection. “Will you, baby?” That gentle lilt caressed Jagger’s awareness like a whisper, making his imagination fire and his traitorous pulse rate spike.

Lock it down! He gave his face a mental slap. Even if women were still on your menu, this one is totally off-limits.

Ketsia lifted her chin, and her black gaze returned to his face. “So, as I understand it, we’re supposed to be married?”

Jagger managed not to choke on his tongue. “Pardon?”

“I was told in case of trouble, our story is that we’re Dallan and Adey Tion, a bonded pair of independent freighters, transporting seeds to the new colony on Arst.”

“Now there’s a brilliant cover.” Jagger huffed out a breath and donned his helmet, snapping the chin strap into place. Not bad enough that they’d given him a shoddy relic to fly, but they’d married him off, as well?

Ketsia lowered her head, but her eyes remained fixed on his faceplate. “They didn’t tell you this?”

“Only the essentials for now, due to the short window.” Jagger subconsciously ran a hand over the code card in the thigh pocket of his coveralls. As soon as they disembarked, he’d pull the datacube and get up to speed.

“Captain Jagger, am I to understand you don’t fully comprehend your mission?”

She was questioning his fitness? “Ms. Mennelsohn, if you have any doubts about my qualifications or my suitability—”

“It’s Ms. Tayah.”

“—then it’s your prerogative to request a different escort. But the truth is I’m woefully overqualified to carry out my orders.”

She lifted an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “I’m aware of your sterling qualifications, Captain.”

He returned her glare, satisfied the faceplate concealed the ire heating his face. She wouldn’t hear it in his words. “Further, Ambassador Mennelsohn specifically requested me for this duty.”

“Ambassador Gant. He hasn’t gone by Mennelsohn for many calendars.” She peered up at him dubiously.

He met her skepticism with a deep frown. “I’m aware of that.”

“Could you please take that off?” she asked quietly. “Because I feel like I’m talking to a machine.”

A machine, was he? With one quick swipe at the catch under his chin, Jagger clamped his hands on the sides of the helmet and lifted it free of his head, stowing it under one arm.

“I imagine—”

He savored the satisfaction of seeing her eyes widen and her mouth part slightly, truncating her thought.

His subspecies tended to sport sharp, pinched features and a pronounced beak for a nose. Jagger’s face was atypical for his kind. Most women found him attractive, and downright alpha when his eyes went stormy. Miss Rathskian Ambassador’s Daughter appeared to be no exception.

Find out what happens next in Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2.

Read a review from Delighted Reader review site.

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Thanks for joining me for Snippet Saturday. I hope you enjoyed this snippet from Courting Disaster: StarDog 2. It's one of 12 science fiction romance stories in Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 written by bestselling and award-winning authors. You can find it here:

Universal Vendor Link 

We're still in the Hero Dogs window!

Order now and 10% of the profits will go to Hero Dogs, an organization that provides service dogs free of charge to military veterans. Ends at midnight on November 11th--Veteran's Day. Just two weeks from now!

 

Thank you for joining me for another Snippet Saturday.

 

 

 

 

It's a Pet (in Space) Parade! Check Out these Stellar Sidekicks

In the science fiction romance universe, stories sometimes involve more than just the heroes or heroines. Occasionally, the main characters have a help, hindrance, or sidekick that takes the form of a unique animal companion.

The non-human companions in one particular collection of books are important enough to be named in the title. Today, I'd like to introduce you to a few of the pawed, winged and ??? players from Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2--now a USA TODAY Bestseller!

All the pet sketches shown below were created by the very talented Nyssa Junea.

Story: Wired for Love
Species: Dog
Breed: Belgian Malinois
Name: Bogan
Unique trait: K9

In Wired for Love, author Michelle Howard knew exactly what her pet choice would be. A K9! After doing a bit of research, she decided the Belgian Malinois would be the perfect breed because of their beauty, agility and suitability as a K9 dog. Putting a trained K9 in a science fiction story required a bit of creativity but worked out well. Hunter was a former soldier and war hero who wanted nothing to do with his old military life. Dedicated K9, Bogan, changes that with his sudden appearance in Hunter's world.

