Talking about the hero and heroine of STAR CRUISE: RETURN VOYAGE today. This latest release of mine is in the Pets in Space® 5 scifi romance anthology and I’ve chosen to highlight the book again today because we donate a portion of the first month’s royalties to Hero Dogs, Inc., a nonprofit organization which provides service dogs to veterans and first responders in need.
The donation period runs through next Wednesday, November 11th, which is USA Veteran’s Day, so if you haven’t got your ebook copy yet and want to support Hero Dogs, you still have time! (The anthology will be on sale for a while after but we’ll be done with donations.)
Here are the two blurbs and then the “get to know the characters” Q&A follows:
PETS IN SPACE® 5 ANTHOLOGY BLURB:
It’s time for an escape! Pets in Space® 5 is back for the fifth amazing year! Escape to new worlds with twelve of today’s top Science Fiction Romance authors. They have written 12 original, never-before-released stories filled with action, adventure, suspense, humor, and romance that will take you out of this world. The giving doesn’t stop there. For the fifth year, Pets in Space® will be donating a portion of the first month proceeds to Hero-Dogs.org, a non-profit charity that supports our veterans and First Responders. If you are ready to forget the world around you and make a difference while you are having fun, grab your copy before it’s gone!
STAR CRUISE RETURN VOYAGE: Gianna Nadenoft is a reclusive survivor of one of the worst interstellar cruise ship disasters in the history of the Sectors. Now a renowned artist, she hasn’t left her home planet in decades, not since returning there after the wreck as a traumatized three-year-old. With her service animal at her side, she’s going to attempt to travel across the star systems to attend her brother’s wedding and reunite with her fellow survivors.
Trevor Hanson is a security officer aboard the cruise liner Nebula Zephyr with his own traumatic past as a former Special Forces soldier and prisoner of war. He’s assigned to provide personal protection to Gianna during her time aboard the ship but soon finds his interest turning from professional to romantic.
Onboard the Nebula Zephyr, powerful enemies are watching Gianna and making plans to seize this rare opportunity to gain access to her and the secrets they believe she’s still keeping about the wreck. Can Trevor overcome his personal demons and rise to the occasion to save Gianna from the danger waiting on his ship, or will she slip through his fingers and suffer a terrible fate deferred from her last disastrous voyage?
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Meet the hero, Trevor:
Can he keep a secret? Trevor is extremely good at keeping secrets. He has more than a few himself but also he’s a highly trained Sectors Special Forces soldier with the top level clearances required. His word is his bond and he’d never break a confidence.
What inner doubts cause the most difficulty? Trevor was taken prisoner during the ongoing war with the Sectors’ alien enemies and suffered terribly. He has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the events. During the course of the book, his past is revealed…
Biggest need at the beginning of the story? He just wants to do his duty aboard the interstellar cruise ship Nebula Zephyr, make it through the day (and night) without having another PTSD episode and justify his captain’s and his boss’s faith in him. They took a chance to hire him but as veterans themselves, they understand what he’s going through.
Biggest hopes and dreams? He really doesn’t have any when the story starts. It was all taken away from him by the events in the war. Meeting Gianna opens up his thoughts to new possibilities.
How does he handle challenges? Like any other elite soldier, he rises to the occasion and sets aside his personal concerns to get the job done.
Meet the heroine, Gianna:
What special skills does she have? Gianna is an extremely talented artist and her work is in high demand across the galaxy. Trevor is immediately captivated by her art and one painting in particular of a man with three shadows, which ‘speaks’ to him and the things troubling him.
If Gianna could spend time with anyone other than Trevor, who would it be? Her mother, who perished aboard the Nebula Dream during the original tragedy when she was a child.
Can she keep a secret? Absolutely. She has a few of her own, not as dire as the one Trevor is shielding about himself, but Gianna doesn’t like to talk about what she went through as a child, aboard the doomed ship. She loathes the celebrity and fame she’s accrued purely on the basis of being a survivor from that catastrophe.
What inner doubts cause her the most difficulty? Memories and PTSD flashbacks from the events on the wreck. She was given a service animal as a child, Verlaine the Tajikkan hound, and leans on him to help her avert incidents and short circuit PTSD attacks. He’s been known to try to bite particularly aggressive paparazzi! Verlaine bonds with Trevor immediately and obviously adds him to the pack of people he cares about.
How does she handle challenges? When the chips are totally down, Gianna pulls it together and stands tall. She’s a fighter.
Welcome aboard the Nebula Zephyr, meet the crew and enjoy the voyage!
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VS: If you enjoyed my STAR CRUISE: RETURN VOYAGE in the Pets in Space 5 anthology and wanted more stories set on the Nebula Zephyr…here they are!
In order:
STAR CRUISE: OUTBREAK – She saved countless soldiers in the wars … but does she have the weapons to fight an outbreak? Apple iBooks Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble GooglePlay
STAR CRUISE: STOWAWAY – Can the cargo master save a beautiful alien empath stowaway from the interstellar crime syndicate? (Appeared in Pets in Space 1) Amazon Apple Books Kobo Nook GooglePlay
STAR CRUISE: SONGBIRD – Can there be a happily ever after for an interstellar rock star singer and the ship’s security officer assigned to guard her for a special cruise? My scifi rock star romance and one of my own personal most favorites! (Appeared in Pets in Space 2) Amazon Apple Books Kobo B&N GooglePlay
STAR CRUISE: MYSTERY DANCER – Is she a fabled princess on the run or an imposter? A desperate dancer auditions for an opening in the ship’s Comettes dance troupe. My scifi take on the Anastasia legend, set in the far future… (Appeared in Pets in Space 3) Amazon Apple Books Kobo Nook GooglePlay
STAR CRUISE: IDOL’S CURSE – Can Juli the Cruise Director return the piece of an alien idol to its home before the ship is destroyed by the cursed rock? Can Third Officer Steve Aureli get between her and the escalating bad luck? Will their second attempt to kindle a romance succeed or will the curse affect that too? (Appeared in Pets in Space 4)
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And if you’d like to see how Red and Meg met before they joined the Nebula Zephyr:
STAR CRUISE: MAROONED: Inexplicably left behind by their cruise ship when it suddenly leaves orbit, can Red and Meg save their passengers and themselves? Amazon Apple Books Kobo Nook GooglePlay