Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Meet Veronica Scott Sci Fi Romance Author. #giveaway

Posted by Susan B James on 2:30:00 AM with 4 comments
Meet Veronica Scott, multi published author, USA today Happily Ever After columnist and great human who is giving away a copy of her latest novel, Hostage To The Stars.


Veronica, please tell us a little bit more about yourself. 
I started writing at the age of seven, with a very involved tale of princesses, flying cats, winged horses and a riverboat captain as the hero. I illustrated it myself too, which probably wasn’t the best idea. (Princess with flying cat? I want to read it. Please consider rewriting it for the children's market.) I’ve since moved on to other genres and have thirteen books published. I’m a full-time author now but my day job for many years was in the business side of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which was always fun and exciting. I have two daughters, one grandson and two cats…Elvis Presley’s best friend once serenaded me…I am the very proud recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal…
And I’m an official Star Trek Crew Member, having read the role of a Red Shirt in the recent “City on the Edge of Forever” audiobook! I had seven words of dialog but hey, I was in a scene with Kirk and Spock!

Triple wow. I am awed by your accomplishments and the fact you made it into one of my favorite series.

I love firsts, so tell me about the moment when a publisher told you they wanted to publish your book. Carina Press was doing Ancient World romances in 2011 and put out a call for submissions, so I sent in my Priestess of the Nile. Angela James called me one afternoon to tell me they wanted to acquire the book and I was so incoherent with astonishment that she finally said (nicely) something to the effect of “You did want to have this book published, right?” Of course I said yes! And that was my first book to be published.

What is the most exciting moment, so far, in your writing career? Nalini Singh is my favorite author in the world and she recently told me (and kindly tweeted too!) how much she enjoyed my novel Star Cruise: Outbreak.  THAT was a moment – wow. I love Nalini Singh. To have someone whose writing you love say they love your book is a big dream of mine. I am so happy you achieved it.

What is your favorite pastime, other than writing? 
I love to read, watch movies, build Lego sets with my grandson, go for long walks…and spend wayyyy too much time on the social media! 
Haven't started the Lego yet. Grandson is 7 months. The rest of it is very familiar.

How do you motivate yourself when inspiration takes a vacation? I’m pretty fortunate that I have more ideas than I have time for, but I do enjoy cruising the Southern California freeways, blasting loud rock n roll music and thinking over plot twists.

Any advice for new writers just starting out? 
Try to write every day, even if you only get a few words on the page. The more you write, the more the creativity flows and you can build on the progress you’ve made. And don’t self-edit as you go on the first draft! Just write – even if the prose is clunky when it hits the page (and mine usually is), then you have something you can work with.
What genre or genres do you write? 
I write science fiction romance set in the far future and paranormal romance set in ancient Egypt. But always romance! I’d love to write a Regency romance someday, with a waltzing Duke and a snowbound inn and a governess….and that’s as far as I ever get.
Here’s the story: He rescued her from space pirates … but can he keep them both safe from the far greater evil stalking a deserted planet?

Space travel without Kidnap & Ransom insurance? Not a good idea. University instructor and researcher Sara Bridges can’t afford it, so when pirates board her cruise liner, she’s taken captive along with the mistress of a wealthy man, and brought to a deserted planet. When a military extraction team sent to rescue the mistress refuses to take Sara too, she’s left to the mercies of a retired Special Forces soldier, along as consultant.
Reluctantly reactivated and coerced into signing up for the rescue operation to the planet Farduccir where he once was deployed, Sgt. Johnny Danver just wants to get the job done. But when the team leader leaves one captured woman behind, he breaks away to rescue her himself.
As Johnny and Sara traverse the barren landscape, heading for an abandoned base where they hope to call Sectors Command for help, they find villages destroyed by battle and stripped of all inhabitants. A lone survivor tells a horrific tale of the Sectors’ alien enemy, the Mawreg, returning after being pushed out …
Searching for evidence to give the military, Johnny is captured. He regains consciousness in a Mawreg cage–with Sara next to him. Death is preferable to what the aliens will do to them… And even if they do escape their captors, can they alert the military in time to prevent another invasion of the Sectors?
Sounds fabulous. I want to read it.
What’s your current WIP? 
I’m working on another scifi romance. It’s too soon to really talk about the plot but the hero is a Sectors Special Forces soldier and there’s going to be a lot of action ,adventure and romance. After that I’ll write another in my STAR CRUISE series, set aboard an interstellar cruise liner.

