Jim Hirtle
Jim Hirtle
Battle Calm
Battle Calm
Battle Calm
Friday 27th March 2026
Author W.D. Kilpack II talks Battle Calm, endless war, veteran stories, indie publishing, confidence, and the grind of writing every single day.
49 minutes
Informative
Authentic
Honest
Encouraging
Engaging
About this podcast
Author:
Jim Hirtle
Overview:
Categories:
Healing from Sexual Trauma
Comedic Journeys
Body & Mind
Spiritual & Personal Growth Journeys
Religion & Spirituality
Links:
Visit site
Episodes:
81 (View all)
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!War Without End, Words Without Fear: W.D. Kilpack II on Battle Calm and Indie Writing Grit
Episode Overview
- A daily writing habit from childhood helped W.D. Kilpack II build multiple series, including the dystopian Battle Calm cycle.
- Battle Calm and Omega Message centre on Badger, Trinity, and Redskin’s survival laws in a future where war has always existed.
- Interviews with veterans from World War II, Vietnam, and Desert Storm informed key combat scenes and deepened the emotional impact.
- Self‑editing is challenging, so reading work aloud and using honest feedback (especially on female characters) helps catch problems.
- Indie authors can gain traction through reviews, newsletters, and platforms like LinkedIn, while learning to be more confident in their work.
Under conditions of peace, men attack themselves. Thus, there never has been, and there never will be a time without war.
What drives someone to seek a life built on discipline, storytelling, and sheer perseverance? This conversation between host Jim Hirtle and award‑winning author W.D. Kilpack II (Bill) focuses on exactly that, using Bill’s dystopian military sci‑fi series Battle Calm and its sequel Omega Message as the backdrop.
You’ll hear how Bill has written daily since childhood, finished his first book at 12, and now writes full‑time, turning a teenage idea from 1985 into a brutal future where war never stops and peace is almost unimaginable.
Central to the books is Badger, “the greatest soldier alive”, his fearsome comrade Trinity, and the code of Redskin’s Laws – 35 survival rules written by Badger’s father to keep soldiers alive in a world where children are sent into combat at 12. Bill talks about wanting to show the psychological toll of endless conflict, and shares how interviews with veterans from World War II to Desert Storm shaped some of the most intense scenes.
One Vietnam vet insisted, “You have to use that,” about a hand‑to‑hand fight he survived – and Bill did, reshaping it into Trinity’s brutal battle in book two. Beyond the story itself, the chat digs into craft and career: building complex characters (and spreadsheets) across long series, juggling graphic design skills to build striking covers from clip art, and wrestling with the realities of indie publishing, editing your own work, and chasing reviews on platforms like Amazon and LinkedIn.
Bill is honest about confidence struggles early on, entering awards later than he now wishes, and learning to lean on his wife’s feedback to make female characters feel authentic. If you’re a sober or sober‑curious creative looking for disciplined routines, real talk about self‑doubt, and a reminder that persistence pays off, this one might light a fire under your next chapter. What kind of story would you write if you gave yourself permission to start today?