Tiffany Roberts's Blog, page 5

E.D. Walker – Embrace the Passion Author Guest Post

We are about two weeks away from the release of Embrace the Passion! I am so excited you guys! I can’t wait to get my hands on this book to read all the stories from the authors participating.

Today, we have E.D. Walker as our author guest! See what inspired her in the making of her pet for the Pets in Space Anthology! These kitties are adorable!

When I was invited to be part of the latest Pets in Space anthology, one of the first things I knew I had to do was design my pet. I waffled back and forth between creating something very alien and something a little more recognizable for my story The Bajo Cats of Anteros XII. Eventually, I found some great inspiration from The Kitten Lady, Hannah Shaw, on Instagram. She runs a fantastic rescue operation for orphan kittens, and her videos are not only full of adorable kittens but also lots of fantastic information on how to take care of them. (Someday I will convince my husband to let me foster kittens, someday…) Slowly, the seeds of my story were planted, and the inspiration for my own science fictional bajo kittens and their dedicated rescuer began to take root.

(The Kitten Lady just set up a new charity to help with her work, by the way. Please consider donating if you can.)

Another inspiration for my kittens was the crazy technicolor art of Lisa Frank. I decided if I was going to have alien kittens in my story I wanted them to be something out of the ordinary. And what could possibly stand out more than those crazily colored Lisa Frank illustrations come to life?

Here’s a description of the kittens in the story:

“The kittens were a little blue and a purple. The blue was a puff ball with silky fur of a startling electric blue. His tufted ears were tipped with a darker blue and his hide was spotted with paler blue spots. The purple was smaller, fluffier, and more purple-blue in color, with darker spots and a white belly. Both cats had eyes of bright gold like old-fashioned coins shining out of their faces.”

Lastly, I ran a poll on twitter to see which wild kittens people thought were the cutest. Because if I was going to have kittens in my story I wanted to have the cutest kittens. Caracal kittens edged out pallas cats and sandcats for the win. (Google all of those for pictures by the way. They are adorable.)

And that’s how you make a bajo cat: one part Instagram for behavior + Lisa Frank for some flair, add a little caracal for cuteness and then voila! You’ve got a bajo cat!

[image error]

To discover more books by E.D. Walker, you can visit here on Amazon!

[image error]

E.D. Walker writes adventurous SF/F romance with clever heroes and heroines bantering their way to true love.  http://edwalkerauthor.com/

Pets in Space is back! Join us as we unveil eleven original, never-before-published action-filled romances that will heat your blood and warm your heart! New York Times, USA Today and Award-winning authors S.E. Smith, Anna Hackett, Ruby Lionsdrake, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Carol Van Natta, Tiffany Roberts, Alexis Glynn Latner, E D Walker, JC Hay, and Kyndra Hatch combine their love for Science Fiction Romance and pets to bring readers sexy, action-packed romances while helping our favorite charity.

[image error]

Proud supporters of Hero-Dogs.org, Pets in Space authors have donated over $4,400 in the past two years to help place specially trained dogs with veterans. 10% of all preorders and first month’s profits go to this wonderful charity. Open your hearts and grab your limited release copy of Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 3 today!

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

GoodPlay

Carol Van Natta -Embrace the Passion Author Guest Post

We’re getting closer and closer! We’re so excited! But for now, we have today’s wonderful Author Guest, Carol Van Natta!

Why I Wrote Cats of War to Support Hero Dogs

by Carol Van Natta

When the Pets in Space 3 anthology organizers, Pauline Jones and Veronica Scott, invited me to write a story for this year’s anthology, my first question was “where do I sign?”

I love the idea of pets in space. Humans are hardwired for pets. I’ll bet you a small moon that when we humans finally make it to the stars, we’re taking our pets with us. And if we find other alien lifeforms that don’t eat us, we’ll try to make pets of them, too.

My story in the anthology is CATS OF WAR, for which I blame my cats. They insist all space opera is vastly improved by the inclusion of cats in the stories. They’re put out that the next book in the big damn story arc of my Central Galactic Concordance series doesn’t involve cats at all, so they prevailed on me to make it up to them with the creatures in this story. The future genetic designers who created the “cats of war” took features from several species, but mostly felines, to create stealthy spies and thieves, which cats naturally excel at. The short story excerpt below introduces the cats to Ferra Barray, the human heroine of the story.