Here’s a short excerpt from Hostage To The Stars:
One minute Sara was sound asleep in her bunk in the tiny cabin on board the Star Swan and the next moment the sound of alarms jolted her into wakefulness. Sara threw on a robe and stuck her head into the corridor. “What’s happening?” she asked a passing crewman.
                “Pirates. We’re being boarded.” He looked her up and down. “You’d better get dressed, ma’am.”
                Saluting, he moved toward the gravlift.
                As she shut the portal to her cabin, she was puzzled by the calmness of the man’s demeanor. Was this a terrifying disaster, as the klaxons suggested? Or was it a routine situation and they’d be on their way shortly? She wasted no time in getting dressed, wishing she had a weapon, which was ridiculous of course because what would she – a Sectors university researcher – do with a weapon? Especially if the ship’s crew wasn’t putting up any fight. She had little of any value with her, but she took a moment to hide her ring and a bracelet, wrapped in a scarf under the bunk. She knew the cache wouldn’t escape even a perfunctory search but the jewelry had sentimental value. Why not at least try to outsmart the pirates, if the bastards were greedy enough to search even her closet-size cabin?
                “All passengers and crew will report to the dining room at once,” The ship’s AI announced, adding, “Per protocol, no weapons allowed.”
                Sara joined the small group of people moving through the corridor. She grabbed the sleeve of a crew member she recognized, the stewardess. The Star Swan wasn’t a big cruise liner like the Nebula-class ships. She could never afford that much luxury on her academic pittance of a salary. Carrying mostly cargo, this vessel only had a few cabins for passengers and the cheaper fare reflected the few amenities. This woman had been friendly and efficient about any request.
                “Excuse me,” Sara said, “Was the earlier announcement about pirates on the level?”
                “Yes.” The crew member didn’t stop walking but she gave Sarah an odd look. “It’s not a rare occurrence in this quadrant. Unfortunately for us, we were stopped to make minor repairs on the engines in this old bucket and the pirates were out hunting.” She stepped into the gravlift and Sara followed. “I’ve been through this before. Most of us have. These are human-descent pirates, from Farduccir, not the Shemdylann.”
                “Oh.” Sara digested the information as she ascended next to the stewardess. She fought the vertigo gravlifts always gave her. Even she had heard of the alien Shemdylann.  “So what happens next?”
                “The pirates are mostly interested in our cargo. Probably offloading it now in fact.” Her companion shrugged. “Everything’s insured.”
                Sara stepped off the landing ledge into the corridor. The longer the stewardess talked, the more calm Sara felt as her adrenaline levels subsided. This incident would make an exciting tidbit to tell people about when she got home. “So the raiders don’t bother the passengers and crew?”
                “You never know with pirates.” The woman seemed ill at ease, but not afraid.  “Our line pays the pre-negotiated ransom on the spot, credits transmitted to a bank on New Switzerland. Routine. Expense of doing business in this part of the Sector.”
                She’d arrived at the cafeteria and Sara saw the other passengers clustered at one table in the front of the room.
                “You’d better go join them. You can’t sit with the crew.” The stewardess gave her a not so gentle push. “Good luck.”
                Sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach again, Sara grabbed her arm. “Why do I need luck? You said there’s a preset ransom for us. Routine.”
                She received a pitying stare now, as the crew woman broke her grip. “For the ship and the crew. You’re on your own. I hope you have good K&R insurance.”
Buy Links: Amazon    Kobo     Apple iBooks     Barnes & Noble

I definitely want to read it.
And finally, where can we find  you?
Thank you for being here. Veronica is giving away an ebook of Hostage to the Stars. Enter Below. Happy Reading and I wish you all a wonderful week.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

4 comments :

  1. Thanks for having me as your guest!

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  2. Fascinating story! It sounds great. And the original story, with winged horses an flying cats sounds like there might promise to bring it back one day. My original tale was much too gloomy to think to return. A mere stepping stone. Best of luck, Veronica. "hostage' is going on my TBR pile.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! I self illustrated the flying cats as well, which was....not good LOL.

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