Guest Post: A Peak at the next BADARI WARRIORS Novel: GABE

The Adventures of The Everyday Fangirl welcomes back author Veronica Scott as a guest blogger to talk about her newest release, GABE.

Take it away Veronica!

A Peak at the next BADARI WARRIORS Novel: GABE By Veronica Scott

Thanks for having me as a guest! Always thrilled to have a chance to talk about how things are going with the writing and the books!

I had a special thrill recently when AYDARR, book one of the series, won the I Heart Indie contest in the SF&F romance category.

GABE is the fifth book of the series, although – why did I do such a confusing thing?! – TIMTUR actually came out in mid-October under the In the Stars Romance label and is book 2.5 of the entire line of Badari adventures. His story fell between the events in MATEER and JADRIAN on the series timeline. So if you missed the story of how Timtur the healer and Lily the human teacher became mates, please do go pick that title up from your favorite ebook seller.

But getting back to Gabe, he’s a human, kind of devil-may-care ex-military guy and a supporting character since book one of the series. I have a special fondness for him and I always knew I’d give him his own book. There’s a special twist to the story, relating to who his mate turns out to be. The reveal comes pretty early in the book but SPOILER alert:

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER: Keshara, the heroine, isn’t human. She’s a Badari woman!

The very fact that everyone has been so adamant all along in the series that there are no Badari females, that the evil alien scientists never created any, has been tantalizing to me as the author. I had to ensure there ARE Badari women just to confound everyone on the planet. But they needed a good solid backstory of how they came to be and how Gabe of all people meets them. I had great fun writing this book and I hope the readers will enjoy seeing the events unfold.

Now enjoy this excerpt of GABE!

Setting: Keshara is on the run, escaping from her home, and sees Gabe’s flyer crash. She debates whether to go investigate…

Deciding not to risk herself in the storm for mere curiosity’s sake, she prepared to return to the cozy den when a flash of lightning illuminated the sky and she caught sight of a new problem. A man was falling, clinging to a strange harness. He seemed to be fighting whatever was slowing his fall, and it was clear to Keshara he was descending much too fast.

Heart pounding, hand on the hilt of her knife, she watched him attempt to blunt the shock of hitting the ground by allowing his body to go limp. As he collided hard with the muddy, rock strewn ground near her den, she winced in unwilling sympathy. Through the driving rain she watched him, but he made no attempt to rise. After a minute, she heard an exclamation of pain and a few words with the force of a curse.

Enemy or not, Keshara didn’t have the heart to leave the poor man to die in the cold rain. She could at least go check out the situation, see if he had any chance to survive his amazing fall.

Adjusting her rain cape, knife at the ready, she crawled from the tunnel, rose to her feet and ran to where the man lay. Cringing as thunder boomed overhead, she prayed the lightning would hold off. The man lay on his back, one arm flung over his eyes and, as she drew close, she froze in astonishment.

He had no large crest of red and yellow hair and his skin tones were pale. He wasn’t Khagrish.

He was of some species unknown to her, similar to her own perhaps.

Groaning, he attempted to sit up but cut the move short with a jerk as he realized she was nearby. He fumbled at his hip as if searching for a weapon that was no longer there, lost in the turbulent fall perhaps. Then he spoke in a variation on her own language, the secret tongue the Director was unaware the sisters all knew. His accent was odd, some of the words made no sense, but the general meaning was clear.

“Well, you’re the last thing I was expecting.” He managed a lopsided grin despite obvious injuries, blood welling from a bad cut on one thigh and another on his head. He swiped moisture from his face. “Can we get out of the rain before we do introductions?”

Tongue tied, she stared at him. His face was undeniably handsome, although set right now in lines of pain, radiating from his eyes and lips. He was probably the same height as she was, well over six feet, and since his odd uniform was plastered to his body by the rain, Keshara could tell he was solidly built, with the muscles and sinews of one who was a deadly fighter. And what the wet fabric outlined between his legs was impressive as well. Her primary knowledge of males was gleaned from study modules, and observing the few Khagrish men left at the Retreat. This man put them to shame with his physique.

Thunder crashed again and lightning stabbed a tree at the far end of the meadow, throwing massive sparks high into the air and breaking her concentration. “We’d better get inside,” she said in her own tongue since he obviously understood the language. Reflecting on his aborted search for a weapon, she showed him the knife. “I’ll help you, but don’t think me easy meat for your taking.”

“Aww, seven hells, lady, if you’re what I think you are, you have better weapons than that.” His smile, although strained, was warming. “Do you have a shelter?”

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GABE (A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVEL): SECTORS NEW ALLIES SERIES BOOK 4 is available through the following outlet: Amazon, Apple Books, Nook, Kobo and Google Play

Gabe Carter, hotshot pilot and ex-Special Forces soldier, is far from his home in the human Sectors, kidnapped by alien scientists to be the subject of horrifying experiments. Shot down by the enemy over desolate territory far from his Badari allies and gravely injured, Gabe’s only hope is a mysterious woman on the run herself.

Keshara has to decide whether to abandon the human to die of his injuries on a windswept mountain top or give up her own quest for freedom and take him to a place he can be helped. The undeniable spark between them complicates matters.

His attraction to her is off the charts but when she betrays him to the Khagrish enemy, Gabe doesn’t know what to believe. Trapped inside an alien lab bursting with mysteries and lies, his only hope may be to trust her…again.

Because the renegade alien scientist running her own private experiments wants to use him to accomplish her goals and perpetuate the evil, no matter what she has to do to ensure his compliance. Keshara’s life hangs in the balance and Gabe has to make a choice.

About Veronica Scott
USA Today Best Selling Author, as well as the “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 recently 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.”

You can learn more about Veronica Scott by checking out her Blog, her Amazon Author Page, and by following her on Twitter or Facebook.