[image error]

In my previous Pets in Space story (PET TRADE), dogs were the heroes (and believe me, I got an earful from my cats about that). In CATS OF WAR, dogs are guards and hunters.

Don’t tell my darling cats, but I think dogs are today’s heroes, because of their versatility and companionship. The Pets in Space anthologies all support a fantastic charity, Hero-Dogs.org. They pair trained service dogs with disabled U.S. veterans and first responders to improve their life and help them regain independence.

Our medical science and military have made vast improvements in helping and dealing with the immediate physical and mental aftereffects of trauma, but we’re not so good at the long-term consequences. The same goes for first responders, who put their lives on the line when disaster strikes, and sometimes pay the price.

Our civilian infrastructure is designed based on the assumption that citizens are healthy in mind and body, and don’t need help, or extra time, or accommodation. To a disabled veteran or first responder, a trained service dog can be the difference between becoming a shut-in and finding their place in the world again.

[image error]

This is why I hope you’ll buy Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3, and help us help America’s heroes.

Here’s the excerpt I promised:

The standing white-legged boxes for the container gardens looked bigger than she remembered them from her first-day tour. She skirted around to the left, under the hanging tree branches. Slower, fatter raindrops drummed on her hood.

The closer she got to the corner of the fence, the more she became convinced she had visitors in her mind. Not telepaths, because they used words, and not empaths, because they were all about feelings. The two thought patterns were lost, and cold, and hurt. They’d called and called, and finally found someone to hear them.

Great, now she was dreaming while awake in the middle of a rainstorm.

She aimed the torch for the dark hulk that had to be the repair bot. Sure enough, there were Oran Mòr’s orange stripes.

It turned its head, opened its eyes, and meowed softly.

You came.

Ferra nearly stumbled to her knees. The torch dropped to the ground and winked out.

A creature rose to its feet and shook water everywhere.

Help us.

A picture blossomed in her mind of another dark catlike creature, waiting in the dark beyond the fence, unable to fly over it because of a broken wing.

She lit one of the small hand lights on her wrist. The creature in front of her stood knee-high at the shoulders and had the hint of an orange-striped bat-type wing folded flat along its side.

“You’re real.” It was all she could think to say.

The creature switched its long tail in annoyance.

Yes. Help us. Help him.

Once again, the image of the injured creature flashed in her mind.

She’d never imagined sentient animals, not in her wildest dreams. It was too cold and damp to be a dream. And too cold and dangerous for an injured creature to be stuck outside.

Read more in CATS OF WAR, one of eleven new, original stories in

Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3

10% of the first month’s profits goes to Hero-Dogs.org

Story blurb for CATS OF WAR:

A repair technician must convince a disgraced military sub-captain to help her save two special cats before trouble engulfs them all.

Military Subcaptain Kedron Tauceti counts the days until he can leave the rare metals factory and his current duty station as the liaison to the Criminal Restitution and Indenture Obligation system. The post was protection—and punishment—for exposing a theft ring in his previous assignment. He’s more than ready to get his career back on track on a new base halfway across the galaxy, even if it means leaving behind the one person who makes him want to stay. Not that he’s told her, because technically, he’s her warden.

Former financial specialist and current indenturee Ferra Barray, hiding from her past, only has three months to go on her restitution sentence. She’s lucked into a tech repair job, and If she keeps her head down, she’ll be free to figure out her future. Unfortunately, the local boss behind every illegal scheme in the facility wants her to steal for him, and she’s running out of excuses. And now the heroically handsome Tauceti, who she hoped could help, is transferring out.

Everything changes when Ferra discovers two genetically modified cats. Saving them takes incredible risks. She doesn’t know what she’ll do if she can’t convince Tauceti to take them with him and keep them until she’s free to come for them.

When trouble erupts at the factory, it might just be the cats who save them. Find out what happens in this exciting stand-alone novella from Carol Van Natta’s award-winning Central Galactic Concordance space opera series.

Website: https://www.petsinspaceantho.com/

[image error]

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

GoodPlay

About the Author:

USA TODAY bestselling science fiction and fantasy author Carol Van Natta shares her Fort Collins, Colorado home with a resident mad scientist and various cats, all of whom would love to travel to the stars.

