Today I’ll be hosting author Brendan Wilson on my blog. His debut novel The Achilles Battle Fleet is now available on amazon.com

Following 25 years of military service as a US Army ranger and paratrooper, Brendan Wilson retired as a lieutenant colonel and then joined NATO where he served as a defense planner and diplomat for the next 15 years. During the course of his 40 years of work as a soldier and diplomat, he saw service in war-torn Libya, Ukraine, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Iraq. A former coach and team captain for a military martial arts competition team, he holds master ranking (8th Dan) in three different martial arts, and won the silver medal in the 2009 US Open for Taekwondo.

In retirement Wilson turned his efforts to filmmaking. He wrote and produced two award-winning short films (Doug’s Christmas, A Child Lies Here) and served as executive producer for ten episodes of the award-winning web series, Greetings! From Prison starring SNL’s Chris Redd. Moved by seeing human lives upended in war-torn areas, Wilson is earning his law degree and, once qualified as an attorney, plans to volunteer to help refugees. A former assistant professor who taught military history and the Univerity of Colorado, Wilson holds a Ph.D. in international relations and has about a dozen publications on defense-related topics. He is the father of two adult children.

Wilson lives a quiet life in Sycamore, Illinois. He spends his days writing, hiking, studying law and practicing his martial arts.

It is my pleasure to welcome Mr. Wilson to this interview.

  • When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, and how long have you been writing?

I first started writing magazine articles about martial arts in the early 1990s. A few years later I wrote for professional journals about defense policy, terrorism, and NATO. About that time, I wrote some short stories, two of which later got made into short films (A Child Lies Here and Doug’s Christmas). In 2011, I started writing my science fiction novel, The Achilles Battle Fleet. So in answer to your question, I think my desire to write fiction developed over time. Until very recently, I had a full-time job, so writing always had to take place in my spare time. Now that I am retired from work, and with the publication of The Achilles Battle Fleet, I am a more fully engaged in my writing, al least when I’m not working on my law degree!

  • What inspired you to write this book?

For The Achilles Battle Fleet, it started with a scenario in my mind, drawn in part from my own experience in Iraq being awakened by the announcement that incoming fire was imminent. Chapter 1 starts this way, and I used my own experience to sort of get that story out in the open. I did not know at that time that I would be writing a novel. Once started, the the characters seemed to have their own path that I just followed.

You can now order Paperback and Kindle version of  The Achilles Battle Fleet from Amazon.com 

  • What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Like many writers, I think it is getting started. For me, it is always best just to start writing, even if there is no clear path at the beginning.

  • What is the most surprising thing you discovered while writing your book?

For me, the surprising thing is that the characters develop in ways that I hadn’t really envisioned when I started. For example, for the three major characters introduced in the prologue: Lieutenant Mei Ling Lee, Admiral Chambers, and Warrant Officer Nemuth, I did not know how they would develop over time in the novel.

  • What books or authors have most influenced your own writing, and who is your favourite author and why?

I don’t really have one favourite author. I’ve read widely over time both classical literature and also popular fiction. Some 20 years ago, I read Harold Bloom’s The Western Cannon. That lead me to Cervantes, Nietzsche, Dante, Milton, Ibsen and of course Bloom’s favourite, Shakespeare. For science fiction, I think I have to say Heinlein is a central writer for me. I loved Time Enough for Love, Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, and Space Cadet.

  • If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

I don’t think I can describe myself, or anyone, in three words. People are more complex than three words would permit. I can give you three words that are ideas that I aspire to achieve. These would be perseverance, creativity and integrity. I’m not saying I have arrived, but I want to engage those parts of my personality. To me, each of those three concepts is key to being successful as a writer.

I can see that only those who persevere ever get their creative product into print. There are so many obstacles and people who would discourage me if I let them. If you are afraid of failure and rejection, writing is not for you. When I first joined the Army, I fought to get into the US Army Ranger School. It was extremely demanding, and everyone is given the change, or at least the temptation, to quit. I stayed with it, and with the help of my Ranger Buddy, I graduated. It was the hardest and best lesson of my professional life.

Creativity is key. That requires me to draw upon my own experience, my inner view of what should be happening in the text, and also an openness for where the characters lead me.

And integrity means a coherence between what I say is important and what I do. I don’t think I could be a good writer unless I aspired to that. The story line can be fantastic, but it also needs to be honest. If it’s not honest, the reader will see through it and reject the characters. My characters need to be forced to make difficult decisions under stress. Those decision, like real life, must have consequences. The character has to both own those consequences, but also experience the doubt that every person faces when choosing a course of action.

  • Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit. Any tips for aspiring writers?

I’m an aspiring writer myself, so I hesitate to give others advice. For me, I take some of my inspiration from the writings of Epictetus. On the topic of writing he said, “If you want to be a writer, write.” On living he said, “Decide what you would be, and do what you need to do — now.”

  • Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about?

The Achilles Battle Fleet is Book One of the Mei Ling Lee series. I am in the process of writing the second book in the series. I’m also in my final year of law school, which I confess is way harder than I thought it would be. It’s also very time consuming. And of course the law professors don’t care that I am a soon-to-be famous writer! I’m scheduled to complete my law degree next spring, and then I hope to devote more time to writing fiction.

You can follow me on Instagram @brendanwilsonwrites to keep up-to-date on the progress for this project.

For more information on author Brendan Wilson, visit his website

About The Achilles Battle Fleet

Naval Academy and martial arts champion, Lieutenant Mei-Ling Lee serves in a backwater assignment as an aide to the inspector general of a rag-tag group of starships thrown together as a convoy evacuating civilians from a contested area of the galaxy. When the convoy is attacked, she finds herself thrust into the center of a galactic struggle as the chief of staff for the newly formed Achilles Battle Fleet. As the conflict continues, Lee is forced to draw upon her martial arts skill and her inner strength as she fights alongside the Fleet’s marine commando unit. Struggling with budding romance, new friendships and startling betrayals, Lee becomes the warrior she was meant to be.

Purchase here: Amazon.com