Skip Scherer lives in Washington State with his lovely wife, daughter, two dogs, and an immortal fish.

Before he started writing, Skip got a degree in computer graphics and design. After working as a freelance artist for many years, he made a huge life change and opened a martial arts school. That career choice lead to a way of life for over two decades. He continues to run that school to this day, writes at night, and loves to take on new challenges.

His debut novel, Warship Ares: Captain’s Fate Book 1, comes out today, so I caught up with Skip to find out more about his writing process, and some of his literary likes and dislikes!

How, where, and when do you write?

In reverse order:

WHEN: Whenever I can! Mostly at night when the day is done and I’m relaxing from my regular job. That’s not always the case, though; I’ve been known to just write a few words, paragraphs, and so on at pretty much any time of the day.

WHERE: Wherever I can! This really depends on where in the writing process I am. I hand write my first drafts and that can be done pretty much anywhere. When I’m revising those words, I’m either at my work computer or the laptop at home. The nice thing about being self employed is I can take a little time for personal projects.

HOW: I hand write all first drafts, but not with pen and paper. Instead, I use an app on my tablet and a stylus. After the handwritten part is done, my wife types up the notes and sends me the file. All revisions from then on are done in Word. Once I have it revised down, I’ll use the Read Aloud function to listen to the whole thing again and make changes from there. Then I have other people read it (betas!) and revise some more. Depending on the changes made, I may have someone read it again or may just finish it up.  After that, it’s pretty close for the editor! Kind of a strange work order, but it works for me.

Do you set yourself a word goal every day/week?

Nope. I just write as much as I can when I can. I do try to write every day, however. Keeps me moving forward. Sometimes it’s just a sentence or two, sometimes it’s a whole chapter. As long as it’s moving forward.

Have you ever suffered from writers’ block? Have you got any tips for overcoming it?

Not really.  I have had trouble getting through scenes and had to rework them, or in some cases throw them out and start over, but other than that I move forward. 

Can you describe Warship Ares using three emojis?

🏃‍♀️👾🚀

Without giving too much away, which scenes were your favourite and least favourite to write?

FAVOURITE: A scene where Jax talks about her nickname and why it is what it is. Even though this is an action book, I just really like this scene. It came out so well and really enriches the character. Proud of that one.

LEAST FAVOURITE: An argument between two characters that I had to rewrite like three or four times. Just couldn’t get either character to sound right and present themselves the way they needed to. 

Are you working on anything new at the moment – and if so, can you give us a sneak peek? What was the last line that you wrote?

Working on Book 2 of Captain’s Fate: Warworld Gaia. Not much for a sneak peek right now, but there are things set up in the first book that really come out this time. Government conspiracies, hidden agendas, and the Screech – oh my!

The last line I wrote was, “Stone dogs? Heh, I like that. You heard the Lieutenant, let’s get going you dogs!”

What are you reading at the moment?

Trying to finish up the Mortal Engines books but I’m being distracted by Qalea Drop (The Spiral Wars Book 7) by Joel Shepard. 

Which fictional character would you most like to meet? What would you say to them/want them to say to you?

J’nn J’onzz, The Martian Manhunter. Just talk about life, the universe and everything.

What is a book that everyone seems to love but you never got on with?

Nothing specific, but I just can’t get into the modern vampire books. Love the original Dracula, but everything after that, not so much.

How do you take your tea/coffee?

Can’t really stand coffee but love hot tea. Market Spice Cinnamon-Orange Tea is one of my favourites, along with chai tea. Bet no one saw that last one coming! (In-joke for my readers!)

What is your favourite time of day?

Anything but mornings.

How do you like to relax when you’re not writing?

I love being outdoors, hiking, riding a bike, and just generally exploring. During the winter months. I enjoy movies, reading and writing? I know you asked when not writing, but writing is something I do to relax, it’s a pleasure for me and something I wish I would have explored more in depth earlier in life.  I’ve also just taken up playing the saxophone for the first time in my life. It’s a challenge but one I’m really enjoying.

Warship Ares: Captain’s Fate Book 1 is available to download from Amazon from November 23rd 2020. For updates on all his future works, you can follow Skip on Twitter @skip_scherer, and to receive further news from the author, sign up to his mailing list at http://www.lionknight.us/.