Rita:

This week it is my pleasure to interview Scott Ickes. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Scott and share something about your life.

Scott:

I would be happy to do that. First, let me say that I appreciate you having me as a featured author on your site. I live with my wife in Vancouver, Washington, USA. I spent 39 years working for a fortune 500 company in the United States. At first, I worked in the manufacturing plants as a mechanic. I eventually worked my way up to a career in the field as a Service Engineer helping customers use our companies products. After retirement, I devoted my time to my wife, family and friends and some hobbies.

Rita:

When did you write your first book and how did it come about?

Scott:

I started writing my first book in February 2024. It came about after some rough times in my life. In September 2023, I was diagnosed with Leukemia. I was put on a life flight up to Seattle, Washington and spent 33 days there, going through my initial chemotherapy. After getting home, I had chemotherapy once a month until February 2024. I got home from the hospital on February 6, 2024 and received a phone call from one of my brothers telling me that one of my other brothers had been killed in a single car vehicle accident that morning. I was already depressed from all of the hospital visits and then he was killed. I had a compromised immune system and couldn’t travel back for the funeral. I was only able to watch television and read. I’ve always been an avid reader, however, when that becomes your whole life and you have so much happening in your life that is negative, you become frustrated and depressed.

My wife said to me, “You’ve always thought you might be able to write a book. I think it’s time you tried to write that book.” I did what she suggested and started writing a series. The first book took me 10 months to write. The second book took me 5 weeks to write. I’m now writing book 3 in the series. The first two books are currently with Beta Readers. I anticipate finishing book three in about a month. I won’t publish any of them until all three in the series are ready. I’ll publish them all at the same time.

Rita:

Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?

Scott:

I love to read science fiction. Especially, Space Opera, First Contact, Time Travel, etc. I’ve always been fascinated by the genre. I know it best, as I’ve probably read 3000 books or more in the science fiction genre. I may mix it up some day, but for right now, I have so many ideas about the Space Opera genre that it will take me quite a while to get them out of my system.

Rita:

When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?

Scott:

I’m a pant’ser. I write by the seat of my pants. I have a basic outline in my head of where I want to go, but I don’t like making notes or plotting anything out, because when I’ve tried that, it seems to limit my creativity. When I write it off the cuff, I’m free to take the story in the direction that it wants to go.

Rita:

Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?

Scott:

I’d love to do that. This is from First Contact – Lemurians. The protagonist in my books is Captain Robert Chris of an exploration starship. He’s thrust into situations where he has to be a military captain, and he struggles with this role. He doesn’t see himself as a hero. In this scene, he has made first contact with an alien species. Humans had never met this species or even knew of their existence, yet the aliens are blaming humans for the atomic wars that nearly destroyed the Lemurian culture. He had ordered his ship to retreat and hide from them. He knows he could easily defeat them, but he refuses to kill them, over a misunderstanding.

Robert had finally gotten some sleep. He didn’t feel rested, though. He’d dreamt about the Lemurians' atomic war. Their cries of anguish as they cursed humans. In his nightmare of a dream, he watched from orbit as his ship dropped atomic weapons on their cities. He could see the mushroom clouds rising at all angles from his perspective. Those directly below him were a roiling, angry, reddish-black, boiling firestorm that seemed to be rising straight out of hell. Lightening was flashing all over the storm. It was like the storm had additional weapons flashing into existence, higher and higher, reaching for his ship.

The storm of the mushroom cloud continued to grow in circumference as it continued to rise. It was as if the storm had a mind and vengeance of its own. He felt like the storm was trying to reach him, trying to consume him in its rage for what he'd done. In his mind's eye, he was guilty and deserved to perish in the hellish storm below.

When Robert turned his view to the mushroom clouds at the edges of the horizon, the mushroom shape was distinct. They seemed to be reaching so far up that it was as if they were traveling to space. Those storms were daring him to bring his ship above them. He could hear them calling him. ‘Come to us, Captain, and face justice and the vengeance you deserve.’

 In the dream, he felt compelled and ordered his crew to go to the horizon and hover over the beckoning storm. His crew tried to argue with him. They demanded to know why he wanted to kill them all.

“Because we killed so many of them!” he replied.

His crew was used to taking his orders, and in the dream, they stopped arguing and started moving the ship toward the mushroom clouds on the horizon. The closer the ship got to the storm, the angrier it seemed to get. He could feel the emotions from the billowing firestorm ahead. It was as if the life force of all of the Lemurians who had perished in their atomic wars was now contained in that angry, lightning-filled inferno.

He began to plead and beg, “Please don’t kill us. We didn’t know. We’ve changed. We’re no longer a barbaric species. Please, please believe us.”

It changed nothing. The conflagration ahead continued to beckon him closer, ‘You and all humans must die for your sins, Captain! Your destiny awaits. Our spirits await the satisfaction of our revenge.’

