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Franklin, W.Va., native Mike Mallow’s book ‘Heartspark’ available

By Jean A. Flanagan, Moorefield Examiner 

Imagine traveling for three years in a suspended state, only to be awakened when your destination drops off the galactic map. Such is the fate of Jonathan Heartspark. Thus begins “Heartspark,” the first book in the Echo Suite Saga, written by Moorefield Examiner Advertising/Produdction Manager and Franklin resident, Mike Mallow. 

According to Mallow, “Heartspark” is a “science fiction, space western, apocalyptic, action mystery.

“I don’t like the label ‘science fiction’,” Mallow said. “I’d like to think of it as plausible fiction, like it could actually happen if you wait long enough.”“Heartspark” takes place on Mutinellis, a diverse planet in the process of being consumed by a singularity, or black hole.

Nearby planets have already been consumed. “Humanity there was snuffed out in a blink,” Mallow writes.

Jonathan has a package to deliver and he’s not sure what to do, now that his destination no longer exists.In the process of trying to figure out his ‘Plan B’, Jonathan falls in with a quartet of bounty hunters trying to capture a major crime boss. The adventure begins.

“I started writing this in December 2013,” Mallow said. “I had a 4-month old daughter. My wife had been out of work most of that year and I was scrambling to find some additional income.”

Mallow lives in Franklin and works in Moorefield. The hour-long drive to and from work gave him ample time to develop the story, the characters and their history.

“I originally modeled Jonathan after Wall-E,” he said. “He doesn’t understand his true place in the world but he has a singular purpose.”

The other characters have some West Virginia references, are based on people Mallow has worked with and some wordplay on common names. There’s bounty hunters Quinn Braxton and Romani Doddridge, a bad-guy nicknamed Shrimphead and Vester, the crime boss.

“With Jonathan, I wanted a common name, so I could establish that he isn’t too far from our own humanity,” Mallow said.“Heartspark” is the first of a two-part series.

The sequel “Fairchance” has already been written and will likely be released next year. 

“The Echo Suite Saga is about the Echo Suite star cluster,” Mallow said. “The basic conflict is over control of the four-star system.”

While this is Mallow’s fifth book, it is the first to be published. “I started writing books in college,” he said.In addition to the sequel to “Heartspark,” 

Mallow is looking to publish an Appalachian crime novel and is currently working on a children’s Christmas book, set in Moorefield. 

“Heartspark” is published by Cressen Books LLC in Gerrardstown. It can be purchased from amazon.com in print, Kindle and Nook formats. It will also be available at some local venues, such as the Moorefield Examiner, local libraries and gift shops. 

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