The Adventures of The Everyday Fangirl welcomes author Veronica Scott about the new anthology, Pets in Space. Take it away Veronica!
Veronica Scott Talks Pets In Space and Shares an Excerpt
Pets In Space
I can’t imagine not having pets, whether I’m living here on Earth or in outer space. So late last year author Pauline Baird Jones and I were talking about how much fun it would be to put together an anthology of science fiction romance stories involving pets and Pets In Space was born! I myself have two rescue cats currently, Jake and Keanu, who supervise my writing from the chair next to the desk, so I made a cat one of my two space pets and created an alien pet to be her sidekick.
We also wanted to have the anthology benefit a pet-related charity so we selected Hero Dogs, Inc., which supplies service dogs to veterans. Susan Grant, one of our authors, is a veteran and most of the authors have relatives who served in the military, so it seemed like an excellent fit for a partner.
Space Pets
The human hero is Owen Embersson and I picked that name for him because I was envisioning a big strong, Viking-like ex-soldier to be the cargo master for my spaceship. So I hope the name would convey those attributes to the reader. I recently did a character interview with ‘Owen’ and here’s how he explained his cat’s name:
“She’s pure white, so I named her Moby, after Moby Dick the whale in that old book from Earth. Not that I’ve read it, too long and antiquated. I figured she’d enjoy eating a whale and she was going into the ocean of space. I don’t know, seemed good at the time.”
The alien pet is named Midorri and I simply invented that when she first appeared in my novel Star Cruise: Outbreak as the pampered pet of a princess. I liked the sound of the name!
We also commissioned an artist, Nyssa Juneau, to do sketches of all the pets in the anthology, so here are Moby and Midorri.
I’ll share a short excerpt from Star Cruise: Stowaway, my story in the anthology, where Owen and Tyrelle, the stowaway are discussing pet names. Tyrelle has been held in the sickbay and the two pets have been visiting her (because they have the run of the ship). Turns out Tyrelle can ‘talk’ to the animals.:
Midorri chirruped and slithered to the floor, going to the portal, where she scratched at the door with two of her six feet.
Owen rose to let her out.
Moby promptly entered, jumping to the bed and rubbing Tyrelle’s face, arching her spine and purring loudly.
“When one leaves, the other arrives. You’re the keeper of the animals?” she asked.
“Moby’s mine. I rescued her from kids in a rough port town as a kitten a few years ago and brought her with me to the Zephyr. Midorri belongs to the entire ship, but she spends a lot of time in the cargo bay, with Moby, hunting vermin.” He sat, trapped in the small chair. “The Zephyr’s not infested or anything, we run a tight ship, but there’s always a few space rats.” I can’t believe I’m talking to this beautiful woman about rats.
She laughed, scratching under Moby’s chin for a moment and staring into the cat’s green eyes. “Yes, this one likes you very much and the name you gifted her. Midorri is not the other one’s name, you know, but she told me she doesn’t mind answering to it.”
“I vaguely remember my grandmother telling me a story or a poem from old Earth, something about cats having three names,” he said, the memory surfacing full blown. Thoughts of his grandmother hadn’t crossed his mind in decades, but now he could picture her, smell the cookies she baked, hear her voice. “The one people called them, the one the cats called themselves and a secret name no one ever uses.”
“I like the idea.” Her cheeks displayed charming dimples as she smiled. “Even I don’t know Midorri’s secret name.”
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Anthology Pets In Space
Join the adventure as nine pet loving sci-fi romance authors take you out of this world and pull you into their action-packed stories filled with suspense, laughter, and romance. The alien pets have an agenda that will capture the hearts of those they touch. Follow along as they work side by side to help stop a genetically-engineered creature from destroying the Earth to finding a lost dragon; life is never the same after their pets decide to get involved. Can the animals win the day or will the stars shine just a little less brightly?
New York Times, USA TODAY, Award Winning, and Best selling authors have eight original, never-released stories and one expanded story giving readers nine amazing adventures that will capture your imagination and help a worthy charity. Come join us as we take you on nine amazing adventures that will change the way you look at your pet!
10% of 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.
Star Cruise: Stowaway by Veronica Scott
Cargo Master Owen Embersson is shocked when the Nebula Zephyr’s ship’s cat and her alien sidekick, Midorri, alert him to the presence of a stowaway. He has no idea of the dangerous complications to come – nor does he anticipate falling hard for the woman whose life he now holds in his hands. Life aboard the Nebula Zephyr has just become more interesting – and deadly.
Pets In Space anthology is available 10/11/16 via the following…
- Amazon (TBD)
Author Veronica Scott
Three 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 “City On the Edge of Forever.”
You can connect with Veronica via…
