Susan Grant's Blog, page 5
January 7, 2017
Sunrise
Heading east the other morning over the Pacific… Just before the sun peeked over the horizon and I had to get out a ton of sun shades to block the glare…
Seeing forever…
Spectacular clear day in Seoul!
Jewels of Tokyo
I loved this view of the lights of Tokyo as seen from my other office :) — right seat, flight deck of the 747.
December 3, 2016
Polaris
By now many folks have seen the United Airlines media blitz about the new level of service called Polaris. My flight back from Hong Kong was one of the inaugural flights. It looked so nice! The business and first class seats were decorated with upscale bedding embroidered with the Saks Fifth Avenue logo and the passengers could cuddle cute polar teddy bears. I wanted one! But they were all taken home by the passengers at the end of the flight.
Even we pilots were given the new fancy bedding for our rest break. Below is a photo of my bunk after I made the bed. (We have a private sleeping room with 2 bunk beds inside the cockpit of the 747). But where were the teddy bears? I would slept so much better if I had been given a stuffed animal, too. Where do I complain…? :)
The pilot meals reflected the new level of fanciness, too. I’m not a fan of melon and prosciutto but look how pretty my appetizer is, complete with the little “dots” of balsamic vinegar and a candied walnut.
Nom nom. The new deserts looked amazing (I took a nibble of each to confirm they tasted good, too :) ). The little chocolate cake on my crew meal was decorated with tiny golden flecks. 
United did a great job ramping up the level of luxe for business class; and the flight attendants worked hard to make it all come together, despite some ground service snafus at the station. But it’s always tricky the first day of any new service. The passengers seemed to like it, and as the pilot I was glad I got to experience it from the “front office”.
November 28, 2016
Science Fiction Romance Sale
Join me and over 40 Science Fiction Romance authors as we take you on a journey to another world. From November 28th through December 30th some of the hottest free and 99 cent science fiction romance books will be available.
He will cross the galaxy to find her again…
I am happy to share THE STAR KING with you during this awesome sale. ‘THE STAR KING is FREE at all retailers.
AMAZON | IBOOKS | NOOK | KOBO | ARe
Your next book boyfriend may be just one click away. This holiday season, fill you Kindle or gift some exciting sci-fi romance books to your book lover friends and family. http://smschmitz.com/promo
November 24, 2016
Thankful for YOU
I wanted to take a moment from the busy holiday this Thanksgiving Day to thank YOU, my friends and readers, for all your love and support. I’m so grateful for YOU!
October 25, 2016
Supernova SFR sale at iBooks!
For iBooks readers, this is a sale especially for you! Twenty bestselling SFR books at a steep discount on sale exclusively at iBooks! Use this special link to access:
iBooks Portal
autographed Paperback Giveaway!
THREE lucky winners will win copies of Anna’s book, Hell Squad: Marcus PLUS an autographed copy of my book, Champion of Barésh or SE’s Dagger’s Hope, or Charlee’s Stealing Mercury. To enter the paperback giveaway, just leave a comment on Anna’s page (international entries welcome!)
The paperback giveaway is only open until close of business Friday, don’t miss out!
October 21, 2016
Character sketches from Spark of Attraction, Pets in Space
These past few weeks have been a whirlwind. We are so pleased with the success of PETS IN SPACE. WE couldn’t have done it without all of you. I am sending you all huge hugs of thanks!
We are going to round out our conversations with the PETS IN SPACE ANTHOLOGY authors with Cara Bristol. She is going to introduce us to her story Spark of Attraction. Be sure to visit her website and follow her on social media. Links are at the end of the blog post.
***
Spark of Attraction in Pets in Space has three main characters. The hero, heroine, and a dog. Here’s a highlight of who they are.
Name: Dante Stone
Race: Cyborg. A computer-modified human.
Nickname: Cold Stone.
Occupation: Captain of the Crimson Hawk, a military spacecraft
Goal: Deliver the 200+ survivors of an alien attack to Space Station 15 and then resume his normal duties.
