Monday, October 17, 2016

Love Those Cyborg Heroes: Guest Blog by Cara Bristol

I'm beyond enthused to be one of nine authors contributing to the Pets in Space anthology, a wonderful collection of novellas and novelettes. After all, pets + space. What could be more fun than that? But along with the fun comes adventure, aliens, intrigue, excitement and compelling romantic mayhem. We're also very proud that part of the proceeds will be donated to Hero-dogs.org who provide trained service dogs and companion animals free of charge for our veterans. For the next several weeks, Pets in Space authors will be guest blogging to share insights into their stories, pets, experiences and favorite things.

I'm extremely happy to be hosting Pets in Space author Cara Bristol today with a very fun guest blog: Love Those Cyborg Heroes.
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I love cyborgs. To me, they are the epitome of the alpha male: rough, tough, super-strong and super smart. And conversely, vulnerable. Their specialness sets them apart from others, and they feel like outsiders until they meet their Ms. Right.

I’ve written four standalone books in the Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance cyborg series, and I knew I wanted to write another cyborg story for Pets in Space.


The hero of Spark of Attraction is a cyborg, a human man enhanced with a computer chip and some prosthetic limbs (which are indistinguishable from real ones). Becoming a cyborg saved his life after he was critically injured. The hero is called Dante Stone, and his name is symbolic.

After the transformation to cyborg, Dante’s emotions disappeared. He has all his mental faculties, but his ability to feel has been erased. He’s resigned to feeling only half alive, not fully realizing how much he really yearns for connection with another human being. Then he meets the heroine and her little robot dog. She loves the Artificial Intelligence unit; to her, Sparky the K9-500 is as real as any dog. And it gives Dante hope that maybe she could love him, too.

Have you read cyborg stories before?
What do you like most about cyborgs?


Spark of Attraction blurb

Memory: intact. Cognitive function: enhanced. Emotion: erased.


After becoming a cyborg, Captain Dante Stone didn’t think he’d ever feel again, until a traumatized young woman and a ball of synthetic fur named Sparky helped him to love.

An excerpt from Spark of Attraction, Pets in Space


“How’s your leg?” she asked.

“Good as new.”


“I’m so sorry about what happened.”

"Don’t worry about it. With my nanos, the bite wound had healed by the next morning, and all traces had disappeared the day after. Just give me your word you’ll keep the bot powered down.” A cyborg, he’d healed fast, but if the K9-500 bit a human, the outcome wouldn’t be so good.

She crossed her heart. “I learned my lesson. I had assumed when you grabbed me to keep me from falling, it triggered a protective response in Sparky, but he hasn’t been performing to spec lately.”

“You need to get that checked out.”

“I intend to when I get to the space station. He’s the only thing I have left. My father gave him to me before he died.”

“On Verde Omega—”  

“No, no,” she added quickly. “He died when I was teenager. I’ve had Sparky ever since, and he saved me from the Tyranians. He bit one of them, too.”

Thank goodness she had had the bot. “Maybe I could examine him?” Dante offered.

What was he thinking? He needed to break off all association with this woman—not find ways to spend time with her. A relationship between the captain and a refugee passenger would be inappropriate—not to mention short-termed. Once the ship docked, they would go their separate ways, as they should. And if he already ached at the idea of never seeing her again, how much worse would it be if he got to know her better?

“I don’t understand.” She frowned.

“We have an android lab. I’m no coding expert, but as a cyborg, I run diagnostics on my own programming regularly. I can examine...uh...Sparky for anomalies, red flags.”

Was he crazy? He couldn’t fraternize with a passenger! Tell her never mind. Forget what I said.

“You’d do that?” Her face lit up with a beautiful, glowing smile. For the second time since he’d met her, he felt as if he’d been punched in the chest. If she ever smiled at him like that...well, she was, but only because he’d offered to run a diagnostic on her robot.

“Let me see when I have the time,” he backpedaled. Before he extended any more stupid offers, he excused himself. “I’ll let you know what Lieutenant Commander Brack finds out, he said, and rose to his feet. “I must return to the bridge.” He fled the observation deck.
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Thanks so much for hosting me today!

Cara Bristol is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author.
You can find her here:

Cara Bristol on Facebook
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Pets in Space Anthology
Release Date: October 11 2016
ISBN: 978-1-942583-40-0

Join the adventure as nine pet loving sci-fi romance authors take you out of this world and pull you into their action-packed stories filled with suspense, laughter, and romance. The alien pets have an agenda that will capture the hearts of those they touch. Follow along as they work side by side to help stop a genetically-engineered creature from destroying the Earth to finding a lost dragon; life is never the same after their pets decide to get involved. Can the animals win the day or will the stars shine just a little less brightly?

New York Times, USA TODAY, Award Winning, and Best selling authors have eight original, never-released stories and one expanded story giving readers nine amazing adventures that will capture your imagination and help a worthy charity. Come join us as we take you on nine amazing adventures that will change the way you look at your pet!

10% of the first month’s profits go to Hero-Dogs.org. Hero Dogs raises and trains service dogs and places them free of charge with US Veterans to improve quality of life and restore independence.

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3 comments:

  1. I loved your story. Great characters and a fun story!

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  2. Fun excerpt and great story! Thanks so much for being a guest today, Cara.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for featuring me today, Laurie!

    ReplyDelete

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