Several years ago, my husband and I took a trip to the gorgeous island of St. Martin [ http://www.stmartinisland.org/ ] in the Caribbean, which is about 200 miles east of Puerto Rico. Our boutique hotel—L’Esplanade—sat on a lush hillside amidst a jungle of palm trees and flowering shrubs and with a breathtaking view of Grand Case Bay. (“Case” is pronounced in the French tradition like “cause,” being on the French side of the island.)
Much of the island was best seen by foot, with so many places to discover and explore packed into every block.
Much of the island was best seen by foot, with so many places to discover and explore packed into every block.
The narrow streets of Grand Case were lined with world-class restaurants, quaint souvenir shops, and vendors that sold their wares in small booths, tents or thatched huts. One of our favorite breakfast spots was a little restaurant that sat on a pie-shaped corner where two roads merged. It had a thatched roof and no walls—being completely open-air.
I was so charmed by the locale that I knew someday a setting very much like it was going to find a home in one of my stories. And so it did. The streets of St. Martin became the inspiration for planet Carduwa in my anthology story, StarDog.
Though Carduwa was mentioned in my novel Inherit the Stars, this new story gave me the opportunity to actually explore the capital, Carduwa City, through the eyes of my star navigator, Taro Shall, with Adini Kemm, a native merchant, as his guide.
The spaceport supports a colony of street vendors who operate out of their colorful tents, and the city has many wonderful eateries, nightclubs, and a majestic landmark or two, just like the lovely French Antilles island that inspired it. (Although the tent vendors of Carduwa City have more sophisticated digs.) The one big difference? No ocean. Instead, there’s the wide, slow-flowing Jaden river, where the hero and heroine pause for a pensive heart-to-heart.
Taro develops an immediate appreciation for Carduwa right from his first introduction:
Outside the ship, Carduwa’s warm, herbal-scented air ruffled Taro’s hair and danced along the pavement in gentle eddies. A friendly sun lit the heavy greenery of tall trees and dense shrubbery just beyond the spaceport grounds. This planet was nothing like the bone-dry dustbowl of Dartis. Thank the Island Spirits for that much.
Taro made his way to the nearest street just off the spaceport exit and glanced down an endless row of brightly-colored vendor tents. Where to start?
If Carduwa City summons visions of a tropical paradise for readers, there’s probably a good reason for that. Blame in on St. Martin. J
StarDog
Navigator Taro Shall has a mission no one wants – find a way to eradicate snakes on a starship. He never expects to find the answer to his problem in a charming street vendor named Adini. His already unusual mission becomes more complicated when he suddenly acquires an adorable StarDog that soon sweeps him and Adini into the maw of a brewing insurrection.
Author Bio
Laurie A. Green is a three-time RWA Golden Heart® finalist, an award-winning author, and a science fiction romance enthusiast who founded the SFR Brigade community of writers, which is now nearly 900 members strong.
She confesses to being an Andromeda Galaxy groupie and would someday love to own a vacation home on Mars or Titan. She's enthused to be a part of this wonderful anthology mash-up of two of her favorite things--pets and space.
Her family includes her husband, David, four dogs, three cats and several horses, all who reside on a ranch in beautiful New Mexico. A former military budget director and reserve state trooper, she now spends her time writing, networking, researching, enjoying the Southwestern lifestyle and, naturally, stargazing and daydreaming about other worlds.
I was so charmed by the locale that I knew someday a setting very much like it was going to find a home in one of my stories. And so it did. The streets of St. Martin became the inspiration for planet Carduwa in my anthology story, StarDog.
Though Carduwa was mentioned in my novel Inherit the Stars, this new story gave me the opportunity to actually explore the capital, Carduwa City, through the eyes of my star navigator, Taro Shall, with Adini Kemm, a native merchant, as his guide.
The spaceport supports a colony of street vendors who operate out of their colorful tents, and the city has many wonderful eateries, nightclubs, and a majestic landmark or two, just like the lovely French Antilles island that inspired it. (Although the tent vendors of Carduwa City have more sophisticated digs.) The one big difference? No ocean. Instead, there’s the wide, slow-flowing Jaden river, where the hero and heroine pause for a pensive heart-to-heart.
Taro develops an immediate appreciation for Carduwa right from his first introduction:
Outside the ship, Carduwa’s warm, herbal-scented air ruffled Taro’s hair and danced along the pavement in gentle eddies. A friendly sun lit the heavy greenery of tall trees and dense shrubbery just beyond the spaceport grounds. This planet was nothing like the bone-dry dustbowl of Dartis. Thank the Island Spirits for that much.
Taro made his way to the nearest street just off the spaceport exit and glanced down an endless row of brightly-colored vendor tents. Where to start?
If Carduwa City summons visions of a tropical paradise for readers, there’s probably a good reason for that. Blame in on St. Martin. J
StarDog
Navigator Taro Shall has a mission no one wants – find a way to eradicate snakes on a starship. He never expects to find the answer to his problem in a charming street vendor named Adini. His already unusual mission becomes more complicated when he suddenly acquires an adorable StarDog that soon sweeps him and Adini into the maw of a brewing insurrection.
Author Bio
Laurie A. Green is a three-time RWA Golden Heart® finalist, an award-winning author, and a science fiction romance enthusiast who founded the SFR Brigade community of writers, which is now nearly 900 members strong.
She confesses to being an Andromeda Galaxy groupie and would someday love to own a vacation home on Mars or Titan. She's enthused to be a part of this wonderful anthology mash-up of two of her favorite things--pets and space.
Her family includes her husband, David, four dogs, three cats and several horses, all who reside on a ranch in beautiful New Mexico. A former military budget director and reserve state trooper, she now spends her time writing, networking, researching, enjoying the Southwestern lifestyle and, naturally, stargazing and daydreaming about other worlds.
Laurie Green
Website: http://www.laurieagreen.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Laurie-A-Green-139849829386292/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SFRLaurie
Twitter Handle: @SFRLaurie.
Website: http://www.laurieagreen.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Laurie-A-Green-139849829386292/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SFRLaurie
Twitter Handle: @SFRLaurie.
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