An original story set in Lindsay Buroker’s Fallen Empire setting
For quite a while I’ve been interested in collaborating with another author on a book. If you follow me at all, you know that my paths have crossed with Lindsay Buroker on many occassions, most notably her recruitment of me to pitch in on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast. She’s basically the author I want to be when I grow up, with the dedication and prolific brain to pump out books three times faster than I could ever hope to.
Lindsay’s multiple series tend to make a pretty big splash once they build up a head of steam, and her Firefly-esque space opera known as the Fallen Empire series is so popular Amazon tapped it for their Kindle Worlds program, which allows other authors/fans/etc to write stories in a setting and split the earnings with the series creator. When she was looking for reliable authors to pen a novel for launch, I ignored the requirement that we be reliable and threw my hat in the ring. The result? Fallen Empire: Rogue Derelict. Here’s the Blurb:
Rogue Derelict is pulse-pounding side-story set in the universe of Lindsay Buroker’s Fallen Empire Series.
In the chaos following the fall of the empire, Benita Castor wants nothing more than to live a nice quiet life. She thought she made all the right decisions. What could be safer than becoming an accountant? Where could she be more secure than the industrial fringe of the empire’s most civilized planet? Yet somehow, she finds herself in the employ of a crime boss and is shipped off to audit a recent acquisition in a forgotten corner of the system.
Her new assignment is an old Kirian space station being developed by Nori Veshcha, an enterprising woman with big plans for the relic. Nori is overflowing with ambition, innovative ideas, and confidence—though her crew leaves something to be desired. Her chief technician, Blick Mathson, is a man more familiar with collecting debts than repairing ships. The only other crew member, her personal valet Lefty Hammermill, is a dim-witted but well-meaning grunt with secondhand cybernetics. Not much of a workforce to tackle the task of converting a centuries-old hunk of junk into a cutting-edge resort, but Nori is nothing if not determined.
At first, the assignment has the makings of an unpleasant but uneventful enterprise, even if Nori is somewhat overly cool, Blick is a bit overly warm, and Lefty is just overly Lefty. When a second relic of a bygone era makes an unscheduled arrival and its crew assumes Benita is their Kirian commander, she and the others realize the echoes of the past could have grave consequences for their future.
Can a mismatched skeleton crew on a malfunctioning space station rise to the challenge, or will a remnant of history remind the system that some threats aren’t gone, they’re simply forgotten?
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If you’ve never read any of Lindsay’s Fallen Empire stories–first of all, you should–fear not. I chose to produce an original set of characters to play around in their setting. Though pre-existing knowledge of the setting might help you enjoy the story, I’ve endeavored to include enough context to make it enjoyable even from a complete newcomer’s perspective. (None of my beta readers have read Lindsay’s stuff, and they seemed to enjoy it.)
I hope you’ll give the story a chance. If you like it, remember there is a whole world of others, not to mention Lindsay’s original stories. Right now it is exclusive to Amazon, and also exclusive to the United States, so not all of you will have the opportunity to read it. For those aren’t chased away by those limitations, check it out along with the rest of the series. For the rest of you, I’ve got a little something to make it up to you…