[image error]

 

Isle of the Forgotten Series Update

We’ve recently been asked by a few readers about whether or not we’ll be writing any more books in the Isle of Forgotten Series. We figured we’d go ahead and address that here for everyone. For those of you who are new to our books, The Isle of the Forgotten is a Fantasy Romance series that were basically the first books we’ve written to publish (Make Me Burn being our debut).

Originally, the final book was meant to be Make Me Yours, but after talking to our editor at the time (Lora Gasway) while working on our outlines, we knew that there needed to be one more book. You can still read the series without cliffhangers as each book is a standalone with a new couple, but the overarching plot wasn’t quite finished. The final book was then going to be Make Me Surrender, featuring Keric. We had a cover painted (by the wonderful Isis Sousa) and ready to go…except… We floundered. The first chapter was a rough start, and we struggled. This was mainly because we’d just finished writing Undying and we were not sure where to go from there. And then my idea for Treasure of the Abyss became our focus, and from then on, The Kraken Series.

Why have we not returned to Make Me Surrender?

Well, here are a few of the main reasons: Lack of sales, interest, and reviews.

This has happened to many series for many authors. It’s why traditional publishers sometimes cut off authors from finishing their series. If the books are not generating interest or sales, then that series is a dud. That paired with our hearts simply not being into it at the time made it very difficult to justify taking the months of work writing the book would’ve entailed.

Ultimately, our choice to hold off on Make Me Surrender became a business decision. We’re both writing full time now, but when we were attempting to write MMS, Rob still had a day job and our writing time was extremely limited. It came down to a choice of struggling through a manuscript our hearts weren’t in for all that time and likely seeing little return on our investment (not only the time, but the cost of cover art and editing) or moving on to a project that we were excited about and had the potential of reaching a broader audience.

When it comes down to it, writers have to pay their bills and put food on the table, just like everyone else. This is our job, and being fulltime writers, there is no backup paycheck. Our books are what pay our bills, and when they are successful, that enables us to continue working a job we love.

Due to all the above, the Isle of the Forgotten Series has fallen to the bottom of our to-be-written list. We hope to write it someday, but for now, it’s not in our schedule.

So if you love a book or series, please, please consider leaving a review. It can be as short as you want to be. A simple ‘Loved it’ works just as well. The more reviews a book has, the more interest it can generate, and Amazon has some system that allows books with a certain number of reviews to be seen to wider audiences. And share the book with your friends or in your favorite book groups. Word of mouth is seriously the best thing you can do for an author. And we thank everyone single one of you who have shared our books.  **Muah!**

[image error]

Ruby Lionsdrake – Embrace the Passion Author Guest Post

We are exactly one month away until the release of Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 Anthology! And as mentioned, we’re sharing with you a guest post each Sunday leading up to release with one of the authors featured in the anthology. And today, we have Ruby Lionsdrake talking about her story, Quashi! (He’s totally cute!)

A couple of years ago, when I wrote The Tracker’s Dilemma for my Mandrake Company science fiction romance series, I thought I was done with those characters and that setting. I’d hooked up the three adventurous women (all right, Dr. Keys is far more bookish than adventurous) from the first novel and several others along the way.

But when I was asked to write a novella for the Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space anthology, I immediate thought of the mercenary ship and the large star system it flies through as a place where a quirky new alien animal might be located. Hence, the “quashi” was born.

Loosely inspired by my childhood love of Star Trek and tribbles, they’re cute furry creatures with antenna, feet, and a love for apples. Not content to merely be decorative, they can get in some trouble, and in the case of this new Mandrake Company story, one is determined to be the star and help thwart… oh, I’ll stop there. Spoilers and all. But here’s a snippet to give you an idea of what to expect:

“I don’t see a lot of grass in here,” Chanda observed to her charge.

It shifted and sat up in her arms. Sort of. Thanks to its short, squat legs, it was hard to tell the difference between when it was sitting and when it was standing. She wondered how much the creature could move about on its own. It reminded her of a rabbit without any of the speed. Or ears. Or eyes. It seemed that those dark, slightly fuzzy antennae did all of its sensing.

“Why don’t you hang out here, and I’ll bring a selection to you?” Chanda set the quashi down on the textured metal deck, wondering if she needed to worry about it leaving animal droppings around the ship. The captain might not appreciate that.

