Meet General Halliwell

When I hit my stride in a story, it is because the characters have arrived to tell me what the story is. When I can see and hear them inside my head? Then I know I’m ready to start pounding the keyboard. (Before that, I am like a hunter stalking prey. I have to hide and try to lure the story out of hiding.)

General Halliwell, the hero of General’s Holiday: A Project Enterprise Story, included in the Pets in Space® 5 anthology that released last week, made his first appearance in The Key: Project Enterprise 1. Back then, he was a colonel and commander of the Doolittle, an intergalactic US Air Force spaceship built at Area 51. It was (and remains) super secret.  

The story is set in an alternate, present-day reality because we all know there are no super-secret ships flying to other galaxies. Because we’d know… 🙄

So, the back-then Colonel Halliwell never even had a first name, but I knew I liked him. He was tough, but also kind to his crew. He was totally a hero in every sense of the word. He almost died in The Key (I don’t think that’s too much of a spoiler if I don’t tell you why.) And after that, he is promoted to General. (He totally earned it.)

He makes appearances in Girl Gone Nova, Tangled in Time, Steamrolled, Lost Valyr, and Maestra Rising. And he’ll definitely be in number nine (it’s rumbling around in my brain right now). 

But it was past time for him to have his own romance. 

It’s just really hard to get a general “out there” where he can have a romance. So, what if he got to take a little vacation—a Picard kind of holiday, where nothing goes quite as expected and he almost dies but—and this is key—he gets to kiss a girl. 

Lol Perspective truly is everything. And I think, in the end, he counts it worth it to have someone in his life that is there for him. And someone he gets to be there for on a more personal, less ship-wide way. 

I would like to talk a bit more about Naxe, the woman that is just right for a general, but anything I write would be a spoiler for the story! Seriously, the woman has secrets she doesn’t even know. So, if you want to take a holiday with General John Halliwell (who, you’ll note, now has a first name), you’ll have to grab a copy of Pets in Space® 5!

And bonus, you’ll be helping a really great charity: Hero-Dogs.org! Proud supporters of Hero-Dogs.org, Pets in Space® authors have donated over $15,300 in the past four years to help place specially trained dogs with veterans and first responders. 10% of all pre-orders and the first month’s royalties of Pets in Space® 5 will again go to Hero-Dogs.org. Open your hearts and grab your limited release copy of Pets in Space® 5 today so together we can continue to assist this worthy charity! 

Here’s the blurb for my story:

A lady, a frog, and the General that wanted to be Picard…

General John Halliwell, Commander of the Project Enterprise Earth Expedition, has spent most of his time in the Garradian Galaxy being shot at and shooting back. When a mysterious and intriguing lady arrives on Kikk asking for some non-shooting help, he is intrigued enough to listen. 

All Naxe has ever known is a life of hiding and providing. With the end of the war, freedom still feels further than ever. Determined to end the stalemate that threatens her people, she will break all the rules—even the one where she asks General Halliwell for help. 

Of course, she should have known better. Trouble—and the shooting—starts the moment she brings the general and his team to the Scoyfol ships. It won’t matter that the enterprising General Halliwell is the first man to remind her she is a woman if they are dead! Is it possible to end the stalemate, survive the shooting, and still find a happily ever after? 

You can buy Pets in Space® 5 at Amazon, Apple Books, Nook, Kobo & GooglePlay by clicking here. 

Were you glad to see Halliwell get his own story? Haven’t met him yet? What? Start here (lol). Or grab Pets in Space® 5, help our charity AND get twelve great stories for the price of a cup of coffee (so I’ve heard. haha)

Perilously yours,

Pauline