Veronica Scott's favourite character

I'm delighted to welcome Veronica Scott to Spacefreighters so we can all read about (and hear) her favourite character.

When this topic was first brought up as a possible blog post, I thought how on Earth would I ever be able to choose a favorite character from all the people in my novels??? But now that I’ve read a few of the posts – and they’re so much fun! – I’m going to take the tack that it’s not so much anyone is my favorite, as it is that I’ll tell you why the character is who he is.

That would be Nick Jameson from Wreck of the Nebula Dream, which was my first published science fiction novel – a best seller and award winner that launched me on my independent publishing career. Wreck is loosely based on the sinking of the Titanic so when I was doing the plotting, I pondered who I’d want to be on the ship with me in a disaster of this nature. I was always impressed with Second Officer Lightoller of the Titanic, as he was portrayed in the nonfiction book and subsequent movie adaptation “A Night to Remember.” So I wanted the character of Nick to have some aspects of this brave man, but I didn’t want him to be ship’s crew. I wanted Nick to be a passenger, and a Sectors Special Forces soldier.

I have immense respect for the Special Forces soldiers of our time, and try to make my fictional military operators worthy of the name. I can’t think of anyone better to have on your side if you’re stuck on a wrecked, drifting spaceship behind enemy lines. Those men don’t know the meaning of the word failure, they’re deadly, and they never give up while there’s breath remaining. That led to the question of why such a person would be traveling on a luxury spaceliner in the first place. Once I had that plot hole solved to my own satisfaction – his trip is a result of his last, disastrous mission where everyone else was killed through no fault of Nick’s, and his unsavory commanding officer wanting him off the base as soon as possible – I knew who he was, and that informed his character and his actions aboard the Nebula Dream for me.

When the story starts Nick is battle-scarred, tired and a bit too prone to hard drinking. (During the edits, I was surprised myself at how much I had him imbibing LOL.) He’s attracted to Mara, a highly successful intergalatic businesswoman who seems interested in him, but his self-confidence is pretty much in tatters. As soon as disaster hits though, he’s there, ready to do whatever it takes to ensure other passengers survive. He loads up a lifeboat, he helps Mara rescue two trapped children…and the adventure goes on from there. The Navy SEALs have a saying, “Yesterday was the only easy day.” 

That pretty much applies to surviving the Nebula Dream disaster, which just keeps getting worse.

Michael Riffle, the actor who narrates my audiobooks, captures Nick perfectly, in my opinion. The first time I heard Michael read from Wreck, I had actual goosebumps because he was Nick. It was like my character was talking to me. So, want to hear Nick for yourself? Click on this Soundcloud sample (not trying to sell you an audiobook, I promise!) It’s just a rare treat for me to be able to offer you the chance to ‘hear’ the character’s voice. Wreck of the Nebula Dream sound sample

Amazon best-seller Veronica Scott is a three-time recipient of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, and has written a number of science-fiction and fantasy romances. Her latest release is Star Cruise: Marooned. She’s also the USA Today/HEA blog’s SciFi Encounters columnist.

Blog: https://veronicascott.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vscotttheauthor

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Veronica-Scott/e/B006CUCJ92/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1448154672&sr=1-2-ent