Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the
participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)
Taking a moment to remember all those who died while in active military service this Memorial Day (USA) weekend.
I decided to move on to another book as Nadelma the cook seemed to have had the perfect last word in last week’s snippet from The Captive Shifter.
Here’s a snippet from Star Cruise: Stowaway (blurb below). The first ten sentences of the story:
This was the time of day he enjoyed most, when all his crew had gone off duty and the Nebula Zephyr’s top cargo deck was quiet. Sure, more work remained tomorrow to get the cargo squared away properly and ready for the next stop, but there was no rush, being several weeks out. Cargo Master Owen Embersson surveyed his desk in the tiny office on Deck 18. Time to leave the place to the ship’s AI, go have his dinner in his cabin and then resume work on the scale model of a long-vanished temple he was building. This one was incredibly intricate, and he’d charge the customer triple the usual price.
Stepping onto the echoing deck, he called for Moby. She spent most of her evenings hunting vermin lurking among the monstrous crates and containers, but she usually passed the first part of the evening in his cabin, eating the incredibly expensive cat food he had the ship’s AI keep in stock. Not much else to spend his salary on. “Come on, cat, I want my dinner even if you don’t,” he said to the elegant vision in white fur who trotted from the murky recesses of the deck. How she stayed clean when she spent her days prowling the cargo deck, he’d never know.
The story:
I’m really excited to release three Sectors stories that have only been available previously in anthologies, none of which are available currently. (I know many of you purchased the Pets In Space anthology, which first contained STAR CRUISE STOWAWAY and thank you so much!) Along with STOWAWAY, I’ve really been wanting to get the other two stories out there for you, especially THE GOLDEN TOKEN, which was only in the limited edition paperback we handed out at last year’s RT Booklovers Conference. So I’ve bundled them ALL into one book with the lengthy title STAR CRUISE A NOVELLA: STOWAWAY WITH RESCUE AND GOLDEN TOKEN SHORT STORIES.
Here are the story descriptions:
Star Cruise: Stowaway: A novella of 22K words, previously in the ‘Pets In Space’ anthology.
Cargo Master Owen Embersson is shocked when the Nebula Zephyr’s ship’s cat and her alien sidekick, Midorri, alert him to the presence of a stowaway. He has no idea of the dangerous complications to come nor does he anticipate falling hard for the woman whose life he now holds in his hands. Life aboard the Nebula Zephyr has just become more interesting – and deadly.
Star Cruise: Rescue: A short story of 9K words, previously in the ‘Romancing the Stars’ anthology.
When a shore leave excursion goes terribly wrong for Mira Gage, a member of the Nebula Zephyr’s crew, Security Officer Clint Miltan races the clock to find her before the ship leaves orbit and abandons Mira to her fate. Clint’s got more than a professional interest in Mira, but will he be able to save her from the aliens holding her prisoner?
The Golden Token: A short story of 13K words, previously in the limited edition ‘Dealer’s Choice’ paperback anthology handed out at the 2016 RT Booklovers Convention Interstellar Bar & Grille event.
Sectors Special Forces operator Charlie McBrire had a few days to kill on a layover at Space Station 47. He never expected to find himself in the middle of a miners’ rebellion, fighting to save the life of a casino dancer he just met but can’t imagine living without.
I love your description of Moby, the cat.
Your collection of stories is an inspiration, Veronica.
Great intro to Moby. I loved her and Midorri! It’s a wonderful story! 🙂
Nice intro, Owen seems to be a bit of a loner, alone with his cat. And Mobi seems so in control of her environment like an adventurous luxury cat.
Just love cats. Glad to meet Moby. 🙂 Wonderful imagery.
Effing Feline is especially interested in this snippet, but he has a question before he runs out to buy catnip flowers. Is Moby male or female? Fixed or intact?
Moby is an elegant lady cat and very discreet about her private life LOL.
I loved Star Cruise Stowaway in Pets in Space. Great idea to package all three shorts in one anthology.
Thanks, Cara! I was especially happy to make the one available that had only been in a limited edition paperback handed out at last year’s RT. Not too many people even had a chance to read that one before! (The Golden Token). I think we did like 200 copies of the paperback. Linnea Sinclair edited so that was fun, to have a chance to work with her too.
Moby – love the name on a cat and the description of him spending his $$ on expensive cat food. But of course! Tweeted.
Thanks for all the comments! I’m so happy people are enjoying Owen and his cat Moby. Owen’s entire existence is about to be upended in the next few paragraphs I’ll be sharing LOL.
I love the cat. And I love him more for loving his cat! 😀
Hey GF I just bought the 3 you suggested so I’m about to sit in the sun and read right now. Hugs, C
Well thank you, my friend! Here’s to a good day sitting in the sun and reading 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy the stories!
The minute you introduced a cat, and a fluffy white one at that, you had me. Nice to see his ordinary world. How far out of it will you take him? Hmmmm?
Great descriptions!
Gotta love the ship’s cat. Cleanest member of the crew. 😉 Great snippet, Veronica.
Gotta love a guy who loves his cat. Fun snippet. Thanks for giving us another chance at this story!
A fun snippet!
I love that this is how the story begins. Everything calm then the missing pet. You just know something is going to happen.
I forgot to sign up, but I still posted my snippet. http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/
Moby’s not spoiled at all, is she?
And I love that he has a hobby of building models.
Great excerpt! I loved Moby and Owen in the ‘Pets In Space’ anthology, and now you have me really wanting to read Star Cruise Rescue and The Golden Token too!
Smart pubbing move! No sense in these lovely stories not getting read. Love this scene. You get such a good feel for him.
Sounds like this guy has a nice, quiet life. I have a feeling that’s about to change.
Wonderful opening!
How nice to see a cat in the story, and I liked your description of her.
Full of wonderful details, and it flows so smoothly–as always. 😉 Best wishes on this release!
No snippet for me this week. 🙂
Cats in space! The best kind of cats. 🙂 Love the description, it weaves in so many details nicely.
I just love everything about this. And yes, white cats (or even black and white ones) are especially mysterious in the ways of keeping clean in not-so-clean places.