Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 32: Earth

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 2: Jupiter, Deadly.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“…she was a cat with connections on many worlds.”

The Jolly Barracuda docked at Deep Sky Anchor for the first time since Kipper had joined the crew.  She watched the gray metal habitat rings of the rotating station approach on the main bridge’s viewscreen, and she remembered all the times she’d watched space fly by through one of the porthole windows elsewhere on the ship instead.  She was sure that those windows were all crowded full of the pug faces of miserably wet Persians now, but she wasn’t among them.  She was on the bridge, manning one of the stations.  She had come a long way. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 32: Earth”

Announcing The Ancient Egg, Xeno-Spectre Book 2!

Now that the release of Hell Moon (Xeno-Spectre, Book 1) is imminent, we’d like to announce the release of its first sequel, The Ancient Egg (Xeno-Spectre, Book 2) by Mary E. Lowd.

Readers of this series won’t have long to wait between book 1 and 2, as The Ancient Egg will be released on January 1, 2024.  And it’s already available for pre-order on Kindle. Continue reading “Announcing The Ancient Egg, Xeno-Spectre Book 2!”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 31: The Solar System

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 2: Jupiter, Deadly.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“Under the haphazard piratical law of the otters in deep space, Captain Cod felt that the octopus base was his…”

The first of the Kipper Brighton:  The Hero of Europa videos hit the sketchier parts of the interwebs before Kipper’s friends and family even knew if she’d survived the rescue mission to Europa.  No one in the rest of the Solar System knew what was happening in orbit of Jupiter.  Had the Jolly Barracuda succeeded?  How many had they rescued?  Or was the Jolly Barracuda just another ship smashed to pieces by the raptors? Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 31: The Solar System”

Cosmic and Miley

by Mary E. Lowd

A Deep Sky Anchor Original

“She didn’t find it fun when the chickens killed her best friend with their laser eyes, and her entire universe reset, meaning she’d failed in her life’s one goal.”

Holly’s bedroom looked like a scene out of Roger Rabbit or one of those other movies that mix animation and traditional film styles to make it look like cartoon characters and normal human beings live in the same world.  Holly knew there were a bunch more recent movies like that, but her parents mostly only let her watch movies that had come out years before she was even born.  They weren’t subscribed to any streaming services, so everything they watched came from a huge wall of bookshelves filled with actual DVDs. Continue reading “Cosmic and Miley”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 30: Europa

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 2: Jupiter, Deadly.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“Before either of the raptor ships could finish their descent, each of them exploded.”

For all the responsibility hanging on her shoulders, Kipper stood uselessly in the dark, watching Emily’s spacesuit-wrapped tentacles fly around, working the panels.  The glowing lights on the panels danced, and Kipper watched their reflections play across the bubble of helmet over Emily’s eyes.  None of it meant anything to her, but clearly it meant something to Emily.

Kipper’s paws itched to sign questions at Emily:  “What are you learning?  What does it say?  Can we use this base for anything?”  But she kept her paws to herself, endeavoring to stay out of Emily’s way and keep from distracting her.  It would do her no good to act like an impatient kitten, swatting at anything she saw just to evoke a reaction. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 30: Europa”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 29: Earth

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 2: Jupiter, Deadly.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“Dahlia meant to make the disenfranchised cats and underdogs of Earth love Kipper.”

In the hidden base on Europa, the minutes passed like hours, but back on Earth the hours passed like minutes.  Trudith’s apartment had become the spontaneous headquarters for her scramball team’s efforts.  Dahlia and several of the other dogs, at Trudith’s request, had brought laptop computers with them.  Now they crouched around the different computer screens haphazardly arranged on the coffee table.  Clips of Kipper played on all the screens. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 29: Earth”