Hey folks, welcome to summer and another edition of the Mako Manifesto! I hope this blog finds you well and, preferably, on a beach somewhere with a mojito in one hand and a book in the other.
We can dream, can’t we? LOL
First off, I want to thank everyone who helped make the At Circle’s End launch a success — especially those who reviewed it on Amazon. To date, everyone seems to like the story a lot, and that’s a big deal for the last chapter in a series, no matter the medium. Letdowns are always possible — The Sopranos, anybody? — so I’m profoundly happy that everyone enjoyed The Renegades’ ending as much as I did.
I also can’t forget to thank ABW Voiceovers and everyone else who helped make the At Circle’s End audiobook a success. Andy Wehrlen always does a superb job on these, but he was especially on top of his game for this one. Really, really great stuff.
Next on the docket — Marshal: A Trip Hawkins Novel
I’ve already done some world-building for the next set of Mako books, one of which will follow the adventures of Danny and the Overlook crew, while another will feature a standalone story starring Link and Hamish (Think Butch and Sundance with a crap-ton of sarcasm).
Having said that — and please don’t kill me, Mako fans — but I’ve decided to table those for now in favor of something all new. It’ll be sci-fi, of course, but with a hard splash of alternate American history.
As a lot of you know, my reading tastes tend to fly all over the map, from urban fantasy to murder mysteries or thrillers to space opera. That said, next to sci-fi, one of my all-time favorite genres is still the American Western — specifically the Sackett series from Louis L’Amour. Those books are just a blast to read, and I’ve long since wondered what it would look like to take characters from that era — in this case a little earlier, e.g. New World, circa early-seventeenth century — and plug them into a modern-day science fiction setting.
Enter Trip Hawkins, a wrongfully disgraced U.S. Marshal from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.
Naturally, this story will take place on another world, but it’ll still feature characters from our Earth, seeking an escape from everyday problems.
Sound familiar?
What can I say? As a writer, I’m a sucker for a sandbox that lets me play with wicked-cool spaceships and David Lee Roth references. Only in this case, it’s more like Waylon Jennings… but I digress.
As specified above, the book is tentatively titled Marshal: A Trip Hawkins Novel and I hope to have a somewhat finalized synopsis for you soon.
Goodreads giveaway
One other housekeeping note before I go. If you or anyone you know would like a signed copy of Mako, surf on over to www.goodreads.com. I’m running a four-week giveaway there through the month of June. You’ll need a Goodreads account to sign up, but from there, the process is pretty straight-forward.
Other ways to get a book signed:
Either works.
That’s gonna do it for this one, gang. Everybody take care, be safe if you’re traveling for Memorial Day, and see you back here for the next installment of the Manifesto!
Cheers,
IJM
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