Skip Scherer / Lionknight.us

Welcome to the big monthly update! Lots of great stuff to cover this month, so let’s jump right in.

Biggest news is that Warworld Gaia is now at the editor! Now the waiting game beings. It’s great finding an editor that is excited, maybe more so than me-lol, about my work. I can’t wait to see what Sarah @BookwormBlues does with my work. Got at least a month to put more focus elsewhere. I have to stay busy or I might drive myself crazy with anticipation!

On that note, I have things to do. First major one for Warworld Gaia is finishing up the cover art. I have a lot of the work done but haven’t touched it in almost a year. So, time to pull out the art files and remember where I was and what needed to be done. Hoping to make all the covers have a constant theme that in my mind is a semi retro scifi base. Fun is the name of the game, but we’ll see how it all turns out.

I still have not picked a publication date for Warworld Gaia. I’m going to wait and see how much work my editor gives me. The preorder to publish time will probably be pretty small since I want to get it as quickly as possible. I figure if I make it before June, I can still claim early 2023! Wish me luck.

Warship Ares! Another project is to update Warship Ares. Don’t worry, it’s not a rewrite or changes to the story. I will fix some typos and small grammar issues. However, the main change will be to the format of the book. For Warship Ares, I used a manual method of formatting the book, using my old typesetting skills. Since that time, I have acquired better software that will not only make things easier and faster, but also put a more professional shine on it. Consistency across these first three books is important, because as I’ve said before, this is all one big story. So, new book new formatting, old book gets updated to new formatting, that’s the goal.

Which leads us to book three. The final arch of this story line, Captain’s Fate. I write linear, chapter by chapter, so until Warworld Gaia was finished it was hard trying to work the next chapters. Now that I have enough done, barring what my editor does to it – haha, I am making progress again. I learned so much writing these first two books, it should all show in this grand final! This is the book I’ve been wanting to write since the beginning. All the pieces are in place, almost, and now the real adventure begins. I’m not revealing the name yet, but needless to say, I have big plans and big pay offs coming to this story’s end.

That’s it for this month’s big update. Thanks for joining me once again, your support is very appreciated! Join me on Twitter for smaller updates and random musings too @skip_scherer. Till next time!

The end is nigh! The end of book 2, that is. As of writing this, I am only twelve chapters away from finishing my last pass through the complete story. Act 2 will be completed by this week. Act 3 will follow, but I am waiting for a couple of beta readers, so I may delay a day or two. It’s exciting to be this close to the end.

I’m happy to report that I have found a new editor, Sarah Chorn. You can follow her on Twitter @BookwormBlues or her website at https://sarahchornedits.com/. It’s fantastic to find someone who’s not only excited by my work but has a large history of both editing and writing her own. Finding an editor you can work with, feel good about, and get quality work from, is so very important for an indie writer. Can’t wait for her to work her magic on my scifi story.

I’ve already set a date with Sarah to have Warworld Gaia in her hands by March 1. She thinks it will take around a month, maybe a bit more / less to finish. During that time, I’ll be finishing up the cover and preparing the formatting for the book (template). Once I get her work back, it’s my turn to dive into changes and revisions. Hopefully, that means a May or June release for the next edition!

Get excited folks, it’s all going to go very fast!

As always, thanks for joining me! Follow me on Twitter for more frequent updates and musings @skip_scherer

Till next time, respect.

Happy New Year! Welcome to my big, and I mean big this time, update.

Thanks to having some time off this past holiday season, I was able to get a lot of writing done. As I write this, I am taking a break from revising the last chapter of Warworld Gaia. Once I’m done here, I’ll finish that. That means this book is done. Done. DONE. Well, almost done.

There are still steps to be made before I can publish. I still have one more pass through the entire book to make. This is where I check for consistency issues; things like making sure character names are correct, their description are accurate, foreshadows, foreshadow and so on. There are also places where I have flesh out technology and double just the small bit of science that leaks in – haha. After that, I will ship it off to an editor, which I still don’t have.

Finding a new editor is my next big task that I will start tackling this week. I needed something finished so I could have an idea on word count and have something to send them. Most editors will give you a sample of their edits of fifty to a hundred words in your document. I prefer to send them a sample of the actual story, then some other piece of work. Once I find someone I can work with, and them me, we are off. Hopefully, I’ll find someone who can get to my work quickly, but that’s out of my hands and I may have to wait.

While waiting, two things will happen. One, I will start to finish up the cover for Warworld Gaia. I have a file sitting on my computer with the initial work already in progress. I haven’t touched it in a while, preferring to focus all my time on writing. Two, I will start writing the third book in the series. The grand final for this adventure!

Might seem like a lot, but it will be a whirlwind once it all starts falling into place. The great news is Warworld Gaia is coming out this year. Sooner rather than later! Thank you all for staying with me. This book is such an exciting ride, and I can’t wait for you to experience the next chapter in the life of Jax and all her friends.

As always, please check back in for the next big update. If you prefer more frequent news, please follow me on Twitter @skip_scherer . You can also find that feed on the first page of my website. Once again, Happy New Year!

Welcome to the big update! I missed Nov., sorry for that, too much going on. The great thing is that Warworld Gaia is nearing the finishing stages. At least of the initial writing. I have two more chapters to revise and then a final pass through the whole book. This last pass is to look for missing descriptions, consistency of descriptions, fill in some finial tech jargon, and to add / fix anything I have notes on. Overall, a fast affair for me. After that it will be off to an editor!

Of course, I still must find a new editor. I have a list of potential people that I need to start contacting. I hate looking for editors, finding the right one is important, so I put a lot of time into it. Hopefully, I’ll get a little holiday magic and the right one will fall into my world.

While the editor is doing their work, I’ll be finishing up the cover for book 2 and making some updates to book 1. The book 1 updates will mainly be updating the formatting to match what I’m doing on book 2. Thankfully, I now have a program to help with the formatting of the book(s). This update will keep a common feeling across these two books and all future books!

I’m really excited to get this project out their into the world! Thank you all for staying with me on this journey. Happy Holidays and look out for 2023, Warworld Gaia is coming!