#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--AUTHORS SUPPORTING HERO DOGS (AND SOME CROCHETED CATS!)

Today we’re happy to have sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal romance author Melisse Aires stopping by to tell us about the newest Pets in Space anthology, which raises money for Hero-Dogs.org. Learn more about Melisse and her books at her blog and website.

A Pet Lover Writes Sci-fi Romance

I am excited to be part of the Pets in Space 6 anthology. All the sci-fi romance stories in this anthology involve a pet, and we donate to a worthy charity, Hero-Dogs.org.

 

I am owned by a small, fuzzy dog and two tortoiseshell cats. I have lived with pets my whole life and can’t imagine not having a pet!

 

Since Pets in Space 6 is a sci-fi romance anthology, I let my imagination go wild while creating “Stranded on Grzbt.” I ended up with Velvet, a tiny lab-created cyber mouse with an elephant-like trunk. She is called Nanosnoot.

 

Velvet has a large part in my story as she helps Mimi and Kyre, my young couple, rescue themselves and their companions from a nefarious kidnapper’s spaceship. As I was writing, a pack of cat-aliens popped up! Luckily, they can communicate by telepathy and consider tiny Velvet a member of their pack. While Velvet works wonders on the spaceship’s computer system, the cats (referred to as Murder cats by the Earth women) provider scouting and ‘muscle.’ 

 

Pets provide joy and assistance in my story. And it is just one of the great stories in Pets in Space 6.

 

In addition to writing, I like to crochet. I found this wonderful cat square pattern, perfect for people like me with bins of leftover yarn. Hmmm, I could do space backgrounds!

 

I contacted the creator, Pony Mctate, about sharing, and she was very gracious. Here are links to the pattern:

https://www.ponymctate.com/post/many-cats-square----free-pattern

 

PDF: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/many-cats-square

 

Pets in Space 6

A limited-edition anthology featuring 11 original, never-before-released stories from some of today's bestselling Science Fiction Romance, and Fantasy authors, Pets in Space 6 continues their vital support of Hero-Dogs.org, the non-profit charity that improves quality of life for veterans of the U.S. military and first-responders with disabilities.

 

Pets in Space® authors have donated more than $15,300 in the past five years to help place specially trained dogs with veterans and first responders. 10% of all pre-orders and the first month’s royalties of Pets in Space 6 will again go to Hero-Dogs.org.

 

Authors include:

 

Behr's Rebel by S.E. Smith

Marastin Dow Book 2

With the help of her two innovative pets, a human woman rescues an alien General and becomes part of the revolution he is leading.

 

Star Cruise: Time Loop by Veronica Scott

Sectors Romance series

Reliving the same terrible day, Raelyn and her pet are in a race to save the interstellar cruise ship.

 

The Cyborg with no Name by Honey Phillips

Can a rogue robotic horse and a misfit mechanical dog protect a wounded cyborg and a lonely scientist from a vicious new enemy?

 

Escape from Nova Nine by Carol Van Natta

A Central Galactic Concordance Novella

In a dangerous asteroid mine, space griffins may be the key to escape for a pirate clanswoman with vital secrets and a wanted fugitive with enemies hot on his tail.

 

Trade Secrets by Cassandra Chandler

The Department of Homeworld Security series

She wanted to find aliens—and discovered much more than she bargained for!

 

See How They Run by JC Hay

TriSystems: Smugglers

In microgravity, even the heaviest heart can fly.

 

Suri’s Sure Thing by S.J. Pajonas

Kimura Sisters Series

Suri and her dog, Finn, are an inseparable pair, and they both suspect her ex-boyfriend is up to no good in this best-friends-to-lovers romance.

 

The Thunder Egg by Greta van der Rol

Can a freighter captain and an academic outwit their pursuers and get a little alien foundling back where she belongs?

 

Worlds of Fire: Metamorphosis by Deborah A. Bailey

An alchemy apprentice doesn't think much of her gargoyle shifter mentor – and his pet – until she finds he's just the person to help her when a transmutation spell goes wrong.

 

Stranded on GRZBT by Melisse Aires

Can a resourceful human trust the alien determined to help her and her companions?

 

Escaping Korth by Kyndra Hatch

Before The Fall series

An alien interrogator recognizes the human prisoner as his fated mate, leading to danger for both of them.

