I have fellow Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 anthology author Pauline stopping by today to talk about a sentient alien raptor (ooh, that sounds so cool!) and her share a snippet from her story.
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I am always surprised when I write a short story or a novel. Characters surprise me and the twists and turns of the plot, as I figure it, often surprises me. Okay, most of the time I am surprised. I’m not a “figure it out ahead of time” writer. Mostly I plunge into the mist and flail around a lot until things start to clear. So picking the character that surprised me the most is not usually that easy.
This time it was a little easier to nominate Lady Yodrirka as my “Most Surprising Character” award.
When I first me the Lady, she was a scary, enigmatic raptor like sentient with a truly scary gaze. Each of her claws were the length of a human hand and her wing span was about four times longer than she was high. And she was tall. Taller than the humans tasked with taking her home.
I modeled her on the harpy eagle, which is also scary and enigmatic, by the way, as you can see by the picture. My raptor’s coloring is different, because she is from a planet far, far away. And my raptor talks, well, she can. She does not talk much.
She has secrets and finding out what they were puts Operation Ark and everyone involved in extreme peril. Lots and lots of peril. The perilous kind of peril.
Here’s an excerpt from early in Operation Ark:
City had eaten MREs in a foxhole while under fire. That, she decided, was more comfortable than this. Rita was in there pitching. She had provided some soft, elevator music so the lack of dinner conversation wasn’t painfully obvious. Everyone had their game face on—or in the case of the robot, he had his usual face on. On the surface, it was smooth and civilized as long as she didn’t look at the Harparian, at the head of the small table, ripping her dinner to pieces with beak and claw.
The food dispenser had manufactured everyone’s food, based on nutritional needs and personal preference, but it was still unsettling to watch. For City, this was the closest she’d been to the over-sized bird since freeing her from a cage in the hold of a space pirate ship. The tuft of feathers over her eyes acted as a hood to a gaze that was deep and old, like a mysterious pool in a fantasy tale. If emotions stirred in the black and gold depths, City was not equipped to read them, though her gaze did make the hair lift on the back of her neck.
I hope you’re as excited for the release of Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 as I am. Here’s the blurb for Operation Ark:
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!
Please join us for the next round of adventures with romance, danger and pets! All of it happening in space!
Anthology Blurb for Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3
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 disabled U.S. veterans and first responders.
Open your hearts and grab your limited release copy of Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 today!
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About the Author:
USA Today Bestselling author Pauline Baird Jones never liked reality, so she writes books. She likes to wander among the genres, rampaging like Godzilla, because she does love peril mixed in her romance.