short story | Ian J. Malone

Happy Hump Day, gang!

By now, y’all know that my new book, Colonies Lost, is on the way June 12. You also know that the story focuses on a present-day US Marshal who delves into the mystery surrounding the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island. What you won’t see in that story, however, are the actual events at Roanoke in 1587.

Well, ordinary readers of Colonies Lost won’t get those events. You, on the other hand, can if you sign up for my newsletter to receive the new short story, Nightfall!

Better yet, it’s FREE!

But wait! There’s more! (I so just wrote that while speaking aloud in my cheesy announcer voice)

By signing up for the email list, you’ll also get Mako: Genesis, the official prequel to my space opera trilogy, The Mako Saga. It’s all just my way of saying thanks to those who support my work.

Take care, y’all, and hope you enjoy the new short story!

Cheers… Ian

Description — Nightfall: A Roanoke Short Story

On a cold November night in 1587, 108 colonists stood starving and alone on the shores of Roanoke Island, their eyes fixed on the heavens as something magnificent and terrifying descended from above.

“Surely this is the end,” one man whispered in fright. Acting quickly, he jammed his knife into a nearby oak to scrawl out a message.

The man was wrong. It was just the beginning.

Witness the Roanoke colonists’ final moments on Earth through the eyes of those who took them in Nightfall, the short story prequel to Colonies Lost.

For those craving something new from the Makoverse, today is your day!

As previously announced, Mako: Genesis (the short story prequel to Mako, starring everyone’s favorite loud-mouthed Tuskan pilot, Link Baxter) is now available for download. Here’s the catch, though: it’s not for sale on Amazon.

The only way to get this story is to sign up for my email list, which you can do here if you haven’t already.

Oh, and did I mention that Mako: Genesis is totally FREE?

Story Synopsis:

Link Baxter defied orders on Mako Assault’s nineteenth environment to save Markus Katahl. Neither he, nor the others could’ve ever known what that started.

Witness the moment when the Renegades first came to Jon Reiser’s attention in “Mako: Genesis,” the action-packed short story available only to members of the Ian J. Malone email list.

The Genesis of Genesis

I’ve been meaning for some time to:

Pen something new for the Renegades, and;
Pen something exclusive for my email listers as a way of saying “thank you” for supporting my work.

It’s no secret that I’ve been undergoing something of a rebranding of late with my books, and frankly this just felt like the right time to roll this project out.

Mako: Genesis also gave me the chance to “put right what once went wrong” with one of The Big Five: Link (That’s Quantum Leap humor… Kids, ask your parents).

In going back over Mako for the second edition, it occurred to me that everyone got a proper backstory except for Link. He’s small. He’s brash. He’s a lawyer who hates his job, and blows off steam at night by flying starbombers into hot zones and shooting bad guys from extreme distances in a videogame. Beyond that, not much else is known about him in the beginning.

Genesis gave me the chance to flesh Link out a bit in those early days — who he was, why he hated his life, and what inevitably put him on that plane to San Diego with the others. You’ll even find out what drew him to sniper school as an MOS in the game, as well as later when… well, just later (keeping it spoiler-free here).

It goes without saying that all five of the Renegades changed a lot over the course of three books. However, in some respects, I think you can say that’s truer for Link than anyone. Read this story then think about where he’s at in life when the final page turns for At Circle’s End. Think about who he’s become, what his priorities are, and what it is in life that truly makes him happy.

Link came a long way, man. Read Mako: Genesis and you’ll know what I mean.

More short stories to come

FYI, this will not be the only one of these that I write. As mentioned on social media, I’ve got Colonies Lost on deck in the coming months, and I plan to write a prequel short for that one as well (titled Nightfall). Since you’re already subscribed to this list, you’ll have that (in addition to Genesis) as soon as it hits.

Again, these short stories are not available for sale to the public. They’re solely my way of saying thanks for following my work, and continuing to put up with my emails. LOL

Hope you enjoy Mako: Genesis and drop me a line anytime if you’ve got questions.

Cheers,

Ian

PS – Big thanks to my pals at Streetlight Graphics for helping me retool the original Mako cover for a new generation. I’ve always loved that cover, and am glad to see it sticking around.