Temperament: Analytical and mission-focused. His emotions were accidentally erased when he was transformed to cyborg. His nickname is “Cold Stone.”
Obstacle: Miranda Lowell, one of the survivors who sneaked aboard a malfunctioning K9-500 bot. She’s an unwelcome distraction, and her robot dog is irritating. The damn bot bit him!
Name: Miranda Lowell
Race: Human.
Occupation: Archivist for the New Utopians, a group of colonists that sought to establish a colony on Verde Omega.
Goal: Recover from the alien attack that nearly killed her and destroyed everything she owned except for Sparky, her K9-500 robotic dog.
Obstacle: Something is terribly wrong aboard the Crimson Hawk. Her fellow New Utopians are disappearing one by one. Why won’t the captain believe her?
Name: Sparky
Appearance: Resembles a real dog. He’s small, with short white fur, electrified teeth, and one hell of a bite.
Race: Artificial Intelligence. A K9-500 robot.
Function: Companion to Miranda Lowell. Programmed to protect her at any cost.
Obstacle: The captain of the Crimson Hawk. To protect Miranda from the threat posed by the captain, Sparky bit him. Now he’s been deactivated. As soon as he can move again, watch out!
If you left to colonize a planet, what one personal item from home (Earth) would you want to bring?
Spark of Attraction blurb
Memory: intact. Cognitive function: enhanced. Emotion: erased.
After becoming a cyborg, Captain Dante Stone didn’t think he’d ever feel again, until a traumatized young woman and a ball of synthetic fur named Sparky helped him to love.
An excerpt from Spark of Attraction, Pets in Space
“How’s your leg?” she asked.
“Good as new.”
“I’m so sorry about what happened.”
“Don’t worry about it. With my nanos, the bite wound had healed by the next morning, and all traces had disappeared the day after. Just give me your word you’ll keep the bot powered down.” A cyborg, he’d healed fast, but if the K9-500 bit a human, the outcome wouldn’t be so good.
She crossed her heart. “I learned my lesson. I had assumed when you grabbed me to keep me from falling, it triggered a protective response in Sparky, but he hasn’t been performing to spec lately.”
“You need to get that checked out.”
“I intend to when I get to the space station. He’s the only thing I have left. My father gave him to me before he died.”
“On Verde Omega—”
“No, no,” she added quickly. “He died when I was teenager. I’ve had Sparky ever since, and he saved me from the Tyranians. He bit one of them, too.”
Thank goodness she had had the bot. “Maybe I could examine him?” Dante offered.
What was he thinking? He needed to break off all association with this woman—not find ways to spend time with her. A relationship between the captain and a refugee passenger would be inappropriate—not to mention short-termed. Once the ship docked, they would go their separate ways, as they should. And if he already ached at the idea of never seeing her again, how much worse would it be if he got to know her better?
“I don’t understand.” She frowned.
“We have an android lab. I’m no coding expert, but as a cyborg, I run diagnostics on my own programming regularly. I can examine…uh…Sparky for anomalies, red flags.”
Was he crazy? He couldn’t fraternize with a passenger! Tell her never mind. Forget what I said.
“You’d do that?” Her face lit up with a beautiful, glowing smile. For the second time since he’d met her, he felt as if he’d been punched in the chest. If she ever smiled at him like that…well, she was, but only because he’d offered to run a diagnostic on her robot.
“Let me see when I have the time,” he backpedaled. Before he extended any more stupid offers, he excused himself. “I’ll let you know what Lieutenant Commander Brack finds out,” he said, and rose to his feet. “I must return to the bridge.” He fled the observation deck.
Cara Bristol’s website: https://carabristol.com
Cara Bristol’s newsletter: http://eepurl.com/9aRJj
Cara Bristol on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cara.bristol.3
Cara Bristol’s Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Cara-Bristol/e/B004D8KZTQ/
October 19, 2016
My Favorite Pets
Please welcome Susan Smith (S.E. Smith) as she tells us a little about her love of animals and introduces us to a couple of her favorite pets. Susan’s PETS IN SPACE story is A Mate for Matrix. At the end of today’s post, you will find links to follow her on Facebook and to her website.