The quashi shuffled along the aisle next to the bulkhead, pausing now and then to investigate things with those antennae. They were almost a centimeter thick and could articulate at numerous points. Very versatile.

Chanda weaved through the potted banana and apple trees, rows of annual vegetables, and walls covered in pockets of herbs. The grow room smelled earthy, and it was more humid and warm than the rest of the ship. Some of the plants grew from soil mediums, but most seemed to employ aeroponics. She found lemongrass, snorting as she imagined the quashi gnawing on the large stalks. Did the creature even have teeth with which to gnaw? It had to have some kind of mouth, but the fur hid it and any other orifices it likely had. She cut off one of the stalks, deciding to offer it a selection of vegetables.

“Spinach?” she asked, though she was deeper in the room now and could no longer see the creature. Not that it would have responded even if it was right in front of her. “It’s the right color, at least.”

To her surprise, a dubious trill came from the bulkhead, a little farther along it than where she had left the creature.

“How about asparagus?”

The stalks appeared grass-like, but she knew Asparagus officinalis wasn’t in the grass family. Still, she might as well try it. She bypassed the purple stalks and cut a couple of the green ones.

“It’s not my favorite,” a male voice said from the entrance of the room.

High-pitched trills, almost shrieks, came from the quashi. Chanda glanced in its direction, then looked uneasily toward the entrance. She could make out a man’s figure through the leaves of trees. One of the crewmen popping in for some fresh fruit?

“I’m shopping for a friend,” Chanda said, not sure if a response was expected.

More alarmed trills came from the aisle, and Chanda jogged back to where she had left the quashi. A big man in a black leather jacket stood inside the doorway, frowning down at the quashi. It had made its way almost to the door, and Chanda realized it might have escaped if the automatic doors opened for such small beings. She wasn’t sure. She also wasn’t sure about the man glowering down at it. She didn’t recognize him. Not surprising. Nobody had given her a tour of the ship yet or introduced her to anyone.

“What is that?” the man asked. “And who are you?”

[image error]

You can find out what happens next in Quashi in Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3.

Find more books by Ruby Lionsdrake, and more in her Mandrake Company Series, look here! You can also follow her on Facebook!

Eleven original Science Fiction Romances. Eleven action-filled tales that mix pets in space with their two-legged companions. Supporting a great cause – Hero-Dogs.org. Don’t miss out on Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3! https://www.petsinspaceantho.com

[image error]

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

GoodPlay

Our Pets in Space Invitation Reaction

We are just a little over a month away before Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 releases! We’re so honored to be part of this project to help raise money for hero-dogs.org! If you haven’t, pre-order your copy soon from your favorite book retailer! 10% of the royalties made between Oct 9, 2018 through Nov 11, 2018 will be donated to this charity to help veterans and first responders get service dogs. Let’s made it an amazing donation!

The initial excitement of being invited to contribute to Pets in Space Anthology 3 was briefly overshadowed by that most delightful, panic-infused question: “what the heck are we going to write?”

[image error]

We decided fairly early on that we would set our story in the world of our Kraken series, but we struggled with the where and when. Our first idea was to set the short story at some point during the early colonization of Halora, but that would’ve meant no kraken, and who wants that?

At the time, we were working hard on Jewel of the Sea, the second book in the Kraken series. As that story came together and some of our initial plans for it shifted, we inadvertently opened an opportunity for a new story to tell—the perfect little story for Pets in Space 3!

This is what industry professionals refer to as “I totally planned to have that happen all along from the very beginning”.

[image error]

We can’t speak to the processes of other authors, but this occurs for us from time to time, and it’s always a rush when those pieces fall together, and you suddenly realize that you actually made everything fit together and it wasn’t at all (or was entirely) by accident.

The pet aspect of being involved in the Pets in Space Anthology also pushed us in a direction we might not have otherwise taken; when we first started planning, the notion of including a pet in the story was a bit daunting. We’ve never had a pet in one of our books before, much less in a role that was important to the plot. But we pressed on, and Ikaros was born. In many ways, he became the heart and soul of the story, and that was another happy surprise.

All in all, our experience with PISA3 has pushed our creativity in new, unexpected directions and helped change the way we think about our stories—now we are a bit more mindful of the future implications of our storylines and what opportunities or difficulties they may present. It’s good to be reminded to step outside of our comfort zone from time to time, because the results are often surprising in the best ways.

