Some supporting characters imprint on me as an author right away and I just know they have to have their own book at a later date. That’s how it was with NARIO, when he first appeared in JAMOKAN as the senior enforcer of the canid (wolflike) pack. I really liked him, I felt as if I’d known him forever and of course he’d need his own adventure, fated mate and HEA.

I didn’t know at the time what exactly his story would entail and several others came before his (TRATUS, REEDE’S MISSION TO THE SECTORS) but gradually my Muse decided he (and Faine, a senior pack soldier) were going to be the first Badari Warriors ever to go to  the Khagrish home world. To satisfy myself, after I said, “Oh, cool!”, I had to figure out how this would support the overall series arc of the Badari war for permanent freedom and ownership of their planet. I try to advance the series arc in each book, sometimes very incrementally but other times in a major way.  As I’ve written the 19 books (so far) in the series, I’ve left myself quite a few ‘hooks’ as I call them, on which to hang future plots and hopefully to tell good stories. The hooks can be small details, interesting supporting characters, notes to myself, etc. and I may never have time to write them all, given I do also write other non-Badari books. And of course new ideas bubble up in my brain all the time!

I also comissioned the cover over two years ago from Fiona Jayde, having found the stock photo  we used when doing a hunt for something else. The image grabbed me and figuratively said “Nario!” right away when I saw it. It’s helped to have the cover waiting for me, adding to my inspiration.

But getting back to Nario-the-book, then I had to decide who his fated mate would be and Aliana the historian presented herself.

I never do much advance planning or thinking on a book before I start writing. I usually know the beginning, the end and a few major events in betweeen. Then I sit at the keyboard and the words literally just flow. The story unfolds for me as I go and I frankly don’t question the ‘magic’ of how my Muse creates the romance and the adventure. I’m just grateful!

So in addition to saving his fated mate and the others, Nario can obtain valuable intel from the Khagrish home world about societal and political conditions there (no spoilers), which may help the Alphas in the long range war planning. And there may be a mole at the so far impregnable Khagrish main lab, which could be valuable in times ahead as the Badari continue to fight. We’ll see!

In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy Nario’s adventures as he strives for his HEA…

NARIO: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE (SECTORS NEW ALLIES SERIES BOOK 16) by Veronica Scott

What starts out as a simple mission to rescue a group of lost humans turns into a nightmare for pack enforcer Nario, as he’s captured by the enemy scientists and plunged into an unprecedented journey to their home world for unknown experiments.
No Badari has ever been to the Khagrish planet but Nario vows to find a way to save himself and the others taken with him. The situation takes on additional urgency when he realizes one of the human women in the group is his fated mate. Aliana Ridley was a historian in the Sectors, traveling from world to world to record significant events when she was abducted by enemy aliens and destined to become a subject in unimaginable experiments. Now she has to rely on this fearsome, genetically engineered soldier to help her escape their captors and find a way home. She agrees to pretend to be his mate to fool the scientists but soon finds herself experiencing emotions she never expected to have with a man who’s handsome but not human. Will Nario find a way to escape the enemy’s grasp and get them all safely back to the Badari planet? Author’s Note: This is a complete story for the two main characters, ending with their HEA. There is a cliffhanger situation unresolved in the book for a pair of secondary characters, which I’ll resolve in the next book in the series.

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