***
What is your favorite pet story?
For a Fiction read, my favorite pet story would have to be The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. The Black, a wild horse from the Middle East, is not your typical idea of a pet. The hero of the story, Alec, is a young boy who eventually befriends the stallion after the two are shipwrecked together. It is a powerful story of survival, friendship, and overcoming the odds.
The fantasy/fiction stories are always the best, but sometimes the real-life pets can be just as entertaining. We’ve always had pets and they all have their unique personality. At the moment, we are living with our first cat. PIA, she has been through numerous names, is one of our most unique pets.
When she was about three months old, she was abandoned by her owners. Two of my sons were on a job when the owner of the house came up and told them that he was trying to catch a cat that had been left behind by the previous owners. He planned on killing her. My youngest was living in an apartment at the time and already had three cats so he couldn’t take her in and my other son, who now owns two kittens and thinks of them as his kids, is highly allergic to cats. Yes, I know, strange, but true. They called me up and ask me if we wanted a cat. Never having owned one, I said no (Okay, it might have been more of a NO! then just a no, if you know what I mean). Well, boys being boys, especially mine with a tender heart, a half hour later I was the proud owner of a cat. This was four years ago. PIA loves to hunt snakes and play with them, head butt you, meow, follow you around like a puppy, and snuggle. She loves attention and acts more like a dog than a cat. LOL. When my youngest son sent me a picture of her while we were gone and said ‘Mom, your cat is malfunctioning again’, I knew she fit into our family perfectly.
Why did you write for PISA?
Anyone who knows me will recognize two things: I’m a sucker for animals and good causes. I first heard about Pets in Space when Veronica Scott messaged me and asked me to participate in an anthology. I knew I was already on a tight schedule, but when she told me what it was about and the charity that the stories were going to support, I knew I had to agree. I firmly believe in the healing properties of animals.
Most of the dogs, and definitely PIA, were either strays or pound puppies when we got them. Pixie 
Missile, a small terrier mix was one of my favorites. We had her at the time the boys brought PIA home. When the dog we had before Pixie passed away, I was heartbroken. I didn’t want another pet as it was just too hard. Three months after Fuzzybucket passed away, my hubby came home and said “There’s a dog in 12A that you need to go see down at the Humane Society.” For a week, I refused. Finally, my daughter and I were out and she told me that we might as well go see it. Of course, it was Pixie and I fell immediately in love with her. It tore me up when she was diagnosed with bone cancer when she was ten years old. I still miss her today. It is for her and all the other pets out there that become such a part of your life that I wrote the story for Pets in Space. My story is for Pixie.
Here is a teaser from A Mate for Matrix from Pets in Space:
“Jana knocked you out – with a small wooden brush. She is fierce and loyal and has the heart of a wolf. I have chosen her as your life mate,” K-Nine stated, jumping down off the bench. “I will scan the area. You need to wash before dinner. You have dirt in your ear.”
Matrix’s mouth snapped shut as he watched K-Nine disappear through the narrow opening. Since when did he let anyone – much less a cyborg wolfhound – choose his life mate? Turning, he gripped the sink before emitting a loud, frustrated growl. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. A grimace of distaste flashed across his face.
“I kissed her looking like this?” He asked himself in disgust before he bowed his head. “I should have left his mangy hide to the trainer. Everyone warned me to stay away from K-Nine. But no, I had to see what a Despairing Wolf hybrid looked like. When will I ever learn?”
Click here for your copy of Pets in Space http://sesmithfl.com/pets-in-space-anthology/
S.E. Smith, New York Times and USA TODAY Bestselling author of Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, and Paranormal Romance brings another action, adventure, and suspense- filled story to transport readers out of this world. Readers can check out her website at http://sesmithfl.com and chat with her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/se.smith.5.