Stay tuned as we’ll be sharing some weekly guest posts from some of the other authors who are taking part in the Pets in Space Anthology as we lead up to release! Also be sure to join the Pets in Space Reader Group on Facebook to hear more updates, news, and more!

[image error]

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

GoodPlay

New Release: Claimed by an Alien Warrior

Claimed by an Alien Warrior is now LIVE! We are so excited to share this book with you. We had such a blast writing Claimed, and we hope you enjoy it just as much!

[image error]

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2ASM5aI

Amazon AU: https://bit.ly/2nkSou3

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2M6OlzH

Paperback coming soon!

——

BLURB:

After losing her job, apartment, and boyfriend in one afternoon, Zoey doesn’t think things can get anywise. Then n uninvited passenger — green, four-armed, and sexy as sin — proves her wrong by dragging her into this frantic escape. Helping Rendash is the right thing to do, but it means becoming a fugitive and risking the only things she has left — her life, and her heart.

Weakened by years of captivity and torture, Rendash, an elite aligarii warrior, seizes his only opportunity to escape. Alone in an alien wasteland, he seeks the aid of a human — one of the very species that imprisoned him. But he finds himself inexplicably drawn to Zoey, and his need to protect her soon wars with his mission — return to his homeworld.

With a shadowy government agency pursuing them, Zoey and Rendash must race across the country before he is recaptured, and she is thrown in a dark cell as a traitor to her kind. But their greatest obstacle may be the most unlikely — their insatiable attraction to one another.

Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 Anthology

Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 Anthology

We’re so excited to reveal the cover for the Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 Anthology, and to announce that pre-orders are now available! We are so honored to be part of this project, and for our part, we are bringing to you Hunter of the Tide, Randall and Rhea’s story, including Ikarus!

[image error]

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

GoodPlay

Pets in Space is back! Join us as we unveil eleven original, never-before-published action-filled romances that will heat your blood and warm your heart! New York Times, USA Today and Award-winning authors S.E. Smith, Anna Hackett, Ruby Lionsdrake, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Carol Van Natta, Tiffany Roberts, Alexis Glynn Latner, E D Walker, JC Hay, and Kyndra Hatch combine their love for Science Fiction Romance and pets to bring readers sexy, action-packed romances while helping our favorite charity. Proud supporters of Hero-Dogs.org, Pets in Space authors have donated over $4,400 in the past two years to help place specially trained dogs with veterans. Open your hearts and grab your limited release copy of Embrace the Romance:

Pets in Space 3 today!

HEART OF THE CAT

By S.E. Smith

Series: Sarafin Warriors Book 3

Prince Walkyr d’Rojah’s mission is to find an ancient artifact known as the Heart of the Cat, a revered gem that holds the mystical power that connects his people with their cat-form. He isn’t the only one searching for the Heart. A secret sect determined to overthrow the royal families wants the power contained in the gem, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to obtain it.

Trescina Bukov’s affinity and ability to care for large cats has taken her all over the world. A frantic call from a rescue group compels her to fly to Wyoming in the western part of the United States. She is confused and wary when she discovers the injured leopard is more than he seems.

Walkyr is shocked when the human female caring for him connects with his leopard and recognizes who he is. Now, he has to contend with the assassins who followed him, his leopard who wants to claim the woman, and find out why all the clues in his search for the Heart of the Cat are pointing to a planet so far from home.

When Walkyr discovers the secret that Trescina has been hiding, he is forced to make a difficult decision: let her go, or kidnap her and return with her to his world. Can Walkyr convince Trescina that their lives are bound in more ways than one or will she flee, taking her secret and the future of the Sarafin species with her?

DESERT HUNTER

By Anna Hackett

Series: Galactic Gladiators

Mersi Kassar is a woman of the desert. Born, raised, and sold into servitude on the desert world of Carthago, she’s finally found her freedom and her place on the Corsair Caravan. She’s the right hand to the caravan master, and works leading travelers from the gladiator city of Kor Magna through the desert. She also works side by side with her friend—the big, silent Bren—a man she’s desperately in love with. But stubborn Bren shuts down her every attempt to deepen the feelings they have for each other and Mersi isn’t sure she can take the pain anymore.

