Guest Post By BREAK OUT Author Nina Croft, Plus Giveaway

Introduction: Nina Croft's sci-fi romance Break Out has been extended from its original version and Entangled Publishing has now released it in print. It's great to see publishers making such an investment in this subgenre! Following Nina Croft's guest post are details for a Break Out giveaway. Enjoy! - Heather Massey

The Supporting Cast…

by Nina Croft

Break Out is book one in my Blood Hunter series, which follows the adventures, romantic and otherwise, of the crew of the space ship El Cazador de la Sangre (or The Blood Hunter). The hero of Break Out is Ricardo Sanchez, space pirate and vampire. I love writing about Rico, but I thought today, I would spend a little time talking about the other characters from the book.

One of the things I love best about writing science fiction is creating the cast of people. And that’s because there is absolutely no limit but your imagination to who—or maybe more accurately what—populates your world. 

Secondary characters can come in many forms, side-kicks, best friends, enemies, family, work colleagues... The crew of El Cazador include most of these categories. Except maybe family, though I like to think they have come to see themselves as one nice big happy family—most of the time.

I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know them better, giving them lives and hopes and needs of their own. I have to be a little careful though, because they’re a stroppy lot and most of them would take over if they could. I have to tell them be patient, and if you’re very good, then one day I’ll give you a book of your own.

Okay, so who are the crew of El Cazador. Most people who end up on board are hiding or running from something. So they all have interesting pasts and I’ve tried to use that. Anyway here they are:

• Tannis is part snake, part human, all bitch! She’s the Captain of El Cazador. She’s also Rico’s best friend—really at the start of the book—his only friend as he’s always been a loner. Tannis is a GM or genetically modified, she’s mostly human but with a little bit of snake DNA in there (doesn’t show much except she’s long and thin, with luminescent skin and yellow eyes). She’s fiercely loyal to her crew but more than a little mercenary and has an annoying (or so Rico thinks) tendency to sarcasm when she should be providing sympathy.
  
  
• Janey looks after the ships computers, hacks into everyone else’s, and comes up with really nifty gadgets. I’m a technophobe (along with the rest of the crew of El Cazador) so I don’t really understand what she does—but she’s very good at it. She’s also perfect—perfect hair, clothes, make-up—she’s the sort of woman you’d hate if she wasn’t so nice.
  
  
• Daisy is the co-pilot. She’s another GM, but she has plant DNA, and she’s green, and I mean totally green, like green hair, green skin, green eyes. She can actually photosynthesis, which is really cool, though she prefers eating proper food. She’s crazy about flying and will pinch Rico’s pilot’s seat every chance she gets. She also dresses like a mini Rico and follows him round “like a puppy” (Rico’s words—he says he finds this annoying, but I think he secretly likes it.)
  
  
• Al is the cabin boy. Al is a bit of a mystery. They picked him up starving on an out of the way planet a few months ago. Apart from that, they don’t know much about him except that he’s terrified of Rico (which drives Rico spare—it’s not as if he makes a habit out of eating the crew—he has some standards).
  
  
• Finally the Trog – the secretive and reclusive engineer. In fact, he’s so secretive and reclusive that even I don’t know much about him. What is he hiding?

So there they are. Book two in the Blood Hunter series focuses on the story of Al, the cabin ‘boy’ and book three on Tannis, the captain. 

Book four? Well I haven’t quite decided yet. I have a few contenders, but who do you think would make an interesting addition to the crew? Let me know for a chance to win an ecopy of Break Out. (All comments will also be entered into a draw at the end of October—details on my site.)

SFR Brigade visitors can check back on Monday, October 1 to see if you won the giveaway here!

Break Out – Blurb

The year is 3048, Earth is no longer habitable, and man has fled to the stars where they’ve discovered the secret of immortality—Meridian. Unfortunately, the radioactive mineral is exorbitantly expensive and only available to a select few. A new class comprised of the super rich and immortal soon evolves. The Collective, as they’re called, rule the universe.

Two-thousand-year-old Ricardo Sanchez, vampire and rogue pilot of the space cruiser, El Cazador, can’t resist two things: gorgeous women and impossible jobs. When beautiful Skylar Rossaria approaches him to break a prisoner out of the Collective’s maximum security prison on Trakis One, Rico jumps at the chance. Being hunted by the Collective has never been so dangerous–or so fun!

About the author:

 

Nina Croft grew up in the north of England. After training as an accountant, she spent four years working as a volunteer in Zambia, which left her with a love of the sun and a dislike of 9-5 work. She then spent a number of years mixing travel (whenever possible) with work (whenever necessary) but has now settled down to a life of writing and picking almonds on a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain.

Nina writes all types of romance often mixed with elements of the paranormal and science fiction.

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