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Release Date: October 5th!
MEET MY PETS IN SPACE 6 PET – EYN THE ALIEN TURTLE
By Veronica Scott
Some years the story idea comes first for me and other years the pet concept is first and drives the story. This year they arrived together, which made things easy. My family has always enjoyed turtles as pets. We’ve had a lot of the common green turtles and many red-eared sliders over the years. My brother is especially keen on turtles and not only has several as pets, he also does rescues and has hand raised baby snapping turtles until they were old enough to be re-released into the wild. I decided to make my space pet a turtle this year in honor of my brother, who is one of my most devoted readers and fans.
Eyn is an alien turtle of course and he can and does leave his shell most days. I always felt a bit sorry for terrestrial turtles that they had to carry their shell around all the time and couldn’t go out unencumbered at least occasionally so Eyn has that freedom. He returns to his shell nightly and can close it up tight, and while he sleeps the biological mechanisms in the shell structure replenish his energy. He belongs to Raelyn, my heroine, who is a senior stewardess on board the Nebula Zephyr interstellar luxury cruise liner and is also a symbol of her home world and its belief system.
He can also function as a piece of living jewelry for her. Eyn not only sets off the events in the story, he’s also quite involved in dealing with bad guys along the way to the plot’s resolution and the Happy Ever After ending. It’s a fun challenge to me each year to ensure the pet is more than just a pretty set decoration but is also important to the events. I think Eyn manages all of that quite nicely although he’ll probably need a nap in that shell by the end of the novel.
Did I mention he has three eyes?
Of course we see other members of the ship’s crew from past stories but this can be read as a standalone.
The excerpt – Eyn getting into trouble: Raelyn noticed her carryall was open and various items were strewn around the table. “You’ve been busy and naughty,” she said to Eyn, clucking her tongue. The moyed loved glittering objects and was known to haul small things away to secret caches. Luckily he knew better than to leave the cabin so she never lost anything permanently.
Eyn was standing with his front paws on the odd glass bubble she’d bought at the bazaar on impulse at the end of the quick sightseeing trip to the planet. He was staring fixedly into the misty center and his tongue flickered in and out as if he was trying to taste the captured air inside. Disconcerted by how intent her pet was, Raelyn reached for him. “You’ve seen your reflection before for star’s sake. Be careful or you’ll push it off—”
She hadn’t even finished her sentence when the moyed ducked, trying to avoid her and as he moved with his usual sudden speed, the ornament rolled in the opposite direction, plummeting to the deck. The cabin was carpeted but as if in slow motion Raelyn saw the bubble land on a stack of other items from her shopping trip and shatter into dozens of pieces.
A burst of oddly scented air struck her, smelling of hot desert and vanilla and other pleasant things she couldn’t place. For a moment she was dizzier than ever and actually staggered a step or two as the room whirled around her. Chirping, Eyn jumped onto her arm and scurried to her shoulder, rubbing his head against her chin.
“I’m fine but that piece of old glass isn’t. Twenty credits, totally wasted. When will I learn not to give in to impulses? Maeve,” she said, addressing the Ship’s AI, “Can you have a robo clean this up? I’m running late today.”
“Of course, although if decontamination is required there will be a small charge to your account.”
“Fine, although I don’t think there’s any issue with a chemical spill. There was nothing but air inside.” She sat Eyn on top of his shell, stepped carefully around the broken glass and rushed into the bathroom. It’d be worth a credit or two not to have to start her day cleaning up a mess.
The blurb: Raelyn Cantorini, senior stewardess on the interstellar cruise ship Nebula Zephyr thinks the alien artifact she bought on the last planet the ship visited was just a pretty glass orb…until her pet Eyn knocked the ornament off a table, shattering it and sending her into an infinitely repeating time loop.
Stuck reliving the same day over and over, Raelyn has only hours to try to save the ship and everyone on board from dying in a terrible catastrophe. As she tries to solve the mystery of what happens to the ship right before midnight each time the day repeats, Raelyn meets Kev Gordonn, the former Special Forces soldier turned actor and finds herself falling in love with him. Each time the day repeats, she learns more about him while he has no memory of her. Can she persuade him they’ve met before? Will he trust her enough to help stop the Nebula Zephyr’s destruction?
And if they do save the ship, will that reset time for Raelyn?
Author Bio:
USA Today Best Selling Author
Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own stories.
Seven time winner of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Veronica is also the proud recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal relating to her former day job, not her romances!
She read the part of Star Trek Crew Member in the official audiobook production of Harlan Ellison’s “The City On the Edge of Forever.”
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