Desert hunter Bren Hahn has secrets. Life taught him early to never share the terrifying darkness he hides within. He will protect the few people he cares about with everything he has, that includes the smart, lively woman he cares about most of all. A woman who sparks a simmering passion he finds harder and harder to ignore. But Bren knows the one thing he can’t live with is Mersi looking at him in horror. So even if it kills him, he vows to guard her from the most dangerous thing in the desert—himself.

On a perilous journey in the heart of the desert Mersi and Bren rescue a strange alien creature. Working together to heal the big, shaggy canine, their smoldering desire ignites, but their feelings turn out to be the least of their concerns. A deadly enemy is hunting their new pet. An enemy that threatens Bren’s darkest secret and all they hold dear. Will Mersi still feel the same for Bren if he has to unleash the darkness inside of him or will he lose the one woman who holds the key to his heart?

QUASHI

By Ruby Lionsdrake

Series: The Mandrake Company

“If she’d had a hand free, she would have scratched her head. Lab rats didn’t trill, did they?”

When Chanda decided to finagle her way into a job she wasn’t qualified for, she didn’t expect to end up on a ship full of hulking mercenaries. They’re rude, crude, and so covered with scars and tattoos that she can’t imagine any woman being interested in them. Except perhaps for the soft-spoken doctor with the haunted eyes.

She would love to know more about him, especially since he stares at the game logo on her T-shirt rather than her breasts, but a little problem comes aboard the ship at the same time she does. Quashi. Furry alien fluff balls with stubby legs and very expressive antennae. Are they harmless – or a danger to the ship? And why were they in a box labeled lab rats?

When some of the creatures go missing and systems start malfunctioning, Chanda is assigned the task of quashi wrangler. Though she’s worried she isn’t qualified, the intriguing doctor is also sent to help, and she’s determined not to fail in front of him. Maybe this is her chance to find out what network games he plays and why his past troubles him. But as the lights flicker and the ship’s life support systems are threatened, Chanda realizes there might not be time for romance. If they can’t round up the missing quashi before it’s too late, she may never see home again.

STAR CRUISE: MYSTERY DANCER

By Veronica Scott

Series: The Sectors SF Romance Series

Tassia Megg is a woman on the run after the death of her elderly guardian. Her search to get off the planet in a hurry comes when chance directs her to an open dance audition for the luxury cruise liner Nebula Zephyr’s resident troupe. If there is one thing Tassia can do, it is dance!

Security Officer Liam Austin is suspicious of the newest performer to join the Comettes. She shows all the signs of being a woman on the run and seems to fit the Sectors-wide broadcast description of a missing thief, accused of stealing priceless artifacts. As he gets to know Tassia during the cruise, he starts to wonder if she’s something more – a long vanished princess in hiding from deadly political enemies of her family perhaps? And what’s the story with the three-eyed feline companion other crew members swear Tassia brought aboard the ship? Does the animal even exist?

As the ship approaches its next port of call, all the issues come to a boil and Liam must decide if he’ll step in to help Tassia or betray her. Life is about to get very interesting aboard the Nebula Zephyr as Liam tries to uncover the truth. Could F’rrh, the peculiar alien cat he has been hearing about, be the key to the mystery and Tassia’s fate?

OPERATION ARK

By Pauline Baird Jones

Series: Project Enterprise

She’s a USMC Sergeant deployed to the Garradian Galaxy.

He was raised by the robots who freed him from slavery.

It’s a match made nowhere anyone can figure out.

They clashed as enemies but joined forces to defeat a common foe. Now they’re tasked with returning some freed prisoners to their home worlds. In the next galaxy. With an alien, a robot, and a caticorn. It was a bar joke without a punch line, though Carolina City has a feeling it is out there—like the truth.

Kraye isn’t eager to return to his galaxy where the dark secret of his past lays in wait, but he’s willing to risk it in hopes that Caro can teach him what the robots couldn’t: how to be human.

Together they must face a dangerous journey, a lethal enemy with a score to settle, their unexpected desire, and an uncertain future if they make it out alive.

Can Caro and Kraye navigate the minefields—both emotional and space based—to land a happy homecoming for the sentient animals in their care? Can the man raised by robots learn how to kiss the girl while the starchy Marine decides if she is willing to bend the rules for a happy ever after? Don’t miss Pauline Baird Jones’ newest Project Enterprise story!

