Utah Writer Publishes First Fantasy Novel

West Jordan, Uta. — W.D. Kilpack III, a native of West Jordan, Uta., had his first fantasy novel, Crown Prince: Book One of New Blood, published on Amazon.com.

Crown Prince is the first of an eight-book series centered around Natharr, the Guardian of Maarihk.  He is 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 of the land where Mankind was created in the time when the Olde Gods walked.

Kilpack said that everyone has his or her writing process but his is a bit different.  “My wife, Alison, loves her bedtime stories,” he said.  “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.”

The rest of the New Blood series, in order, consists of Order of Light, Demon Seed, Rilari, Vengeance Born, Usurper’s Might, Dark Guard and Guardian.  “They’re all written, and have gone through the bedtime-story stage, but are still going through the editing stages,” Kilpack said.

Kilpack’s roots are deeply seeded in the Salt Lake Valley.  He was born in Salt Lake City and raised in West Jordan, where he graduated at the top of his class from West Jordan High School, and served as editor-in-chief of the high school newspaper and twice as editor of the school literary/art magazine.  After, he attended Westminster College of Salt Lake City, where he earned an Honors Program bachelor of arts degree, double majoring in communication (with a journalism emphasis) and philosophy (Western traditions emphasis).  He graduated cum laude and served as editor of the college newspaper.  After, he earned a master of professional communication (writing emphasis), also at Westminster. 

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a writing and telling stories,” Kilpack said.  “Before I learned how to write, I would draw pictures of space ships, then act out the battles, drawing in the laser blasts and explosions after erasing parts of the ships that were blown away by enemies.  I’ve blown up the U.S.S. Enterprise 10,000 times.”  After learning to write, he had his first poem published at the age of 9 and he was first hired to write professionally at 15.

Since then, Kilpack has earned many awards as a freelance writer published in two countries, with works appearing in print, online, radio and television. He received special recognition from L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest. He has been editor and publisher of 19 news and literary publications, both online and in print, with circulations as high as 770,000.  He was a high-performing athlete, qualifying for international competition in Greco-Roman wrestling.  He is a communication professor at Salt Lake Community College and a nationally recognized wrestling coach.  For more information go to www.Kilpack.net.