Pets were seamlessly woven into the fabric of my childhood, so much so that I have a hard time sorting out which pet happened when. (It’s an age thing. I’m waiting for that time when the past is closer than the present. Of course, when that happens I might not be able to type anymore.)
I look at the picture of me with one of our many cats and memories stir deep in the bubbling goo of my brain. I can remember the heat beating down on a summer day and the way a cat feels in your arms. Warm. Soft fur. The vibration caused by purring.
Our cats didn’t always purr, because my sister and I used to dress them in doll clothes and push them around in a baby stroller.
We were young.
And thankfully we had patient cats.
As I got older, I learned to read their looks better.
And I learned better ways to interact with cats.
In my own defense, I will point out that as I got older, there was a distinct power shift to the cats. I had one cat that not only slept me at night, he hogged the pillow, and got me to let him out of my bedroom at five a.m. in the morning.
You read that right. Five a.m.
I don’t even believe in five a.m.
But I did it.
My childhood was shaped by our pets and what they added to our lives.
So when the chance came to create and release an anthology about pets (and space) with author Veronica Scott, I jumped at the chance. Of course, because this is me, there was a twist.
Pets in Space.
Both of us believe that pets provide unconditional, uncomplicated love and comfort in ways that are hard to define. They need us, but I think we need them more. So when we came up with this idea, we know that we wanted our anthologies to feature:
1. Pets who are an important part of the story,
2. that the stories be about heroes and heroines in space;
3. and most of all we wanted to donate a portion of the proceeds to a charity that served both veterans AND pets in some way.
We’re so proud of what we accomplished during our tenure managing ®Pets in Space, the money we raised for Hero Dogs, and the authors we got to work with.
I’m super excited to release this collection of my contributions to five years of ®Pets in Space.
In an ironic twist, my pet in the first anthology was a dragon—a bearded dragon, but because this was an anthology about space pets, it is a very unusual dragon. And then there was the parrot.
I did manage to get a cat in there, sort of. But there’s also a snake and a frog.
Four of the stories are connected to my Project Enterprise series, but the dragon stands alone (he doesn’t seem to mind. Haha) as a kind of first contact story.
So that’s the story behind five years of anthologies and five pets that help save the day and the romances of my characters.
What I also love about my stories is that my heroes are heroic. They are good guys, trying to do the right thing against overwhelming odds. They stand their ground and fight for what is right and just. And my heroines are right in there, fighting with them to overcome evil.
That’s probably why their pets are so loyal.
Like all my books, this collection is Blush Free (not prim, not steamy, and filled romance and adventure)!
I hope very much that you’ll grab your copy of CLAWS & EFFECT and dive in for some fun adventures in space.
Perilously yours,
Pauline
Scroll down to read more about Pauline’s latest release and grab your copy today...
Title
Claws & Effect: The Otherworldly Pets of Project Enterprise
Author
Pauline Baird Jones
Genre
Romantic scifi, space opera, action adventure, science fiction romance
Book Blurb
Love Space opera? Romance? Adventure? Out of this world pets? Grab Claws & Effect today!
What’s in the collection?
In Time Trap, Sergeant Briggs’s world collides with the very unusual Madison and her pet parrot. With a Time Service Interdiction Force on their heels, can the three craft a plan that will save a base full of geniuses and technology and get them the happy ending they deserve?
Operation Ark’s Caro, her caticorn, and Kraye are tasked with returning some unusual aliens to their home planets. 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.
Cyborg’s Revenge asks the question, can the shy guy and the lovesick gal defeat their greatest enemy and find a happy ending? Only the chatty Snake knows for sure.
General’s Holiday brings us a lady with a crazy story and a frog for a side-kick. And then there is the general who has been waiting for his Picard moment for a long time. Be careful what you ask for! But…if he can survive he might just get to kiss the lady.
And in the bonus short story, “The Real Dragon,” Emma Standish didn’t think her day could get any worse. Her dad is marrying his boss, her dragon suddenly came back talking and typing, and it’s her fault the Earth, or at least ten square miles of Texas, is going to be destroyed.
Dive into four Project Enterprise stories and one quirky Earth-based romp! All five originally appeared in the ®Pets in Space anthologies.
Excerpt:
Something catapulted out of the green beams of light like it had been hurled, something that squawked loudly as it tumbled beak over claws, just missing Briggs’ head.
The spinning tumble continued unchecked toward a stand of palm-like trees. Somehow it recovered, made a narrow pass between two tree trunks, then circled back to a landing on the peak of the cottage.
It ruffled its feathers as if annoyed, then began to preen itself.
A parrot? He blinked. The green body, with a band of red just above the beak looked parrot-like.
“That’s not something you see every day.” Particularly in this birdless place. Too bad he’d already turned off the video. No one would believe he really saw a parrot shooting out of that thing.
The bird looked up and Briggs had the odd feeling it had understood him. He’d heard parrots were pretty smart. He glanced back at the disc. At least now he was pretty sure it was some kind of a transport pad. Definitely needed to get the power supply out—
He heard the hum build again and turned fully around, just in time to catch what flew out next. Instinctively his arms wrapped around the very humanoid—very female—form it ejected.
He staggered a few steps and then went down. The sand was harder than he’d have thought. His breath rushed out as they slid toward the water, his arms still wrapped around the woman.
When they hit wet sand, they slowed, and finally stopped. He felt water soaking into his shirt and heard the waves hitting close to his head. Took him a couple of tries before he could grab some shallow breaths. Each one was filled with the smell of salt, woman, and singed something.
He could feel the female struggling to catch her breath, too. Yeah, she was definitely female. Almost every inch of her was pressed against a lot of him, creating a different problem in catching his breath.
In the sudden silence, the bird squawked once.
Over on the table, the disc’s beams flickered, there was a popping sound from inside, and it went dark, smoke puffing out the holes on the top. Great. Now he didn’t even have a depleted power supply to show the geeks.
“Ow.”
Her voice was pained, but, well, nice. She took a couple of deep breaths that increased Briggs’ male holding a female problem. He wasn’t as old as he’d thought.
He would have shifted her off, didn’t want it to get embarrassing, and he would like to catch his breath, but the thing digging into his ribs felt a lot like some kind of gun. If she twitched wrong…
She muttered something that could have been a cuss word.
“…that hurt.”
It was something of a relief she spoke very American sounding English, but also a worry. What was she doing on this top-secret outpost? He’d bet real money this was not what Donovan and Doc had had in mind when they sent him the disc to play with.
The weapon retreated as she rolled off him and onto the sand. She didn’t get up, just lay there staring at the sky, her chest rising and falling quickly.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/ClawsAndEffect
Website Book Page/Post: https://paulinebairdjones.com/books/claws-effect/
Author Biography
Award-winning, USA Today Bestselling author, Pauline 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.
Social Media Links
Website: https://paulinebairdjones.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorPaulineBairdJones/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulinebjones
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/perilouspauline/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulinebjones/
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Pauline-Baird-Jones/e/B000APFS0M/