CATS OF WAR

by Carol Van Natta

Series: A Central Galactic Concordance Novella

Military Sub-Captain Kedron Tauceti counts the days until he can leave the rare metals factory and his current duty station as the liaison to the Criminal Restitution and Indenture Obligation system. The post was protection—and punishment—for exposing a theft ring in his previous assignment. He’s more than ready to get his career back on track on a new base halfway across the galaxy, even if it means leaving behind the one person who makes him want to stay. Not that he’s told her, because technically, he’s her warden.

Former financial specialist and current indenturee Ferra Barray, hiding from her past, only has three months to go on her restitution sentence. She’s lucked into a tech repair job, and If she keeps her head down, she’ll be free to figure out her future. Unfortunately, the local boss behind every illegal scheme in the facility wants her to steal for him, and she’s running out of excuses. And now the heroically handsome Tauceti, who she hoped could help, is transferring out.

Everything changes when Ferra discovers two genetically modified cats. Saving them takes incredible risks. She doesn’t know what she’ll do if she can’t convince Tauceti to take them with him and keep them until she’s free to come for them.

When trouble erupts at the factory, it might just be the cats who save them. Find out what happens in this exciting stand-alone novella from Carol Van Natta’s award-winning Central Galactic Concordance space opera series.

HUNTER OF THE TIDE

By Tiffany Roberts

Series: The Kraken #3

HIS SOLACE AND HIS HOPE

Randall Laster crossed Halora to hunt the kraken, sea monsters that weren’t supposed to be real. Betrayed by men he trusted, he was left to die. Instead, he finds himself living with the beings once meant to be his prey. Randall struggles to find his place amongst the kraken and to find a purpose to the new course his life has taken. Hope comes in two unexpected forms: an injured, amphibious sea creature in need of care, and Rhea, a strong-willed kraken who’s made no secret of her interest in him. Can he reconcile the tensions between humans and kraken and look beyond their differences so that he can claim Rhea as his own, or will old prejudices and hostilities tear them apart forever?

STARWAY

By Alexis Glynn Latner

Starway is an interstellar hotel that offers guests something to satisfy almost any wish—even wishes they didn’t know they had.

Nikka Steel is a lonely interstellar pilot. Danyel Parry is a wealthy passenger’s mistreated consort. When they find each other in Starway, they discover how much they have in common, including remorseless enemies and resourceful friends—one of which has four paws—and mutual attraction as perilous as it is powerful.

Danyel and Nikka soon realize that they have a hopeful new destination. The interstellar crossroads at Starway can take travelers to many places, some of which are strange and secret. To get there, though, they will have to find their way through anger, danger and—even more frightening—change.

THE BAJO CATS OF ANTEROS XII

By E D Walker

Zandro alienated the love of his life years ago with one giant mistake. Consumed by his animal rescue work, he didn’t realize what he had given up until she was gone. Now, his work to save two alien kittens with dangerous pheromones will reunite him with his old flame – and hopefully give him a second chance.

Aliette’s work as a space captain keeps her mind off of what she lost – Zandro – or it did until she receives his desperate plea for help. She reluctantly agrees to assist him for old time’s sake. But the simple transport mission quickly escalates into a fight for survival. The local drug cartel has discovered the unusual kittens and will do anything to obtain them.

With dangerous events and concern for the vulnerable kittens drawing them close again, Aliette will have to decide if being with Zandro is worth sacrificing everything for – even her life.

SHADOW OF THE PAST

By JC Hay

Loss casts a shadow you can’t outrun…

Commander Rafe Penzak is tired of jockeying a desk. With only months left before his forced retirement from the rangers, he decides to bend a few rules for one last mission: follow up on intelligence that vicious criminals have found the ranch that supplies the rangers’ umbra wolves. He’s ready to confront the reminder of his wolf’s death, but nothing in the Three Systems could prepare him for the spitfire who runs the farm.

Veterinarian Nafisi Sultana has run her wolf breeding program her way since the death of her husband. The last thing she wants is another ranger taking up space, correcting her methods, or being underfoot. But she can’t miss the pain and sorrow that haunts the greying commander, and her need to heal others pulls her into his orbit despite the agonizing memories he wakes in her.