 

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--MOJITOS, MOCKITOS & JAZZ FROM MYSTERY AUTHOR M.A. MONNIN

An Air Force veteran and avocational archaeologist, M.A. Monnin enjoys traveling and makes a point to visit archaeological sites wherever she goes. Her short crime fiction has also been published in Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible. Look for her next short story in an upcoming issue of Black Cat Mystery Magazine. Learn more about her and her stories at her website where you can also find links to her other social media sites.  

Notes From the Gimlet Lounge

In my short story “Siren Song”, Hawk Hathaway spends his evenings in the Gimlet Lounge, a current dive bar and former speakeasy. Like most of the patrons, he goes there to lose himself in the music and to forget the hard facts of life.

Greta, the bar owner’s daughter and bartender extraordinaire, claims to make the best cocktails in the city—Kansas City, Missouri. And who am I to argue with a sassy woman in a plaid miniskirt and biker boots? She takes care of her customers, and has certainly caught Hawk Hathaway’s eye.

Cocktails and mocktails are her specialty. Here’s one that’s popular on hot summer nights, a sure-to-please Mojito, followed by a non-alcoholic version. Because sometimes you can’t, shouldn’t, or simply don’t want to drink alcohol.

Mojito

One tall serving.

2-3 sprigs mint (12-15 mint leaves)

Frozen limeade concentrate, partially thawed, 2 heaping tablespoons

Bacardi Superior rum—3 oz. or two shots

Ice cubes

Perrier- plain or lime flavored.

In a pint glass, muddle mint sprigs or just mint leaves with limeade concentrate and rum. Mix well. Top with desired amount of ice, then fill glass with Perrier. To preserve the Perrier carbonation, stir gently with a swizzle stick.

Mockito

Follow the above directions, simply leaving out the rum. Still delicious and refreshing. And family friendly, too!

Greta says the cool mint and limeade are particularly satisfying when enjoyed in the evening with the sultry sounds of jazz playing in the background. If you, like the patrons of the Gimlet Lounge, want to lose yourself in the world of nightclubs, music, and mystery, check out All That Weird Jazz. 

All That Weird Jazz

Jazz. A music of improvisation, of passion, of its very own kind of magic. Considered by many to be the only truly original American form of music, it has, since its birth in a smoky room somewhere, also been tied to the strange, wrapped up in the supernatural, associated with the occult, at least in hints and shadows. In All That Weird Jazz several of the most innovative writers in genre fiction today tell tales of the unusual between the notes, the magic behind the music. From straight up pulp action to ghostly noir to a dragon who digs jazz more than anyone else, All That Weird Jazz takes love for this unique musical styling to an all new level, complete with adventure, thrills, and even a chill or two.

Stories include:

“Siren Song”

by M. A. Monnin

Hawk Hathaway is a man in need of redemption. Righting a 90-year-old wrong will either save his soul or cost him his life. To live with himself, he has to try.

“Trane Blue—A Cornelius Dex Story”

By Kimberly Richardson

One man’s life changes in the course of a night, thanks to good jazz and a surly dragon.

“Ghost in the Jazz”

By E. W. Farnsworth

‘Gone’ and ‘Lost’ jazz performers Max and Sixie continue their musical partnership after Max’s murder to solve the crime and exact revenge.

“Django in Paris”

By Davide Mana

In occupied Paris, Django Reinhardt moves like a ghost, and his music is an inspiration for those that oppose the Nazis. Now, people in Berlin and Wewelsburg want to learn his secret. And stop him.

“Jazz Juice”

By McCallum Morgan

The discovery of a rare record with a supernatural secret will send Nyle on a search for the soul of music. Retracing the footsteps of his favorite trumpet player from the 1920s, he will encounter voodoo and discover just how much he’s willing to give for music.

“Sounds and Sweet Airs” 

By Sharae Allen

Headstrong psychic Dorothy Baxter must save her jazz club haven from human and supernatural forces during Prohibition. As she grows into her powers under the watchful eye of a ruthless club owner and conjure woman, she learns that even though she can see the future, there is no way to escape it. 

“Midnight Fugue” 

By Mark Barnard

1930s New Orleans—a city of hot jazz, good times and voodoo. It started with a broken reed, a severed head and a strangely glowing tarot card, and ended with something far worse.

“Dark Magus” 

By James Hopwood

When an ancient being that feeds on sound escapes from a confinement facility in Africa and threatens the very fabric of society, there’s only one man who can save us all—the coolest hepcat on the planet, Miles Davis.

“Starshine in Storyville” 

By Ernest Russell

Can music save us all? As long as the Guardians of Storyville are here to defend us, yes.

Buy Links

paperback 

ebook