I, Effing Feline, am going to keep this holiday season simple — and the Simple Truth is that Christmas is for cats. Here’s proof:
In Mr. Valentine’s recently released sci fi romance novel, Escapee, enemies have invaded the mining moon where Catt Sayer, a civilian pilot, makes her living flying supplies on a decrepit airship. A lone survivor, Captain Dukelsky, who wants her to fly her airship to the far side of the moon to attack the enemy’s base.
To avoid this suicide mission, Catt jettisons the cannon he planned to use for the attack — thus killing the last military option he had. He’s totally dependent on Catt’s hospitality and piloting skill; his only alternative is to leave the airship for the moon’s unbreathable air. The man of action has no actions left, and thus no purpose. He withdraws into himself — and that affects her deeply.
If he’d argued or ranted, the anger he roused would’ve insulated her from her own guilt, but silence . . . ah, silence was much worse. Silence gave her time to think. To realize the enormity of what she’d done. To make her wonder if she would ever grow up enough to stop rebelling against patroons. To wallow in the realization she was no longer the innocent party, put upon to do the impossible. She was now the wrongdoer.
She wanted him to speak so she could answer and explain herself, yet she dreaded what he’d say — and so she avoided him, doubling the unlikelihood of them talking out their concerns. They existed in separate bubbles of silence, sharing only the air they breathed, more isolated than if they existed on separate planets.
Night came. Darkness swathed the cabin, thanks to the howling storm. But even in the dark, she imagined his gaze boring into the vulnerable tissues of her heart.
Effing Feline here again. It’s disgraceful, really, how cats got edited out of the Christmas story. Cows, sheep . . . sure they were there — but what about the cats who kept mice from taking over the animals food? CATS WERE THERE! Furthermore, a tabby brought frankincense for the baby, a Siamese brought gold, and a manx brought gold. It’s the Simple Truth. Just ask your own cat!
Be sure to check out the other great writers in Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday.
Escapee
Book 2 in the Repelling the Invasion series
A Disillusioned Soldier
Hector Dukelsky, an upper-class career officer, yearns to fight a righteous war instead of defending corporate interests on Banff, an isolated mining moon torn by volcanoes. That dream seems dead when his entire command is slaughtered while he’s on leave. He returns to smoldering rubble, with no chance to survive let alone strike back at the enemy.
A Pilot with a Chip on Her Shoulder
Catt Sayer, a working-class fugitive from the law, earns a meager income carrying supplies on a decrepit airship, but her hard-won career vanishes when invaders capture Banff. While searching for survivors, she rescues Hector and flies him to safety. But he doesn’t want safety. He wants her to risk her life on a hopeless trek to attack the enemy headquarters.
A Dying Moon
Catt is sure Banff will kill them long before the enemy can, yet she agrees to Hector’s mad scheme, certain he’ll quit after experiencing one of the moon’s eruptions or ferocious storms. But he doesn’t quit, and his noble dream—and his love—conquer her heart. She pits her life and love against Banff’s lethal environment, even though the only reward for success will be the opportunity to face 10,000 enemy warriors.