For book eleven in The Department of Homeworld Security series, something amazing happened. I was invited to join the incredible authors in the Pets in Space® 4 anthology with my novella, Import Quarantine.
This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I had so much fun, I leapt at the chance when invited for the Pets in Space® 5 anthology the next year. Again, it was just so amazing working with such talented and generous authors.
Import Quarantine ended up being yet another favorite in this series. I had already spent time with Dane and Brigid, who are Marq and Caitlin’s twins. Marq and Dane have one of the most fascinating—and emotionally taxing—of the backstories in the series. Again, I did my best to keep the camera off of that part of the story, and show more how their relationship developed because of that.
This book also introduces a trio of characters that figure in significantly in later stories—or maybe I should say significatly 😆 Marq’s cat, Meredith, has a litter of kittens on board the Reckoning. In the books ahead, we find that these are no ordinary kittens. They’re space-kittens! And that makes them extra special. But is that all that’s behind their unusual traits? We’ll just have to see!
It was supposed to be a simple house call for a sick cat, so how’d she end up on a spaceship?
Caitlin’s had some pretty weird house calls in her work as a veterinarian outside a small desert town. Feral burros, mischievous coyotes, dogs getting a little too close to cacti… The tall, gorgeous guy who shows up on her doorstep in the middle of the night begging her to help his cat seems mundane by comparison—aside from the atomic attraction she feels toward him. Then he starts talking about aliens.
To help restore the emotions stolen from him by the Coalition of Planets, Marq was supposed to care for Meredith—the Earth cat his brother smuggled aboard his ship. Now, she’s developed some kind of sickness he fears will endanger her life. He’ll do anything to assist his pet, even make unauthorized contact with an Earthling. The trouble is, he isn’t sure how to handle the rising desire in him to make…additional contact with her.
To get Caitlin’s assistance, he must first convince her to trust him—though with soldiers on his ship who are still loyal to the Coalition, he’s not sure who he himself can trust. Meredith’s illness is not the only threat they will face. Can Marq save his cat, control his unruly emotions, and keep Caitlin safe?
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