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.
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.”
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.
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