It’s been weeks since I posted, and that’s not normal. So what have I been up to? Well like the rest of the world I’ve been watching in shocked horror as the Pandemic unfolds. And I’ve been working at the day job. They say the only things you can count on in life are death and taxes. And it’s tax season. Not surprisingly, the government has deemed accountants (yup, I’m one of those in my other reality) as an essential service. I assume that means they need us to make sure everyone who can keeps giving them enough money to counter the economic fallout from COVID19. I’ve always assumed I am not essential in a crisis because, let’s face it, no one ever died because they failed to file their paperwork on time.
I’ve also been working on the next book in the Terras Five series, just to keep myself sane. Or insane. Not sure which, but as hard as it is to concentrate these days I do find some relief in dreaming of a future where we are still here. Humans, that is. The title is Her Cyborg Captor, and it’s coming along, perhaps slower than I intended. At least it’s coming, though. I also have a short story in the Terras Five universe that will be releasing for free in a few weeks. The title is Keily’s Captain and it is a prequel to Her Cyborg Captor. I’ll have links for that one once it’s here, or you can sign up for the Changeling ezine HERE to get it as soon as it’s out. (Along with other free reads from Changeling authors)
And if you’ve never read any of the Terras Five books, now is the time. Book one is on sale right now for only 99cents at all ebook retailer!
Four aliens battle Intergalactic politics to rescue the Earth women destined to become their mates.
Entwined: When tragedy claims his brother, Bane steps forward to claim the Earth woman Ariana as his own, but Keshpan law states a slave can never be a bonded mate. A political storm is brewing that may rip Ariana from his arms. Bane may be forced to walk away from everything he knows to keep the woman he loves by his side.
Cherished: Lucie and Drexyl are drawn to each other from the very first, but the Tarnans aren’t going to give her up without a fight. Will it come to an all out war between the races, or will the two lovers find another way to be together?
Surrender: All Meghan wants is to return to Earth. But before her kidnappers can sell her, she is rescued by more pirates and taken to the alien world of Tarnan, where she is told she must choose a warrior mate. Zayne isn’t sure what to make of the Earth female. The road to their union is a bumpy one, and both are left wondering if they will ever be allowed to be together as more than friends.
Fated: There is but one thing a Tourmalane prince wants above all else — his mate. When Lyros finds Roux on a floating brothel, he knows he must rescue the small human. Lyros finds he wants to shelter her, protect her, and make her his in every way. But what if all he’s feeling is lust and not the true mating pull? Just when Lyros thinks he has everything figured out, Roux gives him yet another surprise.
Happily-Ever-After has never felt so good.
Publisher’s Note: The individual stories in this anthology have been previously released in E-Book format.
She can run, but she can’t hide from the Cyborg who’s claimed her as his own!
Caitlyn
: Gorgeous. Feisty. Human. A survivor in an unforgiving galaxy. Running from an
enemy she can’t see for reasons she doesn’t understand. Whoever he is, he’s
trying to kill her.
Jakob:
Large. Mouthwateringly sexy. Loyal. Cyborg. Determined to find the female who
seduced him, gave him a night he’d never forget, then disappeared before he
woke. When he finally manages to catch up to her, he intends to do whatever it
takes to keep her at his side.
Blossom
has struggled all her life, never able to claw her way out of the worst
neighborhood in Los Angeles. Her loser ex-boyfriend isn’t who she thought he
was, and now she’s in deep trouble — but Christmas is the time for miracles,
and Blossom needs one now more than ever. She just doesn’t expect her miracle
to arrive in such a sexy, purple package. When the notorious alien actor
Brexton knocks on her door, she does what any rational woman would do — she
slams it in his face. Wishing for a miracle is one thing, but having the
heartthrob of Hollywood on her doorstep isn’t what she had in mind.
Brexton
has always wanted a mate and family, though he’s never been blessed with
either. When he hears about a single mom who’s in trouble, he knows he can’t
leave her to face her fate. Having a door slammed in his face hadn’t factored
into his plans, but that one glimpse is enough for Brexton. He’d do anything to
get another look at the sexy female with blue hair, and a body that would
feature in all his future dreams.
Despite
danger lurking around every corner, Brexton is determined to give Blossom and
her children a Christmas they’ll always remember. Now that he has the family
he’s always wanted, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe, and hopefully
share the first of many holidays with his new mate and kids.
Brexton scowled at his manager.
“You want me to do what?”
The little human rolled her eyes.
“I want you to hand out toys to poor children,” she said.
“But why?”
“Because it’s Christmas and doing something good for those less fortunate will look good. You’re making a lot of money from the humans on this planet, Brexton. Christmas is the time to give alittle back.”
