Late last year I decided to tackle a full blown series and
embarked upon my Badari Warriors tales, which are related to my already
existing Sectors scifi civilization of the future. I’m having fun with the
challenges of writing a series and making sure each book advances the overall
series arc as well as telling the story of an individual hero and heroine.
I
decided to have the warriors be genetically engineered soldiers created by an
alien race to battle the humans – it was my chance to ‘play’ with elements of a
fun trope. I’m a huge fan of Laurann Dohner’s New Species and Lora Leigh’s
Breeds series! But this current set of books I’m writing is my spin on the
concept.
I just released the third book, JADRIAN, and am hard at work
on the next few stories. Each book can be read as a standalone.
The blurb for JADRIAN: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE (SECTORS NEW
ALLIES SERIES BOOK 3)
Taura Dancer has been pushed to her limits by alien
torturers known as the Khagrish and is ready to die when suddenly the lab where
she’s held as a prisoner is taken down by an armed force of soldiers.
The man who rescues her from a burning cell block is Jadrian
of the Badari, a genetically engineered alien warrior with as many reasons to
hate the Khagrish as Taura has. This set of shared past experiences and the
circumstances of her rescue create an unusual bond between them.
Safe in the hidden base where Jadrian and his pack take her,
Taura struggles to regain her lost memories and overcome constant flashbacks
during which she lashes out at all who come near. Only Jadrian can recall her
from the abyss of her visions and hallucinations.
As the war against the Khagrish continues, it becomes
increasingly critical to find out who she really is and how she can help in the
fight. Until she can control her terrors and trust her own impulses, Taura’s
too afraid to pursue the promise of happiness a life with Jadrian as her mate
might offer.
When he’s captured by the dreaded enemy, will she step forward
to help save him, or will she remain a prisoner of her past?
This is the third book in a new scifi romance series and
each novel has a satisfying Happy for Now ending for the hero and heroine, not
a cliffhanger. Some overarching issues do remain unresolved in each book since
this is an ongoing series but romance always wins the day in my novels!
The excerpt:
Taura curled into the smallest ball she could make of
herself, hands over her ears as the sound of the pulse rifles in the corridor
outside whined and reverberated. Suddenly, a man stepped into the cell,
emerging from the swirling smoke like a hero in an adventure trideo. “I’m sure
I heard something,” he said over his shoulder to companions she couldn’t see.
Eyes stinging, tears coursing down her cheeks, she reached
out, tugging at his pants leg. “Help me, please.”
Shifting his weapon to leave his hands free, the soldier
crouched in front of her. His eyes glowed golden as he said, “We’ll get you
out, lady.” He picked her up in a single motion, rising to his full height, and
hastened from the cell.
She clung to him as tightly as she could while he carried
her through the smoky corridors and outside into clear air and bright sunshine.
Eyes watering, she blinked, not having been outdoors since the day she arrived
at this cursed place.
“Where did you find her?” another soldier asked her rescuer
as he continued to move rapidly away from the building. The entire structure
was alight and she shivered at the sight. But for her mysterious hero, she’d
have been a casualty and no one would ever have known.
“In the burning cell block, only one there. She’s in pretty
bad shape.” His voice was deep, his arms around her comforting.
She leaned her head against his broad chest, clutching his
arm, until a spasm of coughing shook her. “I can’t breathe.” Panic stricken as her
vision darkened, and the coughing continued without expanding her lungs, she
pushed against him. Truthfully, she didn’t think she could stand but her fight
or flight reflexes were overruling her conscious thoughts. Taura didn’t
recognize her own voice, pleading with the soldier. “Don’t let me die.”
“I’ll get you to the medic, hang on. Take small breaths and
hold them, in and then out.” He quickened his pace.
As he ran with her, dodging into cover on occasion as
weapons fired, Taura tried not to give into her overwhelming relief at being
out of the prison. Too soon to allow the tears of joy to fall. For all she
knew, these soldiers could be an even worse group to have fallen in with. The
men certainly weren’t human and their motives for rescuing her could be just as
bad as the Khagrish intentions had been. She was afraid to trust the hope trying to
take root in her mind.
The man who’d rescued her was easily seven feet tall,
amazingly fit and muscular, and almost preternaturally handsome, but definitely
not Terran descent human like her. His amber eyes were kind, even when glowing
golden, and he seemed concerned with her welfare, as evidenced by their current
race to find a medic. A good sign, but she’d learned not to take anything or
anyone at face value on this hellhole planet.
Unable to draw a deep breath despite his encouragement, she
drifted in and out of consciousness until she realized she was lying across a
row of seats on a flyer, while voices talked above her head. She reached out,
wanting to keep her rescuer close. He represented safety, she trusted him as
much as she was able to put her faith in anyone other than herself. He’d saved
her once and she was going to rely on him to continue to intervene on her
behalf.
Her fingers were engulfed in a huge hand, gently squeezed.
Her rescuer leaned close, his voice low pitched. “My friend Timtur’s a medic,
he’s going to take care of you now till we get home and you can see the human doc.”
A human physician? Were these men connected to the Sectors
after all? She had so many questions but was too debilitated to ask. Time would
tell and she was too weak to take any action until someone tried to place a medical
mask over her face. She struggled to sit up, shoving away the mask even after
catching a whiff of pure, fresh oxygen. “Don’t leave me—how can I be sure I’m
safe if you’re not here to keep watch?”
The soldier rescuer crouched to be at her eye level. Even in
her state of confused panic, she was woman enough to notice yet again how
incredibly attractive he was and how hypnotizing his eyes could be. Taura
wanted to relax into the golden glow and keep him by her side, but it wasn’t to
be.
“Battle’s not over, I
gotta get back.” He smiled. “There might be someone else who needs to be
rescued. You want me to check, right?”
Author Bio and Links:
USA Today Best Selling Author
“SciFi Encounters” columnist for the USA Today Happy Ever After
blog
Veronica Scott grew
up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved
ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in
everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own
stories.
Seven time winner of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a
National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Veronica is also the proud
recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal relating to her former day job,
not her romances!
She read the part of
Star Trek Crew Member in the audiobook production of Harlan Ellison’s “The City
On the Edge of Forever.”
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Veronica-Scott/177217415659637?ref=hl