Story: Star Cruise: Songbird
Species: Bird
Breed: Alien Eagle
Name: Valkyr
Unique trait: Telepathic Raptor Warbird

Veronica Scott's inspiration for Valkyr was a real parrot she'd actually once met. As a very young bird, the parrot had lived through the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and been passed down through two generations of family members since. But a parrot wasn't right for the story Veronica wanted to tell, so she thought back to one of her favorite Andre Norton science fiction books, The Beastmaster. The military hero in the story had a team of telepathic animals, one of those being an African eagle. Veronica decided to make her hero a Special Forces officer who’d inherited a special telepathic warbird from his own planet. The heroine of the story is a futuristic pop star inspired by Adele, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Lady GaGa and other popular singers. When the hero is assigned as her bodyguard while she's on tour aboard the starliner Nebula Zephyr, you can be sure things are going to get interesting.


When it comes to Carol Van Natta's story, Pet Trade, there are 17 pets to choose from! I'm going to feature two of the most notable in our crazy pet parade.

Story: Pet Trade
Species: Dog based?
Breed: Foo Dog
Name: Shiza
Unique trait: Designer pet

In author Carol Van Natta's Central Galactic Concordance, the pet trade is unhindered in creating fantasy animals from myth and legend for profit. Foo lions (or fu lions, if you prefer) inspired by old Chinese tales of the magical creatures are one of the high dollar animals they create. The pet trade's version of the "breed" is small, cute, and mainly dog with a curly mane and square jaw (holding many teeth, just like the fantasy creature that inspired it). Ex-Jumper Axur Tragon ends up with the Foo Dog when he crashes in the frozen north on a frontier planet. For all his lazy charm, he is designed to protect children--and pets--and has the means to do so.

Story: Pet Trade
Species: Insufficient Data!
Breed: Chimera
Name: Kivo
Unique trait: Intelligent and possibly empathic

Carol Van Natta's Kivo is a chimera, but not the one drawn from popular mythology. In the pet trade, the term refers to any creature they’ve designed out of their fevered imaginations. Kivo is a hodge-podge of unusual features--bat-like ears, carnivore teeth, six legs, two tails! Veterinarian and pet trade specialist Bethnee Bakonin is an animal-affinity healer who could ply her trade anywhere in the galaxy, but she has good reasons for hiding out on a backwater world. So does Axur, as it turns out, and that makes for some smokin' conflict in the story.

Story: Time Trap
Species: Bird
Breed: Parrot
Name: Sir Rupert
Unique trait: Time traveler with special abilities

When Pauline Baird Jones picked a parrot as the pet for her story, she learned all sorts of fascinating facts about parrots, such as "there are about 372 different types of parrots" and "parrots are believed to be one of the most intelligent of birds" and "some parrots can live for over 80 years!" and "parrots have four toes per foot that are arranged for maximum grip" and even "the combination of toes and beak make them dextrous climbers." There are many different names for parrots including the kea, kaka and kakapo. (Say THAT three times, real fast!) Sadly, nearly 30% of the world’s population of parrots now face extinction because of habitat destruction and poaching for the pet trade. However, Sir Rupert did not become an agent for the Time Rebellion because of poaching or habitat destruction. He just likes kicking Time Service tush! *big Parrot grin* *which probably isn't possible, but if Sir Rupert could grin, he'd be grinning here*

Story:  Rescued by the Cyborg
Species: Cat
Breed: Domestic kitten
Name: Mittzi
Unique trait: Being soft, fluffy and adorable

Cara Bristol like dogs, but she's always been more of cat person. When she was invited to write for the original Pets In Space anthology, her first instinct was to write about a cat. As it happened, the pet in the first collection ended up being a robotic dog named Sparky. In Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2, she decided to go with her first instinct and make the story pet a little kitten named Mittzi. Her real-life cat, Hannah, approves, although Cara suspect she thinks she should be the star! (But Cara believes if Hannah were ever to go to space, she’d sleep through most of the journey!)

Story: Mascot
Species: Hugwort
Breed: Plantimal
Name: Jesse Greenfinger
Unique trait: Almost indestructible

In all the various stories with brave, quirky, heroic and mischievous pets Alexis Glynn Latner's may have been the most unusual. Jesse Greenfinger is a plantimal - a genetically engineered combination of plant and animal genes both from Earth and an ill-fated colony world called Planet Green. Jesse's species is called hugworts. With genetic good reason, they look like nothing so much as enchanted morning glories. They are mobile, affectionate, as curious as cats, clean, and space-hardy: perfect pets for space places. Indeed, Jesse is the mascot for the deep space station which is the setting of the story, Mascot. At one point Jesse climbs a station ladder; this hugwort has places to go and things to do (and a few secrets of its own).

Story: Courting Disaster
Species: Dog, cat and other
Breed: StarDog
Name: Luna
Unique trait: Bio-engineered starship mascot, and...?

Luna is a StarDog, like Katrina before her. She was created to serve as the perfect mascot and pest exterminator on starships...but it turns out that wasn't the only purpose for the dog-cat-weasel-mongoose bio-constructs. They also have other talents, and Luna's unique abilities may come in very handy when Captain Jagger and Ketsia Tayah end up on a dangerous mission through the rogue-infested dark nebula known as the Bradley Rift. When the hero and heroine fall into enemy hands, will one smart little StarDog be able to save the day?

__________

So now that you've met a few of the pets from Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2, we'll hope you'll want to jump aboard and grab a copy of the book. Will this help convince you?

Yes! The book hit the USA TODAY Bestseller list the first week it was published! All the authors are very appreciative of the support of readers and the science fiction romance community for helping make this happen.

We'd also like to note that 10% of the first month's profits (which includes all preorders) will go to support the wonderful Hero Dogs organization that provides service dogs free of charge to military veterans. Just a reminder that the window will be closing on Veterans Day, in about three more weeks.

Find Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 at your favorite vendor by clicking here.

Thanks for joining us today for this special Pets (-in-Space-) Parade!

Snippet Saturday

Today I'm kicking off a new series of blogs where I'll be posting a story snippet each Saturday from a current book or future work.

Since USA TODAY bestseller Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 has been such a hot topic the last couple of weeks, I thought I'd kick off the inaugural Snippet Saturday with a passage from my story, Courting Disaster: StarDog 2.

This is Captain Jagger and Ketsia Tayah's first meeting in the story.

The Set-Up
Jagger's pride has just taken a direct hit. He watched his dream command of a state-of-the-art battleship vaporize when the fleet admiral instead assigned him to masquerade as the civilian pilot of the Sheeban, a dilapidated, second-rate cargo transport. It's all a guise to escort an ambassador's daughter through a dangerous sector of space after her yacht was fired upon by dangerous rogues.

___________________________________________

The future cover of Courting Disaster

The young girl had paused with her entourage midway up the boarding passage, appraising Sheeban not with a look of utter disdain but pure reverence. Her mouth parted to form a silent word his lip-reading skills couldn’t decipher. The two uniform-clad-but-not-up-to-military-standard males escorting her were most likely flight officers from her private transport.

Jagger popped off the ridiculous helmet and gave Jaeo’s dependent a quick once-over, puzzling at the expression of rapture that still lingered on her face. How could a wreck like Sheeban get this reaction from anyone?

Jagger made his way down the boarding passage to greet the party, which was when he realized that Ketsia wasn’t the mid-teen girl he’d been expecting. Petite, yes, but a beauty of at least twenty calendars, with flawless deep bronze skin, a generous smile, shimmering black hair, and the most luminous ebony eyes he’d seen in his thirty calendars.

Ketsia Mennelsohn wasn’t just a surprise, she was an EMP exploding through his systems.

She turned as he approached, her poise transforming a simple black suit into a garment of stately elegance. With a graceful bend to her knees, she lowered her case to the ramp beside her feet.

Jagger came to a stop a respectful three strides out from her and her escorts. “Captain Jagger with the Carduwan Fifth Fleet.”

One of the men stepped forward to make proper introductions—possibly her pilot, judging by the fringed shoulder boards and elaborate gold chevrons marching down the sleeves of the uniform. “I’m Captain Farrol of the Trigate transport yacht.” He emphasized the last two words, his gaze making a critical sweep over the battered hull of the Sheeban. “This is Roham, my co-pilot. And may I introduce Ms. Ketsia Tayah, ward of Ambassador Gant.”

