This is my post during the blog tour for Pets in Space 8. Blast off into adventure with the eighth installment of Pets in Space, a dynamic anthology of 11 never-before-seen science fiction romance stories!

This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours and the tour runs from 3 till 16 October.
You can see the tour schedule here.

Pets in Space 8

By R.J. Blain, Susan Hayes, Honey Phillips, Skye MacKinnon, Arizona Tape, Carol Van Natta, Tana Stone, S.J. Pajonas, Carysa Locke, JC Hay, Gail Koger and Elva Birch

Genre: Science Fiction Romance Anthology

Age category: Adult

Release Date: 3 October 2023

Join the PETS IN SPACE crew!

Blast off into adventure with the eighth installment of PETS IN SPACE, a dynamic anthology of 11 never-before-seen science fiction romance stories! Rocket through the multi-verses brimming with heart-pounding escapades, swoon-worthy romances, and the best pet sidekicks ever!

Each story will pull you into the far-flung corners of the cosmos with intrepid heroes and heroines you’ll want to cheer for as they fight to save their world and find their happily ever afters. You’ll adore the furry, feathered, and scaly friends who have come to help their brave human companions on their quests.

This limited-edition anthology includes novellas by some of the biggest names in science fiction romance including USA TODAY bestselling authors R.J. Blain, Susan Hayes, Honey Phillips, Skye MacKinnon, Arizona Tape, Carol Van Natta, Tana Stone, S.J. Pajonas, Carysa Locke, JC Hay, plus award-winning authors Gail Koger and Elva Birch.

The Pets in Space 8 authors continue their vital support of Hero-Dogs.org, the non-profit charity that provides trained service dogs for disabled U.S. veterans and first-responders.

So, grab your space helmet to discover adventure and love — buy Pets in Space 8 today!

Links:

Bookbub – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Google Play – Apple

Pets in Space links: Website – Pets in Space® Facebook Readers Group – Twitter – Newsletter Signup

Hero Dogs Charity

Proud supporters of Hero-Dogs.org, Pets in Space® authors have donated over $18,000 in the past seven years to help place specially trained dogs with disabled veterans and first responders. 10% of all pre-orders and the first month’s royalties of Pets in Space 8 will again go to Hero-Dogs.org. Open your hearts and grab your limited-release copy of Pets in Space 8 today and help this worthy charity!

This post is written by JC Hay who wrote The Devil in the Details which is one of the stories included in Pets in Space 8

The Devils (and Details) of the Malebrank Diaspora

Several years ago, I created the Malebrank as part of my contribution to the Great Space Race. Jumping headlong into themes explored in Stargate SG-1 and other well-trod classics, I posited “what if the devils of mythology were just clever aliens?” And so, the red-skinned, fire-controlling Malebrank leaped into being. After Flare, I didn’t circle back around to them again for several years, though I had a larger vision of the galaxy they would inhabit: home world destroyed, scattered to the far systems, and clinging to the traditions that made them who they are, the Malebrank would work on the fringes of Human society, and many times, would lean into their fearsome reputation in the service of warlords and criminals. Many even increase their reputation, getting body modification to add horns to their already fearsome appearance.

That unfortunately means a lot of collateral damage, and in my new story, Devil in the Details, there’s a lot of damage to be shared around. The heroine, Bryony LeClerc, lost her family to a Malebrank raid, and turned to bounty hunting to find the people responsible for her pain. It’s an obsessive goal that puts her directly in the path of Lorcan Orzoth, a Malebrank enforcer who turns out to be an undercover officer. Where my previous Malebrank characters had their roots in one of the nine Great Houses, Lorcan comes from the lesser families, and he’s my first character to wear devil horns as part of his cover. It makes him into everything that Bryony hates and makes their early interactions—when she’s holding him in the brig aboard the Persephone—fraught and more than a little painful. In this excerpt, Lorcan has come around after learning that his one-night stand is going to be considerably longer, and that the floor wasn’t the only part of the cell Bryony had wired for electrical charge.

The charge that arced through his feet was strong enough to straighten Lorcan’s spine, and he tumbled unceremoniously backward off the bed. His back struck the floor with enough force to knock the wind out of a lesser being, but the Orzoth Matriarch didn’t raise any runts, as they used to say. Fortunately, the bounty hunter had killed the charge before he hit the floor.

He rolled over, pressed his palms to the deck plates, and levered himself back to his feet. “What kind of monster electrifies the bed?”

The bounty hunter walked up to the field across the front of his cell, and her smile was like a promise of malign delights. It was no wonder he’d followed her like he was caught in her gravity well. Achlerazza, the goddyx of desire Themself, couldn’t have made a woman better suited to tempt him. Even now, part of him wondered what the downside might be of just giving in to her. Working for criminals didn’t suit him nearly as much as the idea of being her—

—her what, exactly? She wants one thing out of you. Maybe two if she counts your screaming.

“The kind who’s used to bounties who think they’re smart enough to avoid the floor. Terrans learn and adapt, otherwise we’d have never made it this far into space. Isn’t that the quote?”

The actual quote was that they stole and adapted, but the Malebrank ambassador who’d said the words had been fired shortly after letting them slip. Not that he suspected she would appreciate the distinction. Time to change tack.

Lorcan let his shoulders slump and a sense of defeat enter his voice, though that was less acting than he wanted to admit. “Did you even tell me your real name?”

To his surprise, she flinched. Not much, and she pulled her impassive glare back into place so quickly that for a heartbeat, he thought he’d imagined it. She watched him a moment, then her jaw tensed. “I didn’t give you a name at all, not that you seemed to mind. You were a target, not a hookup.”

Look for Devil in the Details in Pets in Space 8, available now!