Meet My Character Meme Escape From Zulaire

We've been passing this Meet the Character meme around in Here Be Magic author circles and I thought I'd answer the questions here today as well, because I have two great reasons to talk about my award-winning novel Escape From Zulaire.

First of all, it's my entry in the Nebula Nights boxed set of science fiction romance. Ten other SFR authors and I went in together to create a sampler with a broad range of stories, from cyborgs to aliens to space opera to....well, heart pounding adventure on another world, which is what my novel features. And all the stories contain romance. Did I mention only 99cents? Yes! Available at all major ebook sellers...

And the audiobook for Escape From Zulaire has just been released. It's always exciting to do an audiobook and this time my wonderful actor and narrator Michael Riffle is joined by actress Mary Fegreus, who brings the main character of Andi Markriss to life. We all had fun with the concept of having the heroine's part played by an actress, while Michael did his usual incredible job with Captain Tom Deverane, the hero, and all the other characters. (Available on Amazon)

So, with no further ado, let me answer the character meme questions for you, for Andi and Tom.

1) What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?

Sectors Special Forces Captain Tom Deverane is a fictional character, as is intergalactic businesswoman Andiranda (Andi) Markriss.

2) When and where is the story set? The action occurs on the planet Zulaire, in a far off Sector of the galaxy. 

3) What should we know about him/her?

Tom Deverane has been to too many worlds, fought too many battles, has seen it all, but doesn't want to retire.He's not the type to settle down in one place. When his orders are changed and he's sent to extract Andi from an area that's about to go up in the flames of civil war, he's not happy about the assignment. He's also hiding a secret that could endanger the lives of Andi and everyone else he's responsible for saving.

Andi Markriss is torn between ambition to continue rising in the ranks of her company, and a love for life on the planet Zulaire.  When Tom arrives in the middle of an important social event, she refuses to believe him about the need to leave now...and then events spiral out of control as the war begins around them. 

4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?

When the war breaks out, Tom and Andi and a small group of soldiers and civilians are caught behind enemy lines. They're being hunted by the enemy and they possess information that Sectors Command needs to know, regarding an alien involvement in the conflict. Together they have to cross hundreds of miles of Zulaire, battling the enemy and the elements, and get their information to the capital.

And of course along the way, the growing attraction between the hardheaded businesswoman and the tough warrior changes the dynamics.....

5) What is the personal goal of the character? Both Tom and Andi are dedicated to saving their companions' lives and to getting the information that only they know, to the authorities.

So, there it is, and I hope you might be tempted to try Escape From Zulaire, along with ten other science fiction romance stories from ten SFR authors, for only 99 cents!

Escape From Zulaire  is a 2014 winner of the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award and a 2014 SFR Galaxy Award Winner.