Risdaverse

Being kidnapped by aliens is one thing. Being kidnapped by aliens and sent to a prison planet is something infinitely worse. Here in Haven’s prison system, I’m stranded among strangers, enemies, and the most ruthless criminals in the galaxy. There’s no safety for a human woman here, especially not one branded as a murderer. I’m doomed to a fate worse than death. Then, he decides I should be his. His name’s Jutari. He’s seven feet tall, blue, and horned.

To get amnesty on a remote farm planet, ex-con Tassar has to marry an alien–specifically, a strange looking creature called a ‘human’. When he sees gorgeous, delicate Leilani, though, all of his plans change. He wants more than just a marriage of convenience. He wants her forever, but only when she’s ready.

Life on a farm planet at the edge of the universe can be dangerous for a human woman alone. That's why I need a husband. Any husband. Unfortunately, all the men I approach keep running off. So I hire a bounty hunter to kidnap me someone capable and strong, someone who will scare off the creeps who are trying to move in on my territory. It'll be a marriage of convenience only. I should have been a little more specific about who I wanted, though....

I can live with being stuck on the far end of space. I can live with having to spend weeks on an abandoned station in an asteroid belt. Sure, I don't belong, but I've got my book and my eight-legged attack cat with me. I should be fine. I'm not fine. My alien host, Jerrok, is a jerk. He's surly and unpleasant. He hasn't bathed in years. He's part cyborg - and all those parts seem to be falling to pieces.

I never expected to spend my days as a dancing girl...but it beats the alternative. In the window of a filthy space station cantina, I gyrate my hips and hope for better days. When I'm bought by the most intimidating alien on Three Nebulas Station, those better days are on their way. Zakoar of the Broken Back is a cyborg who deals in black market prosthetics. He's terrifying to look at, with a metal jaw and a fearsome demeanor. He intimidates everyone in the galaxy...except me.

Naomi has spent her entire profits from her farm's yield for a fertility shot. She wants a baby to ease some of the loneliness of life at the edge of the universe. Unfortunately for her, the donor she had lined up can't finish the job. What's a lonely ovulating human to do? This one heads to the Port Custodial office and asks for help from the military custodian on duty. Brawny but awkward Ainar isn't sure why this human is insisting on needing his help for sleeping, but he's happy to assist someone as delicate and pretty as the human colonist.

Homesteading on the remote farm planet Risda III can be lonely. So when I notice that my neighbor isn't doing so well, I ask for help to give her a Christmas celebration to brighten her spirits.

After being stolen from Earth, I learned that I could live each day in fear...or I could meet life head-on and unafraid. I chose the latter. Which is why, when I find a terrifyingly huge cat-alien male hip-deep in my favorite fishing spot, I don't run away in fear.

Being stolen from Earth has taught me that there's nothing in this universe to be trusted. Not people, not promises. So I make sure that I'm prepared for the worst at all times. I fill my homestead with pit traps. I make weapons for fun. I avoid my friendly neighbors. And I never leave my house if I can help it. So when I find a deathly-ill cat alien on my living room floor, I do what any sensible human woman would do. I put a stun-stick to his jock and demand answers.

I am a bashful, dorky human—your average refugee on Risda III. Haina is tall, blue, and magnificent. She is effortlessly confident, and her laugh is contagious. I might hide behind the candle section at the store in Risda's port just to get a weekly glimpse at her when she makes her vendor runs. I might be in love with her from afar. Someday I'll get the courage to talk to her. Someday. But fate steps in, and 'someday' turns out to be a lot sooner than I expected.

It's lonely for an extrovert on Risda III, the human refuge on the edge of the universe. Maeve craves company and friends, but she knows she can't keep harassing the locals for attention. What she needs is a pet to love on.