Robert knew he was dreaming, but it seemed so real. The ship was now so close to the mushroom cloud that it filled the viewscreen. The heat was becoming unbearable. ‘It’s so hot”, he thought to himself. He felt the beads of sweat coming down his forehead and getting in his eyes. Robert felt the salty stinging of each drop. He looked down, and there was a small puddle of sweat forming at his feet.

The ship was about to enter the furor of the storm when a bright flash of lightning reached out and struck the ship, causing blindness and a jolt of electricity to go through his body...darkness…silence…the heat was gone. ‘I’m still soaked in sweat. Am I dead?’ he thought.

It was then that he realized that he was waking up, and he and his sheet were soaked in sweat. It was as if the heat of the storms in his nightmare had drawn the sweat out of him. He knew he was innocent, and he knew humans were innocent. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt and shame, as if he and all of humanity were the cause of a genocide.

The captain got out of bed and rushed to the shower. He was able to scrub the sweat from his body, but no matter how hard he tried, the guilt and shame remained, refusing to be cleansed from his soul.

Rita:

Who is your favourite character and why?

Scott:

I’m partial to Captain Robert Chris. He’s a flawed person, just like all of us are flawed. He’s humble and has a huge heart. He hates war, he hates fighting, yet he’s been forced by fate into that role and he is reluctant. Robert refuses to show his weaknesses to his crew. He only confides in his ship Doctor, John Swann and his VAIL, Ellie. Ellie is a Virtual Artificial Intelligent Lifeform. She’s a AI computer program that has achieved sentience and is considered just as alive as humans.

Rita:

Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?

Scott:

Well, I’ve only written two so far, but the first one will probably be the one that gives me the most satisfaction. It was difficult to write parts of it though. I’m dedicating the book to my brother, Timothy Lloyd Ickes. He’s my brother that died a little over a year ago. I wrote a scene early in the first chapter, where a Marine died, and I named that Marine Timothy Lloyd in my book. That was difficult to write. Later, I have another ship captain named Thomas Lloyd. Thomas Lloyd Ickes is another brother of mine and the twin of Tim. I had a long talk with Tom, because I had to have the captain of my ship tell Thomas Lloyd in the book about the death of his brother. I actually cried as I wrote that part of the book.

Rita:

What is the best marketing tip you have received?

Scott:

When publishing a series as an Indie Author, publish at least three books at once. If someone purchases your first book and likes it, they’ll purchase the next two books. Doing it that way is a near guarantee of a three book sale! If you have a gap between the first and second books, they might forget about you and not remember to go back and purchase your second or third book, since you’re a new author. I’ve been told that if you get them to purchase the first three, they’ll usually start following you and purchase everything you write, unless you let them down.

Rita:

How would you describe yourself?

Scott:

I’m a wanna be comedian. My problem is that I’m not as funny as I think I am. I’m also quite detail oriented, which can be a detriment when writing fiction. I get wrapped up in the details and get too wordy. When I read it back, I’m constantly changing it, until it doesn’t read like a lecture.

Rita:

What do you do when you are not writing or reading?

Scott:

Hopefully, soon I’ll be able to do some painting and some woodturning. My doctor hasn’t cleared me to resume those hobbies, due to my Leukemia. My landscape painting involves solvents and she doesn’t want me breathing the fumes. I’m still a little bit of a bleeding risk, so my woodworking tools are off limits, because a minor cut could lead to a hospital stay.

Rita:

If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?

Scott:

I’d love to take my wife to Singapore. I was there for work quite a few times and she would love it there.

Rita:

If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?

Scott:

I love dogs, but I’m so allergic to them that we can’t have one. I’m allergic to cats too, but surprisingly it’s not as bad as it is with dogs. Many people don’t realize how much personality cats have. Whenever our cat heads upstairs to her litter box, she comes racing downstairs and runs all around the house like a crazy cat. It’s hysterical.

Rita:

What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?

Scott:

The characters and the plot have to be believable. I know that to some people seems like a weird thing to say, considering that I read a genre that to many readers would seem unbelievable. But fantasy can be written in a realistic way, even though the premise is so far out of our current capabilities as a species.

Rita:

Do you have your own website?

Scott:

I do. It’s https://sites.google.com/view/scottickesbooks/home

Rita:

Are you working on a new book at the moment?

Scott:

I’m working on book three in the series. It’s titled, “First Contact – Antillians”. Book one is “First Contact – Lemurians,” and book two is “First Contact – Elysians.” The human colony in my book is “Atlantis.” Atlantis, Lemuria, Elysia and Antillia are all mythical lost cities, or continents in Earth mythology. I plan to continue following that theme through about ten books.

Rita:

Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?

Scott:

I don’t at this time. I’m still learning about the process. I do plan to visit my local libraries and bookstores and see if they have any interest in hosting me for book signings and discussions.