Alien Orc for Christmas

Maggie is human, and she has decided to stop putting off her dream. Watching her friend Sophie find happiness on Elora Station, a busy commerce station with a festive streak, pushes her to act. When a sought-after rental space comes free, she takes it and sets out to open her own bakery.

The timing is brutal. Elora Station's busiest season is Christmas, and she has very little time to get the shop ready. Hard work doesn't bother her. Her new neighbour does.

Archibald is a huge, muscular alien orc who runs the pub next door. He flirts openly, grins constantly and spends more time in her bakery than in his own pub. Maggie admits he is attractive in a big, boisterous way, and that he is also funny, kind and surprisingly generous. She still insists that her focus belongs on the shop.

This is a science fiction romance with a holiday setting and a light, playful tone. It is told in Maggie's first-person voice, and the attraction builds between two neighbours whose businesses sit side by side. Maggie's resistance to falling for an orc at Christmas is the main source of tension and humour.