Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a communication professor and a nationally recognized wrestling coach, aside from being an internationally published and awarded author. I am happily married to my high-school sweetheart and father to five children, as well as helping to raise five stepchildren. I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up in West Jordan, Utah, where I continue to live, coach and teach.
I’m a pretty good cook and have two claims that few can match: cooking nearly every type of food on a grill; and nearly being knocked flat when my grill exploded.
I received both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Westminster College of Salt Lake City. As an undergrad, I double-majored in communication and philosophy, while completing the Honors Program. As a graduate student, I earned a master of professional communication with a writing emphasis. I was also a high-performing athlete, qualifying for international competition in Greco-Roman wrestling.
I received my first publication credit at the age of nine, when I wrote an award-winning poem. As an adult, I have received special recognition from L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest for my novella, Pale Face. Crown Prince, book one of the New Blood Saga, recently won the Firebird Book Award and was runner-up in OnlineBookClub.org’s Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book of the Year competition in 2020. This past April, the podcast Sinister Soup named me Author of the Month for my work on Crown Prince.
I was first hired as a professional writer for a sports publication when I was 15. Since then, I have been editor and/or publisher of nineteen news and literary publications, both online and in print, with circulations as high as 770,000.
I have published three novels and a novella. The novels are part of an epic fantasy series called the New Blood Saga, currently consisting of Crown Prince, Order of Light, and Demon Seed (just released!). My novella, Pale Face, was also recently released!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Both Demon Seed and Pale Face were released last month.
My most recent novel is Demon Seed, book three of the New Blood Saga. It continues the story of Natharr, who is Guardian of Maarihk, one of a long line of protectors dating back to the Firstborn Age, before the Aa Conquest. Natharr’s is an ancient role, rooted in his Firstblood, giving him Sight to see what is yet to be, adhering to his sacred duties even in the centuries since the Firstborn were forced to the brink of extinction by the Aa.
Natharr still stands guard over all men, Aa or Firstborn, Seeing what will come to pass, deciding what is unavoidable and what is not. Spending decades planning, even for saving the life of the newborn Crown Prince Vikari so he may one day reclaim the throne in the land where Mankind was created.
In Demon Seed, despite growing power of the forces of chaos, there is a glimmer of hope as Natharr realizes that there are also forces of order in play. It is made plain when he and his comrades escape the faceless realm and Natharr’s Sight is released. It reveals just how strongly the world needs the Guardian of Maarihk and the return of the legendary Knights of Ril to the land where Mankind was created. Racing for home unwittingly leads to unearthing an ancient force created by the Olde Gods, believed lost aeons past.
Meanwhile, Darshelle and the crown prince struggle to make the most of their lives without Natharr’s protection. Forced to make their own way, the fruit of Quiet One’s efforts (in Order of Light) comes fully to bear, as Nathan and his summoned companion reawaken the animus of the ancient wood. The ramifications are horrible and far-reaching, changing their world forever.
As far as what inspired the New Blood Saga, for months, I was having a recurring dream that would have me in tears when I woke. It persisted for months, and I finally realized that I needed to write it. Pretty quickly, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to achieve the same level of emotional impact in one book, so I thought I would write a trilogy. However, even then, in building to the point in the dream, creating the gravitas that would really give it some punch, I hadn’t even gotten to the dream in those three books, so I thought it would be six. As I continued writing, it became an eight-book saga.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do not write out outlines, but I always have a plan for major milestones in the storyline. I like to wing it more on the steps between those milestones. I feel like, if it surprises me, it will certainly surprise a reader.
Also, my wife, Alison, loves her bedtime stories. I write every day that, that night, I read to her. She tells me when she thinks I’ve gone too far or if she thinks a character wouldn’t say or do something. It also allows me to get a wave of editing in while reading it out loud.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love science fiction and fantasy. My influences include Homer, J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Brooks, Stephen R. Donaldson, George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, David Eddings, Piers Anthony, Robert Holdstock, Robert Adams, John Norman, Melanie Rawn, Shakespeare, Aristotle and Robert Frost. The most inspirational writers would be Homer, Tolken, Martin and Artistotle. People always balk on the last one and I have one response: Aristotle was writing around 350 BCE and people are still reading his work and it’s still absolutely applicable; that’s absolutely humbling.
What are you working on now?
I am polishing up Rilari: Book Four of New Blood and working on cover art for it. I am also starting some of the same type of work on the first of a sci-fi trilogy that I think will be coming later in 2022.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best thing is my website, www.Kilpack.net, which has turned into the communication hub of my hopes and dreams. It has information about the books and links to purchase them directly on Amazon, for NOOK or on Kobo. The site also has information about me (if anyone cares); links to interviews; photos sent to me by readers holding my books; videos of people who joined the Knights of Ril (which you can also do on the site), then videoed themselves reciting the vows of a Knight of Ril and sent them to me; links to my author pages on Amazon and Goodreads, and other information. It’s been pretty amazing, and certainly unanticipated, to have people sending me those kinds of responses.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice I have is write, write, write. You see a movie and a line of dialogue has you going down another path, write it down. You hear a song and a lyric strikes you, write it down. The best advice for someone wanting to be a writer is just that: start.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” ― Abraham Lincoln
What are you reading now?
I am rereading Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy for the sixth or seventh time.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Continuing to promote Demon Seed before publishing the next books in the series. I’m also writing another series where the culture of the main characters is based on Viking culture.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I love Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey; Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy (I have a single-volume collection); and Shakespeare’s MacBeth.
Author Websites and Profiles
W.D. Kilpack III Website
W.D. Kilpack III Amazon Profile
W.D. Kilpack III’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile