By Marissa Wells
Contribuitng Writer
Marcus Redding, a scavenger, finds a mysterious object in an ancient starship and is hounded by the gangsters of the Martian Defense Force as a result. He now finds himself fighting for survival.
Will Marcus reverse his plight?
Find out in “Junker Blues: Mars” by Lon E. Varnadore.
“Junker Blues: Mars” was inspired by the author’s desire to write his own space opera. Varnadore started dreaming up stories at a young age and began writing following a writing prompt about aliens.
“I have always been a fan of space opera and I had a few ideas that slowly started to meld together and I wanted to spin this story out and get it out there,” Varnadore said.
Throughout the book, Marcus, the protagonist, faces numerous obstacles such as maintaining his freedom from the overlord aliens, avoiding creatures that are trying to kill him, demands from the Martian authorities, identifying who he can and can’t trust and more.
“Readers can expect twists, adventure, a good ride I hope and adventure and mystery,” Varnadore said.
Creating the Ilas, a genetically created race, and their background is Varnadore’s favorite part of his book.
“The Ilas were actually genetically created from sort of a weird hybrid of humans and overlord aliens and they’re sort of a blend of the two races together,” said the author.
Varnadore’s favorite character is Lashiel, the Ilas character who is a friend of and works for Marcus.
“She’s a very complex character to write about. … There’s a lot that comes to light thanks to her,” Varnadore said.
“Junker Blues: Mars” will be enjoyed by readers who enjoy “Firefly,” “Star Wars” and “Cowboy Bebop.” It’s the author’s hope that readers will be entertained by his book.
“They will get into a great story, an enjoyable yarn,” Varnadore said.
“Junker Blues Mars” is the first book in the Junker Blues series that follows the journey of Marcus Redding. The second book, “Junker Blues: The Belt” has been released and the third book is set to release later in 2021.
Varnadore is based in Long Beach. For more information about the author and his work, visit lonvarnadoreauthor.com.
“Junker Blues: Mars” is available for $9.99 (paperback) and $0.99 (e-Book) on Amazon.