“I don’t understand your human
holidays.” He ran a hand through his newly cut hair. He already missed the
length, not that it was exactly short. “Which one is this? The one with the
rabbit that lays eggs?”
His human manager coughed into her
fist. “Um, no, that would be Easter. Christmas is when Santa comes to visit all
the good little boys and girls to leave gifts under the tree. Well, for those
who celebrate and believe in Santa. Or can afford to put gifts under the tree.
There are a lot of religions that celebrate during this time of year, but
Christmas with Santa is the one people seem to focus on the most.”
“What is the point of this Santa
person? If he’s giving out gifts, why do I need to?”
“Are you being serious right
now?” she asked.
He sighed. It wasn’t that he was
opposed to helping people who needed it, but he didn’t understand why toys were
important this particular month as opposed to all year long. If children needed
toys, why wait and only give them out this one time? And if those families
couldn’t afford toys, did they have food or shelter? Handing out toys didn’t
seem like it would do much of anything to really help. He’d much prefer to make
sure those families could eat a good meal, or not worry about where they were
sleeping. If Santa was giving out toys, wasn’t his money better used elsewhere?
He stared at his manager and
waited for a better explanation. Sometimes human customs baffled him.
“You are being serious, aren’t
you?” she asked, her brow furrowing. “Brexton, you’ve been on Earth for nearly
ten years and have become something of a superstar among actors. How can you
not know how Christmas works?”
He just shrugged.
“Fine. I’m going to email you the
address of a church that’s hosting an event for poor children. They’re not
calling it that, but that’s what it is. You’ll help Santa hand out toys, mingle
with everyone while they open presents and have refreshments, and then you can
go donate money to whatever charity you want. But you’re going to this event!”
“I’ll be there, even if I don’t
understand the significance,” he assured her.
“I sometimes think you don’t pay
me nearly enough,” she muttered as she walked off.
Brexton shoved his hands into his
pockets and rocked back on his heels. If Christmas was such a big deal on Earth,
then maybe he should do something for someone in need. But he didn’t have the
first clue how to go about finding someone who needed his help. He doubted the
Terran center in his hometown of Los Angeles would be of much help. While they
did hire some humans, mostly the center was staffed by his people who were
trying to better the human/alien relations. Although, some were probably like
him. On his world, he was no one. Just another warrior amongst many, and he’d
never really cared for battle. Coming here had given him a chance at a new
life, and he’d hoped it would include a mate. So far, he hadn’t found the right
woman, though plenty had tried to get him into bed.
Plenty of females flocked to him,
but he’d been warned they wanted his money or his fame and not to trust them.
He’d tried dating some of the women in his profession, but that hadn’t ended
well either. They all wanted something from him, and it wasn’t a family. Not
unless they thought giving him a family would benefit them in some way. That wasn’t
the type of mate he wanted. While he loved acting, there were times he wondered
if he’d made the right decision, or if should have stayed on his home world and
taken a chance on finding a mate through the bride program.
One of the interns who worked on
set wandered by, and Brexton reached out to stop him. What was his name?
Something with a J… Joshua!
“Joshua, if I wanted to help a
family in need, where would I go?” he asked.
“You mean like adopting a family
for the holidays?” the intern asked.
He didn’t quite understand what
that meant, but he knew the term adoption. Perhaps that was the human phrasing
for helping a family over the holidays?
“Yes. Is there an agency or a
church that would be able to give me the information I need to provide a nice
Christmas for a family who is poor?”
Joshua scratched his head. “You
could try the Department of Human Services. I know they have a lot of programs
to assist those less fortunate. Not sure you’ll get someone on the phone this
close to the holidays though.”
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES
Each book in the Intergalactic
Brides series can be read as a stand-alone romance, but you may enjoy the
series more if they’re read in order.
Brielle and the Alien Geek
Victoria and the Alien Doctor
Avelyn and the Alien Daddy
Charlotte and the Alien Ambassador
Hazel and the Alien Biker
Jacie and the Alien Bodyguard
Caitlyn and the Alien Protector
Celeste and the Alien Bartender
Rory and the Alien Groom
Ella and the Alien Gamer
Summer and the Alien Guard
Heidi and the Alien Cop
Haven and the Alien Mechanic
Abbie and the Alien Official
Jennifer and the Alien Badass
Rena and the Alien Warrior
Blossom and the Alien Actor
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning
author Jessica Coulter Smith has been in love with the written word since she
was a child writing her first stories in crayon. Today she’s a multi-published
author of over seventy-five novellas and novels. Romance is an integral part of
her world and she firmly believes that love will find you at the right time,
even if Mr. Right is literally out of this world.
