Thanks for having me as your guest today to take about Embrace the Romance: Pets In Space 2! I decided to answer a few pet-related questions for this post.
1) What prompted a pets in space anthology?
Pauline Baird Jones and I are the originators of the concept and we have fun with it! In 2015 there’d been yet another conversation in an authors’ group about all of our faithful pets in real life, and she and I had the inspiration that it’d be fun to write scifi romance stories with the added element of a pet. She and I e mailed back and forth about it, getting more and more excited about the challenge and then we decided to proceed. So the Pets In Space concept was created, with our first volume going on sale for a limited six months’ time in late 2016 and allowing us to give our charity Hero-Dogs, Inc., quite a nice check. We had nine authors last year and this time we have 12, five of whom are new to the anthology. It’s always such a treat for Pauline and me to read the extremely different stories people come up with, using the same story prompt of a pet in space.
2) Tell me about your first pet that you remember.
I have one crystal clear memory of a pair of white rabbits, named Meadow and Thumper, from when I was three. (That makes my adult movie actress name Meadow Northcliffe, by the way, if I acted in such flicks, since we lived on Northcliffe Road at the time.) The first pet I really cared for and considered my own was Cinderella, a gray tabby cat, when I was seven. I’ve always trended more toward cats, although we had turtles, a duck and two dogs in my family’s household as well over the years.
3) Is your pet also your muse? Or is he/she a distraction?
Are we asking me or the cat??? Jake would of course say he’s the Muse and that he should be written into every book and thanked profusely. (Hint: he’s an irresistible, soft and purring distraction.) Keanu the other cat is more laid back, hence the name, and just likes to sleep on the chair next to my writing desk. He does require about five minutes of concentrated petting at the start of every writing session. I don’t remember any of my previous cats taking much interest in my writing process, but I’m an empty nester now, so perhaps that makes a difference. They were both rescue cats and Keanu never quite stopped being feral but we make it all work.
4) Who do you feed first - your pet(s) or your family?
The first activity I do each day is feed them. Jake has an internal clock and he ‘knows’ when I’m supposed to get out of bed and open those cans. He’s not shy about reminding me either – never mind if I’m dreaming!. When my kids were little, I still fed the cats first because they and I got up way earlier than anyone else in the house.
5) Time for a poll: Are you a cat or dog person? Or both? Or other?
Cat! I gravitate to the felines. But since I’d written about a cat and a catlike alien pet for Pets In Space 1, I felt I should change up and challenge myself and somehow ended up with a story involving an alien eagle and a songbird. They fit my hero, who’s a retired Special Forces guy, and the heroine, an interstellar singing sensation.
The excerpt:STAR CRUISE: SONGBIRD
A Novella in The Sectors SF Romance Series
She nodded. “Am I making you nervous? Or am I keeping you from something, a date maybe?” Karissa pointed at the shiptime indicator on the wall. “You keep checking.”
Reluctantly he said, “Not a date. I have a—a pet, who requires exercise.”
“A pet on board the ship? I never expected that answer. So Fido needs a walk, does he? Let’s go—I could use some exercise.”
“It’s not that simple,” he said.
“Is the pet exercising area open to passengers?”
“Not the one I use.” He admitted. “But—”
“This office is boring,” she said. “Now I’m not a Socialite who’d probably die of boredom if you kept me here, but you can’t dangle a chance to take a pet for its walk in front of me and then yank it away. Too cruel, Officer Barton. Be mean to me and I might have to write you into a song.”
Before he could decide if she was kidding, Karissa laughed and went to toss her now empty drink container into the refuse reclaimer. “I insist and I am the headliner on this tour your cruise line is running. I could pull rank.” Hands on her hips, head tilted she stared at him. “Hey, I’m kidding. Lighten up, Officer. Now, where do we go to collect the pet?”
With the uneasy feeling he‘d been overtaken by a whirlwind, he escorted Karissa from the office and down the gravlift to the crew quarters decks. “We’re uh on the move, Jake, but still in non- passenger country.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Our passenger was bored. It’s my time slot to give Valkyr his exercise and she wants to tag along.” Grant felt uncomfortable with the nature of the entire situation.
“All right, I can’t say I’m excited about the idea but it’ll keep her out of my hair and out of view. We should be clear to get her back to her own cabin by the time you’re done.” Jake hesitated. “Keep it professional.”
“Of course, sir.” He shot the singer a sidewise glance. “I never heard of her before this cruise.”
“You’ve heard of her now.” Jake signed off.
“We have to pick up Valkyr in my quarters,” he said to his companion. “It’ll only be a moment.”
“I’m sure the crew quarters are quite memorable.” She laughed and followed him. “I’m getting the fifty credit tour today.”
The corridor to his cabin was empty, much to Grant’s relief. He felt there was enough of a circus going on without more witnesses. The portal slid aside and he allowed her to precede him into the room.
Karissa stopped in her tracks once she was across the threshold. “You didn’t tell me you had a bird!” Before he could stop her, she went forward to where Valkyr sat on his special perch. “You’re gorgeous, big boy.” She extended her hand to stroke the glossy iridescent black wing.
Grant had no conscious memory of moving but he had her in an iron grip, with his back to the bird and her safely to the side.
“What the seven hells—” She yanked away from him.
“Valkyr is a Qaazamir hunting eagle—he could bite off one of your fingers without any problem and his talons can inflict enough damage to kill a human. Never approach a wild, feral animal as if it’s a house pet.”
She looked chastened. “He’s beautiful. And he doesn’t seem upset. Or threatening.”
“You’re in his space and he’s never met you.”
October 10, 2017
#PetsInSpace
Genre: Science Fiction Romance,
Paranormal Romance, Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Cats, Dogs and Other Worldly Creatures
ASIN: B073W5WQBH
ISBN Ebook: 978-1-942583-56-1
ISBN-10: 1-942583-57-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-942583-57-8
Number of pages: 826 (paperback)
Word Count: 220,000
Cover Design: Fiona Jade
The pets are back! Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2, featuring twelve of today’s leading Science Fiction Romance authors, brings you a dozen original stories written just for you! Join in the fun, from the Dragon Lords of Valdier to a trip aboard award-winning author, Veronica Scott’s Nebula Zephyr to journeying back to Luda where Grim is King, for stories that will take you out of this world! Join New York Times, USA TODAY, and Award-winning authors S.E. Smith, M.K. Eidem, Susan Grant, Michelle Howard, Cara Bristol, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Laurie A. Green, Sabine Priestley, Jessica E. Subject, Carol Van Natta, and Alexis Glynn Latner as they share stories and help out Hero-Dogs.org, a charity that supports our veterans!
10% of all preorders and the first month’s profits go to Hero-Dogs.org. Hero Dogs raises and trains service dogs and places them free of charge with US Veterans to improve quality of life and restore independence.