“Captain.” Jagger shook the man’s hand mechanically. “Co.” His attention settled on the young woman. “Ms. Tayah. It will be a pleasure serving you on behalf of the Carduwan Fleet.”

“Thank you, Captain Jagger.” She accepted his offered hand and slanted her head in an affirming nod. The unabridged definition of charming. She wasn’t Rathskian, as he’d expected. Based on her features, he guessed she was Tectolian, a subspecies rumored to have originated on a scattering of sun-blessed islands in some forgotten sea.

Jagger addressed her chaperones. “Which of you will be accompanying Ms. Tayah to Rathskia?”

“Neither, I’m afraid,” Farrol said regretfully. “We’ve been ordered to remain with the yacht to oversee repairs. She took quite a strafing from the renegades.”

“I see.” No question the lightly-armed luxury craft had gotten the worst of a skirmish with a rogue guerilla gunship. His gaze returned to Ketsia. “I was told you’d have a companion.”

She gracefully bent and hefted the case beside her feet in one hand. “I do.”

Jagger scowled at her luggage, noting the hard sides and narrow slots. Not a bag then—a crate. “You’re bringing an animal aboard?” Jagger regretted his gruff tone as soon as it slipped out. Intolerance wasn’t one of his more admirable qualities.

“Not just an animal.” She gave him a wary—and utterly heart-stopping—smile. “My StarDog.”

“A pet?” He tried, and failed, not to sound cynical.

“A friend,” Ketsia clarified.

“I wasn’t aware I’d be transporting live cargo.”

“Luna’s not cargo, Captain. She’s well-trained, and she was reared on starships, so she won’t be any trouble.”

Her yacht jock spoke up. “You can rest assured the animal won’t sully your…” Captain Farrol squinted at the Sheeban with obvious distaste. “…fine ship.”

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Find out what happens next in Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2. And don't forget this novella comes with eleven other acclaimed stories by bestselling and award-winning science fiction romance authors as part of a very popular--and now bestselling--collection of books!

 View the collection at most popular vendors by clicking here

Thanks for stopping by to read this excerpt of Courting Disaster: StarDog 2.

P.S. Want to know a little more about the heroine, Ketsia? Read my guest blog on Alexis Glynn Latner's site "Meet Kesia." And another that reveals how the hero, Jagger, and his ship share a connection on a guest blog on M.K. Eidem's site--"Sheeban: Starship and Metaphor."

 

#Touch the Stars #Other Worlds #Kindle Fire Giveaway #PetsInSpace 2 #Release Updates

Lea Kirk is here today to talk about her new release--Touch the Stars--that's coming as part of the Other Worlds boxed set of Science Fiction and Fantasy Romance novels and novellas. You can see a special cover for the story below. I asked her to tell me a little more about her story and the boxed set of novels and novellas.

Touch the Stars Blurb 

When her twin disappears without a trace, Kaitlyn Faulks can't accept that she's gone. In her heart, she knows her sister is alive out there, somewhere. One alien abduction later, Kait finds herself on a posh spaceship, the honored "guest" of a sexy seven-foot-tall alien of questionable sanity. He insists she's the heir to his "Star Empire" and that the fate of Earth, and the empire, depends on her compliance. What hooey.

Warrior Baatar must retrieve the Earth woman for the emperor. It is the only way to restore his family's honor and insure that they do not pay the ultimate price for his brother's treachery. But the future empress, Kaitlyn, is a difficult, wily female who challenges him at every opportunity. And Baatar begins to have doubts about the truth behind his mission.

As the stakes rise and the fate of an empire hangs in the balance, Kaitlyn and Baatar are thrust into a conflict decades in the making, where nothing is as it seems, and no one can be trusted.

Excerpt from Touch the Stars:

Weird images flashed through Kaitlyn’s mind. A giant of a man…a sheriff’s deputy…a flash of bluish light. Her body jerked, like it did when she slept through her alarm. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she gasped for air.

