Veronica Scott is a USA Today Best Selling author of award winning science fiction romance (SFR), with a backlist of over fifty titles, perhaps the most well known of which is Wreck of the Nebula Dream, a “Titanic in space” novel inspired by the 1912 sinking of the luxury cruise liner on Earth. She was a contributor to the USA Today Happy Ever After blog for several years, concentrating on SFR and related topics and she currently contributes to the Roswell Daily Record newspaper (yes, that Roswell) and the Amazing Stories Magazine blog. She was awarded a NASA Exceptional Service Medal during a long career at the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the business side of the lab. The author is also a genuine ‘red shirt’, having voiced an unnamed security crewperson in the official audiobook version of Harlan Ellison’s “The City on the Edge of Forever” original script. Her recent titles include Badari Gladiators Books 1-3, Kyden, Rennyr and Talinn, as well as Star Cruise Star Song and Star Cruise Time Loop.
If you could time travel to any point in history, which era would you choose, and why?
I’ve always been fascinated by ancient Egypt so I’d probably go to the time of King Tutankhamun, which is around the time frame where my own series of paranormal romance novels are set. I’d try to solve some of those mysteries surrounding his fate, as well as what happened to Queen Nefertiti and where her tomb might be located. And if I could bring anything back through time with me, I’d want a pair of her earrings!
If you could choose any real-life celebrity to make a cameo appearance in one of your books, who would it be and why?
Keanu Reeves would in fact be perfect as the Renegade, a character in my novel Star Survivor. The man is a former member of a mysterious order known as the D’nvannae, who serve an alien goddess of flames and at her whim can be bodyguards or assassins. The Renegade is the only person known to have escaped the blood oath he swore to this goddess and roams the galaxy doing good deeds to help others. He intervenes in my book to help another D’nvannae and the woman he loves to win their freedom. There are quite a few mysteries surrounding the Renegade, not least of which is what hold or leverage he has over the ancient alien goddess which causes her to let him live. I’d love to write more books about the Renegade and have plots in mind but alas, there’s only so much time. But if Keanu was going to embody the character, I’d definitely prioritize the sequels!
If you could have any fictional pet as a companion, what would it be and why?
Many of my Star Cruise novels have an alien pet in them and my favorite is Midorri. I envision her as a combination of a tribble and a red panda, with huge eyes. She’s the pet of the Ship’s AI and spends a lot of time with the ship’s cat. She gets into all kinds of mischief but has also been a key player in several tense situations the crew has to handle and is constantly revealing new abilities. No one knows where she came from and she vocalizes sounds but doesn’t speak. I’m sure her fur is soft and her purr is loud and she can back a person up in a combat scenario so what’s not to love?
If you could have any sci-fi gadget in real life, what would it be and what practical uses would you have for it?
I’ll take an efficient, small-scale teleporter. Living in Southern California and contending with the freeway system makes this a no-brainer. I also miss going to book conventions and conferences but travel is simply too difficult for me currently for various reasons. If I could cut out that whole middle portion of the trip and step through the teleporter to simply arrive at the destination, it’d be wonderful. I miss in-person interaction with other authors and readers.
If you had to choose one of your books to be turned into a cheesy made-for-TV movie, which one would it be and who would you want to play the lead roles?
Cheesy? Please, a low-budget cult hit with a rabid following…the Star Cruise series would work, since there’s a good-sized cast of characters from the crew who continue in each book, from the captain to the ship’s AI to the doctor with every other occupation in between. Then there are new passengers on each cruise who come aboard, have their adventure, find their Happy Ever After romance (sometimes with a crew member) and move on. I’m envisioning that first TV movie would of course lead to sequels or even a continuing miniseries to stream. Dream big! I’d leave the selection of the actors up to the casting director since we’d hopefully be discovering and highlighting a diverse cast of unknowns who deserve their big break. And the format lends itself to many guest starring roles, which would allow more established actors to do cameos. Where do I sign? Let’s do this!
My most recent book was Star Cruise Star Song, an SFR romance set on the interstellar cruise liner, which finds a rockstar on the verge of a big comeback discovering his Muse, who happens to be the ship’s newest engineer. She’s completely focused on doing well at her new job. The interstellar crime mob gets involved and there are complications to the romance of course. Can the couple find a way to stay together?
Currently, I’m working on Nario, the next book in my Badari Warriors series about genetically engineered soldiers of the far future, fighting for their human-fated mates.
Aside from creating new universes daily, I make sure to feed Jake the Cat on time or he yowls, I stream “Top Chef” and other assorted reality competitions and spend time with my three grandchildren. And of course, there’s the social media to keep up with!
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