With storms, raiders, and a renegade wolf pup driving them together, Nafisi and Rafe have to set aside their damaged past, or they’ll never be able to save something they both want more—a future.

AFTER THE FALL

By Kyndra Hatch

A’ryk Chiste of Korth marooned himself on an uninhabited world for a reason. He doesn’t want to be reminded of a galaxy where his people lost the war, taken over by the merciless Invaders who changed his life forever. A galaxy where he failed at the one thing he was born for, to protect worlds. He wants no part of the shaky forced ‘peace.’ So when an Invader crashes onto his planet, the simple solution is to let her die. But his furry companions have other ideas.

Lyra Merrick is a surveyor for the Earth Council of Habitable Worlds. She searches for and reports planets that can be terraformed for human survival, comfort and stability. It is business as usual when she finds another planet in a little-known section of the galaxy. A routine mission turns into a fight for survival when her ship has a malfunction and she crashes to the icy, unrelenting world. When she comes to, she hears a voice in her head. Confused, she wonders if the lonely existence of a surveyor finally made her crazy. Not only is she hearing things, her eyes are deceiving her too, because she’s in the domicile of the sexiest man she’s ever seen.

Dustwalker’s New Cover

New cover, you ask? Yes! As much as we loved the original cover painted by the wonderful Isis Sousa, we were still in the early stages of the writing business and didn’t quite have the eye for what type of cover best suits which genre. We’ve learned so much since then (and are still learning more every day!) and knew Dustwalker needed a cover that better fit the story and the competitive genre in which it’s classified.

We didn’t want to stray far from the image on the original cover, but we did want something that seemed more modern, more in-tune with the gritty, sci-fi/post-apocalyptic setting of Dustwalker. Something that said “science fiction romance” without conforming to the predominant trends in the genre. We’re very happy with the result, and we hope all of you like it, too.

[image error]

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Treasure of the Abyss Now In Audio!

Treasure of the Abyss (The Kraken #1) is now available in audio! This is co-narrated by Hollie Jackson and Ryan Turner. We’re so excited to share this with you!

You can purchase your copy from Tantor Media or Amazon!

[image error]

HIS TREASURE AND HIS OBSESSION…

Despite her longing for the sea, Macy has clung to the safety of land for half her life, devoting herself to her daily routine – until she agrees to go sailing with a childhood friend. Her fears come to fruition when a sudden storm capsizes their boat, rekindling her old terror. She awakens to a rescuer who is anything but human – and he refuses to let her go. Treated like a curiosity and a possession, she’s desperate to go home. Yet Macy is undeniably drawn to this strange creature. Can she give up her old life, her family and friends, to embrace this adventure…and Jax?

HER SAVIOR AND HER CAPTOR…

Jax the Wanderer is a hunter, an explorer, and an oddity among his kind. While other kraken are content near their dens, Jax is driven by a deep need to journey far and wide, discovering the unknown corners of the sea. Macy challenges everything he’s known; she is the most alluring creature he’s ever seen on his travels. He must possess her, though he knows it can only end in disaster. How much is he willing to forsake for the female he desires?

[image error]

Heart of the Deep if now LIVE!

 

Heart of the Deep (The Kraken #3) is now LIVE!

[image error]

HIS HUNTRESS AND HIS HEART

Larkin has spent almost a year hunting the monstrous kraken in the hope that they knew the whereabouts of her missing brother. Her efforts finally come to fruition when she and the other rangers capture three of the beasts — but the reality is nothing like the stories they’ve been told, and the kraken are not the monsters she expected. Dracchus awes her, captivates her, and makes her long for things she’d never dared dream. With tensions between their people escalating, can she jeopardize everything by trusting him? Is a taste of him worth her life?

HER WARRIOR AND HER REFUGE

Dracchus has risked himself countless times for the sake of his people, doing anything and everything to protect and provide for them. Between the vocal, anti-human kraken at home and the hunters prowling the seas, everything is falling apart around him. But when he meets Larkin, he allows himself hope — hope for a mate of his own, for a family of his own. She is his match, unlike any female he’s ever known. To have her, he’ll have to endanger her, along with all those he’s come to care for. After years of selflessness, how much is he willing to gamble to fulfill his own desires?

Find it on Amazon!

[image error]