Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 17: 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.

“My boss asked me to keep you out of his fur. As long as we’re at an ice cream parlor, out of his sight, I don’t think you’re bothering him.”

As usual, Trudith’s plans didn’t work out quite the way she expected.  Keith took her to his church, and he showed her where the senator usually sat.  However, instead of settling into a long discussion of the senator’s behavior at church, leading into a heart to heart about the senator’s intentions, all Trudith learned about was Keith. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 17: Earth”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 16: The Great Red Spot

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.

“…the octopus empire has had dealings with them before. Hundreds of years before otters and cats were even uplifted. The octopus empire is ancient.”

The spiny wedge of an alien sail station loomed ahead on the Jolly Barracuda’s viewscreen.  Every otter on the bridge grew deathly still looking at it.  Bewhiskered faces with oval noses and serious expressions stared straight at the behemoth in front of them.  Then, one by one, they turned to look at their captain.

Shifting uncomfortably under the combined gaze and the weighty Jovian gravity, Captain Cod eventually signed, “It’s big, isn’t it?” Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 16: The Great Red Spot”

The Elephant Bride’s Bouquet

by Mary E. Lowd

A Deep Sky Anchor Original, August 2023

“There were strict rules about harvesting the plants in the arboretum, and no matter how much she’d always wanted to curl her trunk around the stems of the flowers and snap off pretty buds, she had never dared break the rules.”

Jeko lifted her trunk and trumpeted along with the latest Star-Shaker song which she’d turned up to completely fill her small room aboard Crossroads Station.  Her trunk swayed along with the beat, and the reptilian pop-star’s lilting, raspy voice was loud enough that Jeko didn’t have to feel embarrassed about her own brassy tones.  The elephantine alien never sang in front of other people, but she loved to sing when she was alone.  Especially when she was happy. Continue reading “The Elephant Bride’s Bouquet”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 15: 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.

“It was a Sheltie convention, a giant meet-and-greet for all the pointy nosed, bushy-maned Shetland Sheepdogs in New LA.”

Two days ago, Trudith was a dog on the up and up.  Her alpha was the only honest politician, and she was his right hand dog.  Today, she was a dog back to her old tricks; trailing, eavesdropping, spying, and — kind of — kidnapping.

Trudith didn’t want to be the old dog who couldn’t learn new tricks, so she put her all into doing things differently this time.  She didn’t break into Senator Morrison’s lavish estate; she didn’t contrive for him to “lose” his phone; and she certainly didn’t corner one of his lackeys in a back alley and offer to rough him up either more or less depending on the quality of his information. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 15: Earth”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 14: Jupiter

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.

“The Jolly Barracuda hadn’t escaped its assailants. It had followed them home.”

Flippant comments turned into full-fledged half-baked ideas so quickly on the Jolly Barracuda, it made Kipper’s head spin.  She wanted to scream, “Don’t listen to me!  I’m not qualified to make recommendations!”  But the Jolly Barracuda was already flying full tilt toward Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.

Next time, Kipper would know better than to let her paws wander around forming signs on their own.  She’d keep them tight in her vest pockets, like they were now.  Of course, that presupposed there would be a next time, and, watching that Great Red Spot swell, closer and closer, on the central viewscreen, Kipper wasn’t at all sure about that. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 14: Jupiter”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 13: 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.

“He was contemplating committing his fate to the paws of a dog who wouldn’t shake paws with him if given a choice.”

Trudith was a big, black, bag of fur-coated turmoil.  She expected Alistair and Petra back from the capital building any minute, but that had been true for half an hour’s worth of minutes now, and it made her extremely nervous to have Alistair’s arch-rival in their headquarters.

Everything Senator Morrison looked at, everywhere he laid a paw — Trudith felt the responsibility of guardianship.  Worse, he kept trying to make small talk, but between his stentorian style and Trudith’s terse responses, it felt more like an interrogation.  As Senator Morrison’s kidnapper, Trudith was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to be the one being interrogated. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 13: Earth”

The Over-Valuing of First Rights and Under-Valuing of Early Works

Writers let themselves get tricked into believing two wrong things:

—First Rights are so valuable that you should hide your stuff away until it can be debuted Just Right
—your early works are trash you should be embarrassed by Continue reading “The Over-Valuing of First Rights and Under-Valuing of Early Works”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 12: Jupiter 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.

“Did caffeine affect an octopus’ metabolism the same way it affected a cat’s or an otter’s?”

Gel encrusted eyes flittered open to the wavery sight and watery feel of oxo-agua.  Kipper felt cold and icky.  Are we there yet? she thought, but she knew better than to try using her lungs.  There’s not much point in signing if no one’s looking at you.  Given the state of her own gooey eyes, she’d be surprised if anyone was.

A few more groggy minutes and Kipper felt she could risk sitting up.  She was alone in the barracks, but that wasn’t surprising.  She was the only crewmember who’d never been cryo-gelatinated before. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 12: Jupiter System”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 11: 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.

“If he’d been a smaller dog, his awkward discomfiture would have made him seem to shrink away. As it was, Joey looked more like a sofa with nowhere to hide.”

Only two hours until Alistair planned to storm the senate assembly, and Trudith was completely lost.  She didn’t get lost easily.  She’d been all over the back streets and alleys of New LA.  In her old life, as a thug, she’d tailed many a cat through every unsavory part of the city.

She could only assume Petra was going somewhere incredibly top secret.  Or she knew Trudith was following her. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 11: Earth”