Had she overslept? Probably, because her goddamn bed had never felt so soft and comfortable. She blinked at the stark white ceiling once, twice, three times. Wait a minute. Her ceiling wasn’t white, it was sage green. And this was so not her bedroom. Her bedroom was full of furniture, mostly old, garage-sale deals she’d refinished herself. This place had no furniture at all, except for the bed. It did have gently blinking blue lights lining the walls at different intervals.

“Where in the hell am I?” And what was that humming sound? White noise or something?

“Apaṇ graṇa samṭa cy corgaṭa kasagān rava jhāta,” a woman’s voice said.

“Eep!” Someone was in the room with her. She sat up, or tried to except she was strapped to a wide bed. “What the ever-lovin’ f**k?”

“You are aboard the Grand Emperor’s stealth class galaxy traveler,” the unseen woman said.

“The grand emperor of what?”

Nothing in this room looked even vaguely familiar. What the hell was going on? Oh! The gigantic man…alien…thing. He’d…shot her?

“Oh, for the love of god. Have I really been f*cking abducted?” Unbelievable, but not impossible. It did explain the stark, furnitureless room and the sporadically placed blinking blue lights on the walls.

Well, mostly furnitureless, except for the bed. Was she an alien sex slave now? The big guy was in for a shock if he thought she’d cooperate with that little fantasy. And apparently, he didn’t think it was necessary to restrain her completely. Mr. Alien Genius had left her hands free.

Big mistake, buddy.

She lifted her head, and a wave of dizziness crashed over her.

Okaaay, let’s just lay back down for a moment.

This always happened when she skipped meals. Inhale…exhale…repeat. Her hypoglycemic body was not going to let her down. It couldn’t, not this time. Her freedom was at stake.

Steak. Saliva filled her mouth. Oh, god, what she’d give for a nice, juicy, medium-rare steak. A low growl came from her stomach. “You’re not helping.” She ran her hands over the strap across her hips. No buckle, but there was something that felt like a tab. She slowly raised her head again. Yes, a blinking blue tab. She grasped it and gave it a yank.

Click. Pop.

The strap retracted over the edge of the bed and disappeared. That had worked? Okay, one down, two to go.

“Remain strapped in for your safety,” the voice said.

“My ass.” She repeated the process on the strap across her chest, then the one over her ankles.

Ah.

So much better. Now to get out of here. It was probably too much to hope that the door would just open for her.

The entire room dropped like a rollercoaster in freefall. She flipped onto her stomach and dug her fingers into the mattress. The thin film of a blanket covering the bed bunched in her fists. A moment later everything stabilized again. Everything except her stomach, which threatened to expel all the nothingness that was in it.

She clenched her teeth together. “I hate roller coasters.” Which was weird because the rest of her family had loved those nauseating, head-jerking, puke-inducing rides.

The room tilted to her right. “Oh, shit, not again.”

She clawed at the blanket and dug-in with her sneakers against the slick material trying to get a grip as the room tilted farther. It was no use. The only thing she was accomplishing was pulling the useless excuse for a blanket loose.

I should have left the straps on.

If she had, she wouldn’t be sliding down the bed toward the wall that was now below her. Literally.

The bed cover came completely free. “No.”

The wall rushed up to meet her.

About the Author
Lea Kirk loves to transport her readers to other worlds with her science fiction and paranormal romances. She is the author of the popular SFR Prophecy series, and a Magic, New Mexico PNR story, Made for Her.

She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her wonderful hubby of twenty-seven years and their five kids (aka, the nerd herd).

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bwGBDT
Website: http://www.leakirk.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeaKirk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeaKirkWrites

Other Worlds:
A Limited Edition Collection of Science Fiction Romance and Paranormal Romance

Fierce Aliens.
Elite Hackers.
Dragons.
Dark Vampire Lords.

How can you fight the world's monsters when you're in love with one?

OTHER WORLDS takes you on a journey across the stars and plunges you into immortal realms, in a collection of Science Fiction Romance and Paranormal Romance that reaches beyond the boundaries of imagination.

Step into new worlds and distant universes, in 20 full-length novels and novellas, all contained in one limited edition box set overflowing with NEW STORIES from today's hottest USA Today and Award-Winning authors!

But grab it fast! This limited collection of Paranormal and Science Fiction Romance will soon be gone forever.