Natalie’s loved and lost and she’s not so sure she wants to risk her heart again. She’s willing to settle for a challenging career as a space-pilot instructor and a succession of no-strings attached lovers. But that’s before her boss saddles her with the last thing she wants—a new partner.
Jebediah recognizes his perfect match in Natalie from the moment she seduces him on a dare. Everything that makes her a top-notch pilot, from her fearlessness to her passion, make a night in her bed both challenging and unforgettable.
A dangerous confrontation with a brutal enemy, an exploding drive engine and a traitor close to home throw everything into perspective. Natalie is going to have to put the past behind her and risk it all, because when your partner is also your lover, failure is not an option.
EXCERPT
“Delta Class Scout ship. I order you to identify yourself, or be prepared to handle the consequences.”
A deep male chuckle rolled through the comm link. Natalie blinked. Laughter? Was the idiot actually laughing at her? He was so going to eat her dust, and that would be before she grounded his sorry ass for the next decade or two.
Thirty years of practice gave her the edge every single time one of the cadets pulled a stupid stunt like this. Engaging the infrared overlay on the cerebral interface, she mentally plotted the other ship’s most likely course. Only an experienced space jockey understood that the shortest route was rarely the quickest, or the easiest.
Sure enough, the idiot darted between the two large asteroids directly in front of him. A seasoned pilot would know that the combined gravitational fields of the rocks created a braking effect on any smaller object caught between the two of them. Real-life one on one versus theory in the classroom. She could almost feel sorry for the pilot as he struggled to wrest control of his ship from the two inanimate objects.
Almost, but not quite.
She circled around the trap, putting herself directly between the rocket jockey and home base. Let him watch her tail for a while before she slapped him into the brig. Waggling her wings in an insulting salute that the unfortunate pilot couldn’t possibly miss, she veered toward home base.
She hadn’t quite finished congratulating herself on such a swift victory when her ship careened sideways, almost colliding with one of the smaller asteroids in the field. What the hell?
She jerked her head up, hardly able to believe the display in front of her eyes. The smaller ship had freed itself of the gravity well and moved to parallel her before turning so that his thrusters aimed directly at her side. When he fired them, the shock hit the pilot ship with all the force of a herd of thundering moon-cats.
Crap! This kid had balls. Balls and the makings of a star-class fighter pilot—if she didn’t kill him first.
Getting the ship back under control, she reined in her temper and concentrated on chasing the smaller ship. It had been a long time since anyone had actually given her a run for her money. She wasn’t sure she liked it. “Pilot, you just bought yourself a serious amount of time dirt-side. Again, I say, identify yourself.”
No answer.
“Who the hell are you?” Her voice harsh with suppressed rage, she gave the pilot one last chance to reply.
“Obviously a better pilot than you.” His voice was smooth and low, with a trace of male humor showing through. Arrogant, definitely arrogant.
She felt a grudging respect for his lack of deference. He had her on the run and he knew it. “I doubt that. I got careless and you got lucky.”
A disbelieving snort echoed through the com link. “I’m an excellent pilot. I don’t need luck.”
“And your name?” She didn’t recall the last time she’d spent this much time trying to extract information from a cadet. Who the hell was this guy? A few seconds passed, and Natalie realized the cadet was going to ignore her yet again.
Turning the mode to private, she called up the avatar. “Can you get anything on that ship? A registration number? Something to trace the pilot?”
“Negative.” If an avatar could shake its head, she was sure it would be. “There seems to be some type of blocking involved.”
Natalie’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Blocking identification protocols was strictly forbidden, and would require way more tech savvy than most of the cadets were capable of. “Can you identify the blocking procedures?”
Maybe she could get the man’s identity in a round-about way. She snorted ruefully. When had she started thinking of the pilot as a man, not a boy? When he’d outmaneuvered her back there, or when he’d had the backbone to not answer her demands, not give her his name?
With that attitude, he’d go far in the military. Again, if she didn’t kill him first.
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Liam is the most deliciously bothersome cyborg Emma has ever met. Like most of his kind, he’s arrogant, opinionated, and amazingly good in bed. When he rescues her from a kidnap attempt, he decides he needs more time to get to know her so he heads to the far side of the galaxy instead of taking her home.
Along the way they pick up a furry little creature who turns out to be quite capable of defending itself and are attacked by a ship full of pirates who want to get their hands on the little critter. Life is never dull when a cyborg has you in his sights!
Her Cyborg Lover 
Anne Kanes Blog 