Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Guest Post: SFR Author Veronica Scott Shares Pets in Space!



Veronica Scott Talks Pets...In Space!

Thanks for having me as your guest today to talk about Embrace the Romance: Pets In Space 2! We’ve been working hard on this special scifi romance anthology since January this year, and right now we’re in the countdown to the October 10th release, with pre-orders piling up.
We have an exclusive new GRIM story from M. K. Eidem (I’m so excited about that because I love Grim and the Tornians), as well as a Pearl and Asim story from SE Smith, a rock star romance in space from me, and nine more stories featuring everything from sexy cyborgs to military heroes, plus heroic pets.
Pauline Baird Jones and I first had the idea to pair pets with science fiction romance stories in late 2015 and Pets In Space was born. We issued the first anthology last year, for a limited time, with nine authors. This year for the second volume, we have twelve authors, five of them new to Pets in Space, and all new stories.  Everyone seems to have had fun with the writing prompt of a heroic pet in a science fiction romance setting and it’s amazing how different each story is from the others. And we support a terrific charity here on Earth, Hero-Dogs, Inc., which provides service dogs to veterans in need.
 Of course there have been pets in science fiction before, like Muffy the Daggit in “Battlestar Galactica”, Jonesy the cat in the first two “Aliens” movies or the fire lizards in Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series. But we wanted to have the pets be much more important characters in these stories, along with the hero and heroine of course.


Blurb for my story in this anthology:  Star Cruise: Songbird:

Grant Barton, a Security Officer on the Nebula Zephyr, is less than thrilled with his current assignment to guard an Interstellar singing sensation while she’s on board the ship. It doesn’t help that he and his military war bird Valkyr are dealing with their recent separation from the Sectors Special Forces and uncertainty over their future, with their own planet in ruins.
Karissa Dawnstar is on top of the charts and seemingly has it all – talent, fame, fortune and devoted fans, but behind her brave smile and upbeat lyrics she hides an aching heart. When a publicity stunt goes wrong, Karissa finds herself in the arms of the security officer assigned to protect her – and discovers a mutual attraction she can’t ignore.
Trouble continues to plague the pair, driving a wedge between them and leaving Grant certain that Karissa is in more danger than she realizes, from overzealous fans and her own management. Grant is determined to protect Karissa whether she wants his help or not. Can he discover the truth behind what’s going on before he loses Karissa or is there someone else plotting to keep them apart – permanently?


The excerpt – Grant and Karissa have taken Valkyr the warbird to the Nebula Zephyr’s cavernous hangar deck to get some exercise while they wait for a large group of fans to disperse on the deck where her cabin is located:

“You can escort Miss Dawnstar to her cabin now,” his boss said in Grant’s earpiece. “We’ve cleared the crowd.”
“With pleasure.” He turned to Karissa. “My boss says we can get you to your cabin. Let me land Valkyr and we’ll drop him off in my quarters on the way to yours.”
“Don’t cut him short on his treat for me. I can wait.” She strolled away to sit on a convenient pile of tech crates.  “Got nothing important to do.”
Her dismissive attitude intrigued him. “Don’t you have to get ready for the performance tomorrow?”
“I’ve sung all those songs so many times, I can do it in my sleep. And my dancers and I aren’t doing any new routines on the ship. Just the tried and true hits, the best of Karissa.” Her smile was forced. “Rehearsals tomorrow, for your information.”
Valkyr swooped in, landing on his shoulder and drawing his beak across Grant’s cheek in a careful caress. The hunting was good today, did you see?
You’ve lost none of your skills. Grant indicated the gravlift portal. “I only get the hangar deck for an hour at a time, so we should be going. Passengers are definitely not allowed down here, other than for embarking or departing.”
“Well, I’m not doing either one today.” Karissa laughed and joined him on the step into the gravlift. “I really enjoyed watching the session, thank you, both of you.”
Valkyr preened again and dropped one glossy black feather. Grant caught it and offered it to her. “Valkyr must really like you—he doesn’t give his feathers to just anyone.”
She blushed a little as she accepted the gift, running the soft vanes through her fingers and admiring the play of iridescent colors—dark green and blue. “I’m honored.” 


Blurb for Embrace the Romance: Pets In Space 2:

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 the first months 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.

Author Bio:


Best Selling Science Fiction, Fantasy & Paranormal Romance author, as well as the “SciFi Encounters” columnist for the USA Today Happy Ever After blog, Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own stories.
Seven time winner of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Veronica is also the proud recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal relating to her former day job, not her romances! She recently was honored to read the part of Star Trek Crew Member in the audiobook production of Harlan Ellison’s “The City On the Edge of Forever.”
Blog: https://veronicascott.wordpress.com/                     


This book will be available for sale in October 2017. Please mark it down on your calendar and get your copy for a good cause!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for having me as your guest today to talk about PETS IN SPACE!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fun excerpt of a great story! Can't wait for readers to get their hands on the anthology!

    ReplyDelete

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