Creating a World and Setting with Author Nina Croft
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 shares the farm with a husband, three dogs, four cats, a horse, two goats and a handful of chickens. It’s a perfect place to indulge her two great passions, reading and writing.
Nina’s writing mixes romance with elements of the paranormal and science fiction. Her latest book from Entangled Publishers is out now! You can find out more about Nina and her books at her Website
El Cazador
I originally come from the north of England. I’ve always loved to travel, and I’ve lived a few places: London, Scotland, Africa, and I’ve now settled down on an almond farm in the remote mountains of southern Spain.
But when it came to writing my blood Hunter series, I decided to go a little farther afield. The series is set in a future where Earth has become uninhabitable and man has fled to the stars. There they’ve discovered Meridian, on Trakis Seven (named after the space craft that crash landed on the planet). Meridian is rare, radioactive and exorbitantly expensive, but it also has the power to bestow immortality, and a new class has evolved, super rich and immortal they rule the civilized universe.
In this case, the civilized universe is the Trakis system; the planets surrounding Trakis Seven. Beyond that, there are less civilized places, and I’m sure we’ll get to visit some of them in later books.
But the real location of the Blood Hunter series is the space cruiser El Cazador. Or to give the ship her full name – El Cazador de la Sangre – ‘The Blood Hunter’ in Spanish. The series revolves around the crew of El Cazador, each book focusing on one crew member.
The hero of Break Out, the first book in the series, is Ricardo Sanchez, owner and pilot of El Cazador. Rico was born in Spain in the middle ages – he’s also a vampire. Rico is gorgeous, but he’s a bit of a poser – the rest of the crew can’t decide whether he decorated the ship to match his wardrobe – he has a love of black clothes and silver weapons – or whether he dresses to match the décor of the ship. I think the former.
Here’s how my heroine, Skylar describes El Cazador when she first sees the ship:
“A Star Cruiser Mark 3. She was very impressive and beautiful, with elegant lines. Wide at the rear, tapering to a sharp point at the front, the sleek shape was mirrored by the two propulsion units, which sat on either side. She was also entirely black, except for her name painted in silver script along the hull: El Cazador de la Sangre.”
And here’s the quick tour – The ship consists of three levels. The lower level housed the cooling and recycling systems as well as the engines. The middle section held the docking bay and a small cargo area—though she’s not built to carry cargo. She’s a fighting machine, sleek and deadly. And the upper level houses the bridge and the crew’s living quarters. And it’s all decorated in silver and black.
I’ve been a Star Wars fan for most of my life, so I had great fun flying around the universe on the El Cazador – I hope you do as well!
The Dolls would like to thank Nina for visiting today and sharing her insights!
El Cazador sounds like an impressive ship. Ricardo sounds equally as impressive. :) Congrats, Nina, on the release of BREAK OUT.
Sounds awesome! I like the twist on the whole immortality thing. Can’t wait to get my hands on it. :)
Thanks Mona! Hope you enjoy!
I love love love the backstory for Ricardo. The location is so exotic and rich with history to draw from.
Hi Aubrie – it’s a great concept isn’t it – writing the history of the future!
Thanks Cate – it’s a very impressive ship!
Hi Nina –
I loved Break Out!!! You really did a fabulous job building the crew and the ship… I loved it!
Lisa :)
Thanks Lisa – you’re a sweetie!!!
Ooohhh I like Rico – silver and black – sigh
I like him as well – but he is a bit of a poser though!
Ooohhh, Nina. I would like to ride on El Cazador! And meet Rico! I love the idea of elite immortals. So much material there!
Congratulations on the debut of BREAK OUT!
Thanks Tracey, I’ve always found the concept of immortality and how people would deal with it fascinating – so loads of material there
The ship sounds awesome! Congrats on the release, Nina.
Thanks Melanie!
Great post! I love the inside glimpse of the ship!
Hi Doll Day – I always wanted a space ship of my own so I had a good idea of what El Cazador would be like!
Great post , I am going to spend more time learning about this topic