Amazon: http://ow.ly/NSP430dEONB
Barnes and Noble: http://ow.ly/AS4D30dEOSN
Google Play: http://ow.ly/KvTU30dEOWL
iTunes: http://ow.ly/eVPM30dEORA
Kobo: http://ow.ly/Dsxa30dEOPf

Website http://www.otherworldscollection.com/

And here's a fun bonus! You can get a FREE sneak peak at the beginning of all of the stories in Other Worlds via Instafreebie. << Just click there.

Many thanks to Lea for visiting today to share more about Touch the Stars and Other Worlds.

__________________________________

Now I've got some fun updates for you on our recent book release!

 

News Flash!

Would you like to win a Kindle Fire 7?

Bestselling author M.K. Eidem, one of the authors of Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 is holding a drawing for a brand new Kindle Fire 7 on her blog. All you need to do to enter is go to her website and answer one simple question (and I'm guessing there aren't really any wrong answers).

But here's the catch...you have to hurry! The drawing ends in just days! Here's the link:

M.K. Eidem's Kindle Fire 7 Drawing

Book Launch Update

Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 launched last Tuesday and my oh my, what a ride it's been! Readers have given us some wonderful reviews, and we're hoping we'll be able to do great things for our charity, Hero Dogs. I even got my esteemed Top 100 Paranormal Author ranking on Amazon as the book danced around at the top of several bestseller lists!

Some of the heights it reached:

 

#2 Hot New Releases

#3 Science Fiction Romance

#9 Paranormal Romance

 

and *drum roll* please

 

#281 overall

(of every book for sale on Amazon)

And the reviews have been equally awesome. Readers, we love you! Mwahhh!



Exciting News: Hero Dog Mitch!

As you probably know, Pets in Space 2 is donating 10% of all preorders and first month's profits to the amazing Hero Dogs.

Last year, during the launch of the original Pets in Space, as a special side project I "adopted" one of the Hero Dogs in training at the Hero Dogs headquarters in Maryland. His name is Mitch--short for Billy Mitchell--and I picked him out because he was one of my favorite breeds--a Labrador Retriever--he resembled our own Kiva (a yellow Lab) and he had the same name as the hero in my upcoming novel, The Outer Planets.

As part of the "adoption program," I made several donations toward Mitch's training and the amount of my donation increased every time someone commented on a post about Mitch.

Well, I've got some big news!

Mitch will be successfully graduating from the Hero Dogs training program on November 5th and he will be paired with a US Coast Guard veteran as a fully-fledged service dog! Hip, hip, hooray!

The Hero Dogs training program is very stringent and only a select few dogs who enter the program will successfully graduate as a service dog, so this was very important news indeed.

As one of Mitch's (many) sponsors, I was sent an invitation to the event, but alas it's far, far away and I won't be able to make the trip. But I will share the invitation with you here:

Please Join Us in Celebrating our 2017 Graduates

So three cheers for Mitch the Hero Dog! Job well done, boy, job well done!

We Got Blogs!

As part of the launch each author wrote a variety of blogs about our stories that got shared across the internet. Here are a few that I'm particularly proud of, and that will tell you so much more about my story--Courting Disaster--and its characters.

The Sheeban: Starship and Metaphor
A guest blog with bestselling author M.K. Eidem (Tornian SFR series) that explains how the "derelict" ship in the story is actually a metaphor for the hero, Captain Jagger.

Courting Disaster Release Day
Here I explain more about the hero and heroine--Jagger and Ketsia--as a guest of Lea Kirk, author of the popular Prophecy series.

Once Upon a StarDog
Fellow Pets in Space 2 author Jessica E. Subject hosted me for this blog that's all about StarDogs and how they've forever changed the Inherited Stars Universe.

Courting Disaster Cover Reveal and Excerpt
This blog from right here on Spacefreighters Lounge includes a cover reveal that will be the future cover for Courting Disaster after it's expanded to a novel. It also has a story excerpt, more about my pet--a StarDog--and a few other fun things to discover.

We also received this fabulous review from Riley at WWMB Reviews. Courting Disaster got a very nice mention in this one. Thank you, Riley!

I hope you'll check out all the links. I love getting deeper into the roots of the story and how it came to be.

Hope you all have a great week!