I’ve written a novella based on Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined. You can get the early version of it in the Loved In Space Anthology. This is a little different than the standard Cyborg story. I’m not currently planning a spin-off series, but I’m playing with the idea. You’ll have to tell me what you think.
Ta-freaking-da! The long-awaited conclusion to the storyline in Books 1-5 is finally here! Order your copy before you get caught up in last-minute holiday preparations. You won’t want to miss this one. Happy reading!
Here’s a snippet:
Another long walk across a solid surface followed the silent air jet ride until finally one of them opened a door for him to pass into what felt like a metal building given the noise the door made clanging against shut when it closed. They led him down a hallway with some twists and turns before finally stopping in a room heated to an ambient temperature. The hallway had been chilled so the warmth was very welcome.
He couldn’t prevent himself from sighing in relief when one of the two males removed the blind-fold he’d been forced to wear. Some hero he was turning out to be…
Then he saw her. After all the endless days of being worried, a still living, breathing Aja stood three short feet in front of him. It didn’t surprise him that her eyes were blank of any recognition. Without the original processor chip she’d so carefully protected over the years, Aja had become a blank slate.
Nero lifted a trembling hand to touch Aja’s face. He wanted to make sure she was fully alive but paused in his action when he remembered that Aja was a cyborg that could easily damage or kill him when the right command was active. He had no idea what had been done to her cybernetically. He wasn’t sure how he would react to hearing what she’d endured.
The thought of anyone hurting Aja made him ill.
“It’s okay, Dr. Bastion. You can touch her,” his prospective employer said softly, waving a hand in Nero’s direction. “The processor I put in Aja 490 is running a companion stasis program. She won’t be breaking free of it like she did her older code. I fixed that little rebellion problem several companion prototypes ago. My code renders her perfectly safe.”
“What have you done to her?” Nero demanded.
“Nothing—just like I said,” his white-coated tormentor said.
Filled with a level of hate he hadn’t known he could feel, Nero wrenched his gaze away from the male who was speaking. He couldn’t afford to yell or scream… or at least not yet.
His hand brushed against Aja’s cheek and he thought her pupils expanded at his action. He wanted badly to believe Aja knew he was there, but no cyborg he’d ever worked on had ever been able to function as human without their processor being stripped of the constant code first.
And Creator Omega—who he assumed was the white-coated, gloating scientist—had done this her. The bastard had managed to turn a woman who’d fought for a decade to save herself into a human robot. Shame for his own part in this tragedy engulfed him. He’d done the same to his fair share of cyborgs over the years.
His hand dropped away from Aja as Nero reluctantly turned to the scientist. “I’m here as you demanded. There was a condition to my agreement and I expect you to meet it. Set her free.”
The scientist smiled. “Are you sure you don’t want to keep her? I can tell you’re fond of this particular companion model. I could rework Aja 490 with my latest companion code and she would serve you reasonably well. She’s aged some since she was converted, but I’m sure the important parts of her still function well enough.”
Nero felt the urge to kill the man and welcomed the burning that rose inside him. Once Aja was safe—no, he’d only think about the man’s death then. He could not think of it now. She was still in too much peril. They both were.
“If you expect my cooperation to continue, you’ll let her go.”
This week I’m featuring another talented author from the USA Today Bestselling Pets In Space 4 Anthology. Welcome, Regine Abel!
It’s such an honor to have been invited to participate in the Pets in Space Anthology this year alongside such a fabulous line up of sci-fi romance authors. Coming up with which story to write has been instantly clear to me.
I had always wished to write my own spin on the transfer of consciousness theme found in The Matrix, but I wanted the whole thing happening in the real world. This led to the creation of the Xian Warriors and their Soulcatchers: the psychic women of the Vanguard capable of holding the souls of fallen warriors until their rebirth. Ever since I published Legion, the first book in my Xian Warriors series, I knew that I needed to write the origin story of the human Soulcatchers. It only made sense to seize this opportunity to introduce Doom and his woman, Victoria, the very first alien and human female couple in Earth’s history. Seeing how most of my sci-fi romance novels have epic battles, and how Doom is a badass, genetically engineered super warrior, my pet in space was bound to be some kind of war creature.
Stran is a Creckel, a warrior beast that resembles a pangolin with a dragon head. Bigger than a Tibetan mastiff, he’s covered with thick, dark scales that protect him from almost any form of damage when he rolls up into a ball. As Doom’s lifelong friend and war companion, he has come to Earth to help free humanity from the Kryptid invaders who had also previously attacked his homeworld. Though he cannot speak, Stran is extremely smart and can communicate through telepathic imagery. The minute he sees Victoria, he recognizes her as his best friend’s soulmate and becomes extremely protective of her.
Here’s a little snippet from Doom featuring Victoria and Stran, shortly after they first meet amidst a massive Kryptid invasion:
Although his companions fought as savagely as he, I couldn’t take my eyes off Doom. I couldn’t say if it was because he’d been the one to talk to me, or the gentle, respectful tone of his voice when he’d addressed me. All I knew was that for the first time in two weeks, since the beginning of the dreadful invasion, I felt a sliver of hope.
A cold wetness on my hand startled me. I looked down to see Stran rubbing his dragon snout on my palm then lowering his head so that my hand would rest atop it. While I’d been busy gaping at his friend, the Creckel had closed the distance between us.
“Thank you for saving me, Stran,” I said in a gentle voice while caressing the top of his head, careful not to cut myself on the sharp horns fanning across his forehead.
He emitted a deep sound, halfway between a growl and a purr, then lifted his chin, exposing the leathery underside of his neck. I grinned and scratched his neck. The Creckel rewarded me with an even louder purr. Although he clearly enjoyed getting petted, he pulled away from my touch, licked my hand with his forked, lizard tongue, then looked around us, keeping watch for possible aggressors.
At last, a sense of safety washed over me. Humans weren’t alone. And maybe, just maybe, we had a chance after all.
Grab your copy of Pets in Space® 4 today! For a limited time, Pets in Space® 4 brings together today’s leading Science Fiction Romance authors to help Hero-Dogs.org, a non-profit charity that helps our service veterans and first responders.
CLICK this link for all the Buy Links: https://www.petsinspaceantho.com/books/pets-in-space-4/
Author Website: https://www.regineabel.com
Cats, Dogs and Other Worldly Creatures Books is thrilled to announce that the USA Today Bestselling and award-winning Pets in Space® anthology is back for its 4th year!
Pets in Space® 4 released on October 8th, 2019 and once again, 10% of pre-orders and the 1st month’s royalties go to Hero-Dogs.org who raise, train & place support dogs with U.S. veterans.
Contributing authors this year are S.E. Smith, Anna Hackett, Tiffany Roberts, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Laurie A. Green, Donna McDonald, Regine Abel, Alexis Glynn Latner, JC Hay, E. D. Walker, Kyndra Hatch, and Cassandra Chandler. I hope you are as excited as we are!
https://www.petsinspaceantho.com/books/pets-in-space-4/
Like romantic comedy with a feel good ending? Like a story where the good guy wins the girl?
