Starlane Crossroads Has Heroes
Pets in Space 9 is out with ten brand new science fiction romances for your reading pleasure. My story in this year's anthology is called Starlane Crossroads. It's also the name of the independent space station where all the action takes place. It's kind of like a futuristic tourist town in space. As all good stories do, Starlane Crossroads has heroes.
Katalin and Vellek, the main characters (our heroes!), have three things in common:
- They're each recovering from significant life changes.
- They have a mystery to solve.
- They have pets. As a matter of fact, quite a few people have pets — more on that later.
Station Manager: Unsung Hero
Katalin Efren is the station manager. After the loss three years ago of her husband and daughter in an accident three years ago, she's still trying to find her new normal. Luckily, she has good friends like Sierrho, who runs the station's pet rescue shelter, and Vellek, the station's security chief. Her friends know the station’s smooth operations owe a lot to Katalin’s sense of responsibility for everyone who calls Starlane Crossroads home. The faceless corporation that now owns the station has recently signaled sweeping personnel changes are coming. She’s not sure she could stand the devastating loss of her friends.
Security Chief: Man with Secrets
Vellek Altano, the station's acting security chief, hides a dark past that he's still trying to atone for. Despite his deeply private nature and a loss of his own, he has made friends and found an accepting community. He is brilliant at anticipating and mitigating security threats before they happen. He's not so brilliant at figuring out how to deal with unexpected feelings, such as his growing desire to be more than friends with Katalin.
Thanks to Vellek's former career, he’s good at criminal investigation. Katalin knows the station inside and out. But if they can’t figure out how and why a universally disliked government agent died, the station and everyone who calls it home could lose their freedom in a hurry.
Pets (Of Course)
As I mentioned before, a lot of people on the station have pets. Sierrho has an extraordinary gift of pairing the right people with the right pets. She's sneaky, too. In a scene in Vellek's office, here's how Katalin describes how she came to own her first cat from Sierrho:
Katalin chuckled, looking more relaxed than he’d seen her in a handful of ten-days. The boldly bright gauzy tunic and loosely-tied hairstyle suited her. “I bet half the people who got pets from Sierrho had similar experiences. That’s how I got Froggie. The day after Starn left with Temelle on her first supply run in her new ship, Sierrho tells me the shelter is overflowing and begs me to keep this improbably-named cat in my office just for a few days. I couldn’t just leave her there at night with just a makeshift crate, food, and water bowl, so I took her home. Best bad idea ever. And now I have Sky and Paru, and wouldn’t give them up for anything.”
“Same here.” He wouldn’t admit that to anyone else. His gaze flicked to the far corner of the office, where Norby and Cyrene dozed together in the pet bed he had provided for them. They’d been very polite in their begging for scraps. Katalin had anticipated the issue and ordered treats for them along with the meal. It was tempting just to drift in the peaceful feeling of the evening, but he couldn’t put off the real world any longer.
Read The Pets of Starlane Crossroads to learn more about the various creatures on the station.
Blast off with Pets in Space 9, a thrilling anthology that blends heart-pounding sci-fi with swoon-worthy romance!
Dive into 10 never-before-published tales from award-winning and USA TODAY bestselling authors R.J. Blain, Honey Phillips, Carol Van Natta, Kenzie Kelly, S.J. Pajonas, Demelza Carlton, Leslie Chase, Greta van der Rol, E.G. Manetti, and Evelyn Lederman. Each novella features extraordinary pets — from a telepathic feline on a distant planet to a brave dog in a futuristic city — standing by their heroes through love, danger, and epic quests.
Plus, every purchase supports Hero Dogs, a charity that provides trained service dogs to veterans and first responders.
Explore a galaxy of romance and adventure in Pets in Space 9 — don’t miss out!
