If you didn’t know, let me be the first to tell Veronica Scott has a new series. Aydarr: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel (Sectors New Allies Series, #1) is the first book in a new Scifi Romance series, and I am very excited that she is here today to introduce us to it. Please welcome Veronica Scott!
It’s such a pleasure to start my New Year with a visit to your blog! Thanks for inviting me to come and talk about my latest release, Aydarr, which is also the first book in a brand new series for me. I’d wanted to write a formal series for quite some time, versus my loosely connected scifi romance books set in the interstellar Sectors. Although I do have some recurring characters that appear in various Sectors novels, and I’ve set a number of books on the luxury star cruiser Nebula Zephyr, I haven’t been writing those books under a single, overarching plot arc that would take my characters a number of novels to resolve. (Although there is a larger timeline and plot for the Sectors as a whole in my head, never fear.) I used to say I’d never write an actual series LOL – never say never – because I’m such a pantster when it comes to writing that I couldn’t imagine even loosely plotting 3 to 5 books in advance. I like telling one story at a time and maybe doing a sequel or a spinoff later, as has happened with my alien empath books.
My Muse doesn’t like too much plotting in detail or ahead of time!
But last year I decided to take on the challenge of a ‘real’ series. Must stretch those creative muscles and I’d gotten to the point where I was intrigued rather than daunted. I’ll still be writing the individual Sectors novels, never fear. I love telling those stories too much to ever stop! And I have a ton of plot ideas and other sequels, especially for the Nebula Zephyr.
I’ve always loved the Lora Leigh Breeds series and the Laurann Dohner New Species books – those genetically engineered warriors really appeal to me. I came up with my own concept for a race of captive, created soldiers, and a pretty solid way to connect the story to the Sectors’ larger themes of war with a deadly alien race. I asked myself what if a small Sectors colony full of people were abducted to serve as subjects in more experiments, and met as their fellow prisoners my genetically engineered Badari. And then….what? How do the humans get home? How do the Badari become free? How does all the romance and adventure happen?
So here we go with the first book, Aydarr. The second book, Mateer, is with my editor and should be released in late January. I’m about to start writing book three…
Here’s the synopsis for Aydarr:
Jill Garrison, a maintenance tech at the Sectors Amarcae 7 colony, goes to sleep one night as usual only to wake up in her nightgown stranded in the middle of a forest on an unknown world. There’s no time to think as she’s stalked by carnivorous predators and rescued by genetically engineered warriors calling themselves the Badari. Turns out they and she, along with her whole colony, are now prisoners of the Khagrish, a ruthless race of alien scientists. Working for enemies of the Sectors, the Khagrish have created the Badari to be super soldiers.
Aydarr, the Badari alpha, isn’t sure he can trust Jill but his attraction to her is undeniable. He impulsively claims her as his mate to prevent her death at the hands of the Khagrish.
Can he continue to protect her from the experiments already underway? Will his claiming her put his pack in jeopardy from their alien masters?
As Jill searches for a way to rescue her fellow humans and get them all to safety, she finds herself falling for Aydarr, despite the secrets he’s keeping. She has a few of her own.
The situation becomes dire when Aydarr and his pack are sent offplanet on a mission, leaving Jill unprotected, prey for the senior scientist. Can she escape the experiments he has in mind for her? Will she be able to thwart the Khagrish plans and liberate humans and Badari alike? How will she and Aydarr reunite?
And the excerpt – Jill has been traveling through the nature preserve with Aydarr and his pack and now she meets the alien scientists in charge:
Next morning, the pack was up and marching early, with no breaks. After several hours of this, Jill toiled up one more in an endless series of rolling hills to join the silent line of Badari. A complex of buildings had appeared in the distance. Gleaming in the sun, the facility appeared high tech . As she shielded her eyes with her hand, a flitter spiraled in for a landing on the other side of the building.
“The labs,” Aydarr said to her. “Our true prison.”
Sure he wouldn’t answer any question, she nodded and trudged down the side of the hill. As the pack drew closer, sirens blared, and seven sentients emerged from the building to wait for their arrival. The first three didn’t look too imposing—humanoid in form, as were so many of the races to be found in the galaxy. They had pale skin, pink-yellow-white hair gathered into peaks on their heads and cascading over their backs in tightly controlled braids. Two were male and one was female. Four guards in full body armor, visors closed, carrying serious weapons, stood flanking the trio.
“Are those the Khagrish?” she asked Aydarr as she walked next to him, away from the hill and toward the waiting group.
“Yes. Don’t be fooled by their pretty appearance,” he said. “A more cruel and unprincipled race of beings never existed, as my people know to their cost. Stay close to me.”
“I consider myself duly warned.” Heart beating faster, she walked next to Aydarr.
The Badari came to a stop ten feet away from the waiting Khagrish, taking a position on a black line painted on the surface of the patio extending from the building. Aydarr took his place at the head of the formation, drawing Jill to stand between him and Mateer.
The woman appeared to be in charge. “You idiots,” she said to her two underlings, while the guards stood unmoving, their weapons now aimed at the line of Badari.
Jill blinked. The Khagrish scientist wasn’t speaking Basic, but her language was apparently close enough to something Jill had been hypno implanted with during her military days that the translator implant was able to make sense of the words. Lots of weird things rattling around in my brain, thanks to the Special Forces. The Sectors military liked to implant enhancements into their soldiers and nothing ever got removed. She wondered if Aydarr and his men understood Khagrish, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
Gesturing at Jill, the woman said, “The Sectors humans are not for this experiment. They weren’t brought here to be mixed into other, already established protocols. What the untranslatable is she doing in the Preserve? Mingling with the animals?”
One of the two men fidgeted. “We were bored. The animals don’t do anything new. We thought it would be amusing… um, scientifically enlightening to introduce a new factor into their playtime.”
“And there were so many humans delivered, we figured no one would miss one.” The other glared at Jill. She fought off the desire to take a defensive stand, keeping herself loosely at attention the way her companions stood. Was the entire population of my colony kidnapped? Her heart beat faster with dread, realizing her sisters, her friends and colleagues were held captive in the massive building, maybe already being experimented on.
“And you expected the Badari to do…what with her?” The female was contemptuous.
And pissed, Jill concluded. “Fight over her? Tear her to bits? Assault her?”
The man evidently didn’t read emotions as well as Jill did. He nodded eagerly as if expecting praise for his enterprise, his ridiculous crest of hair bobbing. “Exactly. Any or all of those possibilities.”
“We were ready to take notes,” the other added. “We had the recorders running.”
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About the Author
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 was honored to read the part of Star Trek Crew Member in the audiobook production of Harlan Ellison’s “The City On the Edge of Forever.”
Blog: https://veronicascott.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vscotttheauthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Veronica-Scott/177217415659637?ref=hl
