Mookie is thrilled to chat with Blake and Sherry Shimshock, the husband-and-wife team behind the Chronicles of Derek Fade: a fast-paced sci-fi adventure series that fuses James Bond swagger, Star Wars style, and Firefly heart. 

Their partnership echoes the creative chemistry of The Expanse’s Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck: Blake provides the action, imagination, and cinematic energy of a screenwriter, while Sherry crafts the emotional core, depth, and prose that make the characters human. Together, they reveal how two opposite creative temperaments—his extroverted vision and her disciplined storytelling—fuse into one seamless voice. 

Their conversation explores:

• How their collaboration began with a single “sick day” that changed everything
• The delicate balance of ego, trust, and artistic control in co-authorship
• Their philosophy on character-driven science fiction in an era obsessed with “hard” tech and worldbuilding for worldbuilding's sake
• How their main protagonist Derek Fade evolved into a rogue Galactic Intelligence Agent torn between justice and revenge
• What it takes to keep a creative marriage alive, and a sprawling galactic saga coherent and compelling
• How their creative collaboration further fuels their off-page relationship, and what that's meant over the years

They also dive into nostalgia for Space: 1999 and the pulp adventures that shaped them, trading indie publishing war stories, book cover secrets, and marketing lessons learned along the way. If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a series, building your own fictional galaxy, or finding a creative partner who shares your madness and work ethic, this episode delivers the blueprint with humor, heart, and honesty.

The Guests

Blake and Sherry Shimshock are the interstellar storytellers behind the Firebird Award winning Chronicles of Derek Fade: The Hunt for Valdune, introducing readers to Senior Agent Derek Fade, whose quest for justice spirals into a galaxy-spanning vendetta. The sequel, The Edge of the Abyss, delves deeper into Fade's turmoil, blending action with emotional depth. Together, the novels challenge readers to question the boundaries of duty and vengeance. 

Blake  is a lifelong enthusiast of science fiction literature and films who spent much of his childhood creating wild stories and sketching elaborate scenes of faraway worlds in his schoolbooks (much to the frustration of his teachers). He also loved hanging out at the theaters where his dad was a projectionist and chasing around his hometown of Riverside, California making short films with friends using an 8-millimeter movie camera.

Sherry Brass grew up an insatiable reader, enamored with the power of language thanks to such trailblazing classical writers as Charles Dickens and George Eliot, along with the inspiring work of children's writers such as Madeleine L'Engle. When her nose was not in a book, Sherry was known to pen her own stories and coerce her friends into helping her act them out using her cool super 8 millimeter movie camera.

Inevitably, their paths would cross. Blake and Sherry met in college and connected over their mutual love of storytelling. Today, the Shimshocks enjoy sitting around over a cup of tea on a Sunday morning (or a glass of wine on a Saturday night) bouncing around story ideas, diagramming plots, and deliberating character motivations. Together they make childhood dreams come true as they bring the huge fictional universe Blake always imagined to life. 

Their Novels & Website

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