Interview with Author Veronica Scott About CAMRON

The Adventures of The Everyday Fangirl welcomes back author Veronica Scott to talk about her newest release in the Badari Warriors series, CAMRON.

What does the title of this novel, series or set of stories signify? Do the names of the characters in your novel have some sort of significance or importance to you?

I’m pretty basic on my book titles for the current series, the Badari Warriors. Each book has the name of the hero, which in this case is Camron. The Badari were genetically engineered by alien scientists, using bits and pieces of DNA from various species but the dominant set of humanoid DNA gives the Badari a form of ancestral memory (and some other attributes like their own language), so they know they’re men and not merely lab experiments. This frustrates the alien scientists, who use a numerical designation for each man, but the Badari rely on their self-knowledge as a strong core of resistance. This is the eighth generation of the experiment, so Camron is ‘820’ to the aliens and regarded by them as an animal, but nothing can impair his deep seated dignity and sense of self-worth.
If I was giving the novel a more descriptive title, I’d probably call it ‘something something hunted’, because Camron and the human heroine Gemma are turned loose on the planet’s surface with a three hour head start and then the top alien security officer plans to hunt them like big game, as a trophy for his private exhibit on the home world. Of course nothing is fair about this hunt, but once again the aliens underestimate both Camron and the human, as they’ve done to their regret in earlier books with other pairs. There are a number of old movies featuring this hunt trope, which I’ve enjoyed, and I always wanted to write a book featuring this aspect of danger…so now, with CAMRON, I have.

What prompted you to write in this genre and who or what inspired you to?

I love science fiction because literally anything is possible and a story can be set anywhere I want to place it. And of course, there must be romance! When it comes to this specific subgenre of the genetically engineered hero or heroine, I’m inspired by Lora Leigh and her Breeds series, and Laurann Dohner and her New Species series. Christine Feehan’s Ghostwalker series also has major elements of this type of situation. I love all three series, but the authors can only write so fast and I always want more to read, so that was certainly a factor in writing my own variation. Of course being me, I wanted to put my soldiers in the far future, on an alien planet and make it adjacent to my already existing Sectors scifi romance universe. There are a lot of intriguing aspects of the basic situation as I’ve laid out the worldbuilding, which includes hundreds of human colonists kidnapped by the aliens for more experiments; an ancient alien Artificial Intelligence hiding on the planet; the Badari goddess or Great Mother, who adds that mystical or fantastical element I like to use sparingly in my SFR; several strains of Badari…just endless factors that allow me to have fun storytelling and which hopefully the readers enjoy. In the last book, KIERCE, the hero was an actual shifter, due to manipulation of his special DNA by the aliens, versus only having some of the feline, wolflike or reptilian traits as the others do.

What kind of research did you have to do for the novel, series or set of stories that was different from others?

I tend to research things as they come up in the course of a story. I’m more into the action, adventure and romance than setting forth a lot of “could be future science” discussion. They have blasters, they use blasters, no one ever explains how they work. (I deliberately use the term blasters because it’s a retro scifi term and I always wanted blasters in my books!) It helps that my alien scientists have their own science and technology and I feel no compunction whatsoever to explain any of it. Believe it or not, I’ve researched things ranging from strip poker variations to bad reactions to blood transfusions to facts about tigers for this series.

What makes you laugh?

I’m not a big laugher. I’m more of a chuckle here and there. For me probably it’s a clever turn of phrase, light sarcasm or a humorous moment unexpectedly. At one point in CAMRON, the heroine Gemma tells him, “I feel like a naked elf having a spa day…” and I’ve had readers tell me they enjoy her sense of humor throughout the book.
Some of Sandra Boynton’s comics make me smile. Robin Williams was a once in a lifetime funny man. Georgette Heyer’s Regency novel “Cotillion” makes me laugh out loud in places. In classic scifi, Eric Frank Russell and Christopher Anvil could bring on the grins and chuckles at times. My toddler grandson can always make me laugh with the way he looks at the world and processes things!

What makes you cry?

There’s a really emotional scene in the third Badari book, TIMTUR, where someone dies during the night (not the hero or heroine!) and I cried buckets of tears while I was writing it. Really took me by surprise because I’ve never cried before or since over my own writing. Death or a long term parting is a trigger for me in a book or a movie I’m reading or consuming, probably because I’m a widow. That’s one reason I stick firmly to romance because there’s always an HEA. SPOILER: When the Master Harper Robinton died in Anne McCaffrey’s excellent Dragonriders of Pern series, I cried my eyes out. She wrote it well, there was no other outcome possible for him at that point…but I HATED it anyway. I’ll never be writing a scene like that for any of my major characters. Nope. Not happening.

Is there anything else you want to add about the story, series that has not already been mentioned?

This is the eighth book in the Badari Warriors world (and the seventh book in the numbered 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!
BADARI WARRIORS Timeline:
AYDARR
MATEER
TIMTUR
JADRIAN
DARIK
GABE
KIERCE
CAMRON
And Books 1-3 are available as a boxed set

Here is the blurb for CAMRON: Dr. Gemma Madarian is far from her home in the human Sectors, kidnapped along with hundreds of other humans to be used for horrifying experiments conducted on a remote planet by alien scientists.
She and another prisoner, Camron of the Badari, are the only survivors of a deadly crash landing. She’s paired up with the genetically engineered soldier by their mutual enemies and sent fleeing through rough country, hunted for pleasure by an enemy officer and his ferocious trackers.
The enemy wants a triumphant kill. Gemma and Camron want to survive.
Camron never dreamt of having a mate but Gemma shatters his preconceptions and makes him desperate to do everything in his power to save her life and claim her for his.
There’s no help or refuge to be had in the desert where they’re fleeing for their lives.
Or is there?
Will Camron and Gemma live to fight another day and explore the growing attraction between them, or will ancient secrets and bitter rivalries end their bid for freedom?

What is the best way for readers to interact with you?

I’m on Facebook and Twitter almost all the time! Too much, no doubt…
You can also stay up to date on all my releases by signing up for my Newsletter or visiting my Blog.
Thanks for having me as your guest!

Thanks Veronica for the interview!

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.