Nine of today’s leading SFR authors combine their love of Science Fiction Romance and animals to show that sometimes even an alien needs a pet.

Pets in Space combines two of my big loves, science fiction and pets. I also love that a portion of proceeds are being donated to hero-dogs.org who raise and train service dogs for US veterans.

I am delighted that each author in Pets in Space has agreed to share with us an insight into their story in the anthology and a little bit about why they decided to write for the anthology. Today’s guest is Alexis Glynn Latner:

It’s easy to think that a good pet must be at least a certain size, maybe the size of a cat. If you’re a large-dog lover who doesn’t care for cats, you may think a pet really ought to be at least half the size you are. And horse people may be putting their ideal of pet size and weight all the way up to Clydesdale range. 

When it comes to pets, though, good things can come in tiny packages.

I used to know a gerbil named Hot Shot. This rodent had lots of personality packed into one small, fuzzy and hyperactive package. Hot Shot belonged to a school teacher friend whose allergies made a cat or dog in the home out of the question. The gerbil was non-allergenic. Hot Shot would sniff a visitor’s fingers and run up to sit on the visitor’s shoulder. With proportionally large, liquid eyes, and the fluffy tip of the tail, this particular desert rat was a cute little thing.

Also in the disproportionately large personality category are practically any and all parakeets (also known as budgies).They are brassy little birds. One friend of mine had several male cockatiels, a yellow-fronted female Amazon parrot, and one female parakeet – who was the least fearless, most dominant, and noisiest bird in the bunch. My friend’s parents had the admirable Admiral Bird: this blue parakeet would fly into their stairway and swoop up or down from floor to floor in their house. In my childhood house we had a blue parakeet that would land on the rim of a bowl of chicken noodle soup and help itself to a noodle. For that matter, in for a while I had a praying mantis that I named Monty, and fed the mantis cabbage butterflies I’d netted in the yard. I’d hold the butterfly by the wings and extend it toward Monty. The mantis would get r-e-a-l-l-y interested when he saw the butterfly, sway back and forth, then snatch it with his spiny forelegs.

Dogs and cats have more complex behaviors than small rodents and small birds. The interspecies affinity between human and dogs and cats is strong enough that ads in Southern Living appeal to “pet parents” – not “pet owners.” Interesting usage. Still, there are small pets that aren’t pseudo-children, don’t have a job or purpose, but simply are – delightful pets pure and simple.

To find out more about Alexis Glynn Latner, please click here.