A Merry Life

A trafficking survivor. An enlisted corporal in Bosch's pirate force. An Edoan diplomat. Twelve years building the life her enslaver tried to steal.
Kat Wallace escaped slavery with nothing but her name. Now an enlisted corporal in the Bosch Pirate Force, with no patience for its officer corps save the rare few who've earned it, she's built a career, a found family, and a future. Takai Shima, an Edoan diplomat, hires Bosch's crew for a black-ops extraction — pulling a junior diplomat out of hostile territory — and finds himself falling for the corporal who sees him as nothing but an attractive liability to the mission.
When the wealthy and powerful man who once owned her reappears, Kat has to decide how far she'll go for justice and what it will cost the family she's built. A fierce, found-family adventure about reclaiming power, love, and identity in a world remade by collapse. For readers who want their heroines dangerous and their families chosen.

• Escaped slavery to found family
• Forced-proximity slow burn (he's smitten, she's not interested)
• Woman fighting sexism in a male-dominated force
• Enlisted recruit vs. officer class tension
• Revenge deferred, the long game
• Cross-nation political intrigue

Heat Level: Low / closed door
Series Type: Book 1 of 4, Pirates of New Earth
POV: Single, first person (Kat)
Content Notes: References to trafficking, sexual assault, and grooming; strong language; violence
Comps: Fans of Seafire by Natalie C. Parker and Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender

Sarah Branson first started conjuring stories of pirates when her family hopped a freighter to Australia when she was seven. She has since grown up, traveling the globe, raising a family, and working as a receptionist, retail clerk, writing tutor, and certified nurse midwife. She also taught science and history to middle school and high school students in the U.S., Brazil and Japan. Through these myriad experiences, she has developed a deep appreciation for people's strength and endurance and believes that badass women will inherit the earth. Sarah is still weaving pirate tales in her head and now, on paper, phone and computer, for your reading enjoyment. She draws on all of these experiences when creating stories about strong women and men finding adventure, love and their paths in worlds that are constantly changing. Sarah lives with her husband and various aging pets in Connecticut. For more information, please visit www.sarahbranson.com.