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.
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
