Ten years ago author Pauline Baird Jones and I had the idea to do a scifi romance anthology featuring pets as an integral element of the plot, like Lassie (who used to rescue her owner regularly), but in space.. We had a lot of fun with the Pets in Space concept for five years, hit the USA Today Best Sellers list, worked with many terrific authors, wrote our own stories…and then we handed it off to the wonderful Carol Van Natta.

This year being the tenth anniversary, she invited us back to write new stories

I always like to do a Star Cruise story for my contribution to these anthologies. (Not all the Star Cruise stories include a pet, however.) I already knew I wanted to write a pet inspired by the earthly pangolin, which I think are fascinating looking creatures but I did have to ponder what fresh angle I could bring to writing about my interstellar cruise liner the Nebula Zephyr. I never want to write the same story twice and there are fourteen voyages published already. I remembered I hadn’t ever really delved into the casino on board and once I had the setting my Female Main Character popped into my head, as well as how she’d acquire her new pet.

I was a floater at the May Company department store many years ago, when I was in college and although the retail experience is nothing like working on an interstellar cruise liner, I drew on the emotions I remember feeling at the time, especially the one about wanting to find a regular position and stay employed. I was actually a holiday floater twice and the second time I did get invited to stay on in a department I loved (and eventually I became the Department Manager but that’s a whole other story).

If I was going to be discussing the casino then the Main Male Character pretty much needed to be the casino manager. I did my research into the typical duties and problems of an earthly casino manager and I also  read up on professional poker tournaments. My passengers of the future don’t play poker – they have their own cool, futuristic game going – but the principles and procedures of a tournament are kind of the same. And the manager deals with it all.

From there it was an easy jump to the luck aspects of the story, since gamblers are often extremely superstitious and Dahlia’s new pet has some mysterious capabilities.

And it’s always fun to be able to include the ongoing members of the crew as supporting characters. I love seeing my old friends again, even briefly and catching up on their current activities.

The excerpt – It’s Dahlia’s first time working as a waitress on the casino floor. The pre shift meeting she attended mentioned ‘whales’, who are gamblers who often wager huge sums. The staff was to watch for them and be extra attentive.:

She was at her next to the last stop on what she now thought of as her route, which was the big roulette table. As she understood it, roulette was a game of chance which originated on Old Terra itself. It was certainly popular here, with a constant crowd surrounding the table. Since her last stop here a new party had arrived, with a rather inebriated man at the center. He was flashily dressed, obviously rich and everyone in his group was focused on him. He’d been playing the wheel and from what Dahlia overheard, losing badly. She was offering her wares to one of the women in his orbit when suddenly the primary guest glanced over his shoulder and pointed at her.

“You! What’s your favorite color?” he said.

“Green,” she said instinctively, only belatedly realizing he meant on the roulette wheel. There was one space marked in green and she might not be a gambler but she knew the odds had to be astronomical against the ball landing in the space on any given spin.

The man stared at her and then gave a shout of laughter. “What the hell, why not? Put it all on the green.”

The croupier maintained her professional calm demeanor as the guest shoved a pile of chips out in front of him but Dahlia heard gasps from all sides of the table and the woman standing closest to him said something urgent in a low tone.

He shook his head and pushed her hand away from his arm. “Nope. If my luck is going to be out tonight I might as well find out now and we can go have dinner and catch a show instead of going to the private room. You know this is how I test the luck—I let the wheel tell me. And tonight I’m letting her tell me.” He winked at Dahlia who was aghast at the idea the guest was going to risk a presumably huge sum of credits on her casual comment.

“All bets in.” As the croupier sent the ball on its way around the wheel, circling lower and lower towards the numbered and colored slots, Dahlia was rooted to the spot, her job forgotten. She held her breath, terrified about what the outcome might be. Who the seven hells bets on the green?

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As if pushed by a stray breath of air, the ball dropped firmly into the green slot and took a triumphal turn as the wheel slowed and stopped. There was dead silence and then a cheer went up. The man left his chair, taking Dahlia in his arms and kissing her on the lips. “Baby, you’re something else. Lady Luck in disguise.” Fortunately he released her before she could even form a protest.

“Name’s Sutton, Moss Sutton and you’re not leaving my side tonight.”

The whale?

He took her tray from her, over her protest and handed it off to the nearest one of his hangers-on. Tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow, he said, “When Lady Luck calls a man’s gotta pay attention. You’re my lucky charm, baby.” He began walking toward the far edge of the gaming floor, where she knew from the map the elite private gaming rooms were located.

She stumbled in the unaccustomed high heels. “But I’m working—”

“Remington won’t care. Whatever Sutton wants, Sutton gets in this casino or any other,” he said confidently. Leaning his head closer to hers, he said, “I drop enough credits in these damn places to keep the lights on and the robos humming, honey. But tonight I’m winning it all back, thanks to you.”

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STAR CRUISE LUCKY CHARM:

Dahlia Vale is a floater on the interstellar cruise liner Nebula Zephyr. She fills in wherever she’s needed and loves the life. She hopes she can land a permanent spot on the crew roster and she and her alien rescue pet Petal can secure their home aboard the ship. Then one night she gets called to take a waitress position in the casino and a high society guest decides she’s his lucky charm after winning huge at the roulette wheel by betting on her casual suggestion. Life becomes a whirlwind for Dahlia and she’s not sure she likes the attention. Fortunately her pet gave her a special token of good luck that she carries all the time.

Casino Manager Mike Remington isn’t happy to have an unknown floater assigned to the casino on such a big night but he’s impressed with Dahlia despite himself. He wants to get to know her better which is a challenge since he’s the boss but maybe the way to her heart is to help find answers for her ailing pet. Amidst preparations for an upcoming gaming competition Mike finds time to spend with Dahlia. But he’s got everyone from the interstellar mob to the upper echelons of society on the ship to deal with.

When Dahlia is endangered thanks to her reputation as a so-called ‘luck puller’ for the avaricious gamblers engaged in the championship games, she needs her own lucky charm and Mike’s help to avoid disaster. Can their growing attraction survive the chaos?

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