Category: Book Chapter

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 2: Jupiter, Deadly.  If you’d prefer to read in e-book or paperback form, learn more here.  Or if you want, jump back to book one or skip ahead to the next chapter.

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Trudith watched the orange cats nervously.  Although she was larger than them and undeniably stronger, Trudith saw Alistair — a skinny, ginger tabby — as her alpha dog, and Alistair’s sister Petra was a complete wildcard.  Petra wreaked havoc on any sane sense of hierarchy that Trudith could work out.  Yesterday, Petra took orders like the rest of them, but, now, when Alistair needed their support the most, Petra had turned on him. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 1: Earth”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1 or return to the previous chapter.

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Trugger was glad to hear upon Kipper’s return that he didn’t have to say goodbye.  He gave Kipper a big bear hug.  He’d given her hugs before, but they’d all been in an oxo-agua atmosphere which simply isn’t the same.  So, this was Kipper’s first time really being engulfed by the soft but incredibly dense pelt of an otter.   The warmth was there under oxo-agua, but none of the fuzziness, and fuzzy just doesn’t feel the same when wet.

“I knew you were a space pirate at heart,” Trugger told her. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 17: Kipper Chooses Her Home”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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Boris was left in charge on the bridge, and Captain Cod asked Jenny to come along as a second pair of otterly eyes.  If Josh and Elle hadn’t seemed so cold toward Captain Cod, Kipper would have asked Trugger to join them too.  But, if it got awkward, she didn’t want to watch Trugger, the best friend she had among the otters, be treated cruelly.  Or, perhaps worse, watch him watching these cats be cruel or cutting to his captain.  He was so loyal; he would have to leap to Captain Cod’s defense.  She especially didn’t want to see that. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 16: Kipper in a Different World”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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Beating the Manta Ray to Mars was only the first step of Captain Cod’s rapidly unfolding plan.  The next stage involved doctoring the message they’d intercepted from the Manta Ray.  They ran the voice through a simulator and used the simulation program to generate a new message.  The new message said, “Approaching Mars orbit.”

Sure enough, within a few minutes, a signal was broadcast from the ground in response. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 15: Kipper Comes to Siamhalla”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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The evening and night both passed slowly.  At dinner, the crew of the Jolly Barracuda talked about the various mining expeditions or scientific surveys of Mars they’d either been on or known members of.  As far as Kipper could tell, the only otter onboard to have actually put paw to soil on Mars was Boris.  Well, space-suited paw.  Nonetheless, he was clearly proud of the distinction and told the story of his visit in great detail.  The other otters seemed impressed.  Kipper wanted to slug him. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 14: Kipper Dreams of Mars”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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Captain Cod set Kipper up with her own bunk in the barracks and personally pinned one of the golden sailing ship lapel pins on her tunic.  It made her feel very official.  Officially an honorary otter.

There were also some electronic forms; Trugger helped her fill them out.  As far as she could tell, she was registering to pay taxes on the modest salary Captain Cod afforded her.  She wondered if there was any way for the dogs down on Earth to claim a portion too.  She hoped not. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 13: Kipper Flying Through Space”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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Kipper couldn’t remember falling asleep, but she could tell she had just woken up.  She was stretched out on a thin but cushy mattress, a bottom bunk in a room full of bunks.  There were otters occupying some of the other beds, but none of them had noticed her yet.  Well, she was sure they knew she was there.  But none of them had noticed she was awake.  She didn’t want them to.  She wasn’t ready to deal with a room full of strange otters yet.  She had too much to deal with inside of herself. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 12: Kipper Joins the Crew”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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Trailing Luce would have been easier for Kipper if bulldogs weren’t so much shorter than otters.  Between Luce’s short, boxy shape and Kipper’s own limited height, Kipper felt constantly on the edge of losing Luce in the crowd of irritatingly tall otters.  Of course, on the flipside, the large (albeit generally lanky) stature of all the space station natives kept Kipper from having to duck and weave too much to stay safely obscured from Luce’s view.  “Too much” being a relative term. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 11: Kipper and the Manta Ray”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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As the bill was already settled, Kipper had herself dressed and back out on the main drag in no time.  She caught herself looking at the otters around her, trying to catch their reaction to her in their eyes.  She wove between them, staying as far away from the artificial river as she could manage.  She didn’t want to get tripped or pushed into the water again.  The otters, by and large, gave her a respectful amount of space.  Perhaps they understood what she was doing.  She imagined herself walking in the paw steps of all the other cats who had come to this station and who carefully edged their way away from the water. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 10: Kipper in the Red Quarter”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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Kipper folded her tunic, trousers, and scramball jersey into her little purple duffle and stowed it beside Maury’s desk.  She wrapped the white sheet around her, under her arms, and pushed the pink curtain out of her way.  Maury was arranging the tools of his trade on the work table beside the closest reclining chair.  When he noticed her, he patted on the chair’s Naugahyde seat, inviting her to take her place there. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 9: A Whole New Kipper”