Interview with Author Brendan Wilson

Tell us about ‘The Achilles Battle Fleet’

The novel is about a group of military people who are caught in the eruption of a galactic-level surprise attack followed by a war against an unknown enemy with a seemingly impossible technological advantage. When their rag-tag convoy of spaceships carrying civilian refugees is attacked and disabled, many of their friends and colleagues are killed, along with almost all of the convoy’s leadership. An older rear admiral, long past his prime, takes charge of the survivors and gets them working together not just to survive, but to take the attack to the enemy. The admiral’s aide, Lieutenant Mei-Ling Lee, is thrust into a key role in the preparation for the upcoming offensive. As the conflict continues, she is forced to draw upon her martial arts skill and her inner strength as she fights alongside the fleet’s marine commando unit. In the desperate war that follows, Lee struggles with a budding romance, new friendships, and startling betrayals, to become the warrior she was meant to be.

 

Can you tell us a bit about your writing process, and how it influenced ‘The Achilles Battle Fleet’?

I wrote the Achilles Battle Fleet over a period of about seven years. When I retired, in 2018, it was reasonably complete and I spent another three years editing it and getting it ready for publication. During the time I was writing it, I was very busy with my job at NATO. My work day started at 6 a.m. and often went late into the evenings. I also travelled a great deal. That meant I wrote when I could: sometimes on a train and sometimes in a bunker in Baghdad.

It’s fair to say I was influenced by what I was exposed to. For example, in Chapter one, the Character, Bowman, is brought awake by an announcement that all pilots are to report to their spacecraft because their vessel in under attack. He then feels and hears a thump sound, which he knows is not something one should hear on a starship. That scene came from an experience in Iraq, when I was awakened by an announcement over an intercom system that the embassy was about to take incoming fire, and that we should take cover. In a moment, I heard a thumping sound, which I later learned was the sound of mortar rounds impacting. I used that experience to write that portion of the novel.

For the parts of the novel that have a military theme, I drew upon my time in the military. And when writing about the marine commandos, I drew upon my experience qualifying as an Army Ranger and some experience with the special operations forces.

As for the martial arts theme, I drew upon my experience as a competitor and a teacher. Over the years I have done some competition as the captain of a military martial arts team, and I have also trained military close protection personnel in weapons disarming techniques. I won the silver medal in the 2009 US Open for Taekwondo forms. I have written those experiences into the novel. The main character in the novel, Lieutenant Mei Ling Lee, was a former captain of a martial arts competition team, and she trains the marine commandos in her style of martial arts.

What do you write about? 

During my professional career as an Army officer and later as a diplomat, I wrote mostly professional articles about tactics, defense policy, counter terrorism, and NATO. Along with that, I wrote about a dozen articles about martial arts philosophy and history. Beginning about ten years ago, I began to write for films. I wrote the background stories for Doug’s Christmas and A Child Lies Here, both of which because award-winning short films. In parallel, I wrote the draft of The Achilles Battle Fleet. Not quite sure how that got started or even if I intended it to be a novel when I first began writing it. In 2018, when it was clear I would be retiring, I set the goal of getting the novel published and I also took up the study of law, something I had started many years before. The Achilles Battle Fleet is military sci-fi, but it has a strong martial arts theme.

What do you think makes a good story?

A good story is about the people, the characters. The purpose of the action is to show how the characters react, what decisions they make, and what happens to their personalities as the plot unfolds. In The Achilles Battle Fleet, I put the characters in situations very like those faced by most people. Under stress, they have to make a decision, for which there is no perfect solution. Every potential course of action has risks and even certain negative consequences. It’s unavoidable. The key is to show that conflict, to let the characters own their decisions and to watch how those difficult decision impact their own personalities and values.

For example, Mei Ling Lee, the main protagonist, comes to the story as an accomplished martial artists and competitor. In the battles that she fights, she is forced to use her martial arts prowess. Under the pressures of the fighting, she comes to understand her own power. She sees in herself a love of the combat, and she is not sure what that says about her. Is she a good person? Does she feel remorse? And is she fully in control? But there is no time to contemplate; she has to move on to the next challenge. That’s life, and that is a similar dilemma that most readers will relate to in everyday life, whether in their jobs, their family life or their other aspirations.

You are in multiple areas and have a multidisciplinary career. What actually inspired you to dive into these different areas? And any tips or advice for the aspiring youngsters who plan to dive into these professions?

Another good question, for which I don’t really have a concise answer. As an 18-year- old, I wanted to become a lawyer. In college, I joined the ROTC, with the idea that I might get the Army to pay for my law school. But as I progressed through my training and initial assignments as a junior officer, I really enjoyed what I was doing.

Right out of college, I attended the US Army Airborne, Air Assault and Ranger schools, and then was assigned to the 101 st Airborne Division. I have to confess; those experiences were thrilling. I liked the leadership challenge and I got a rush from jumping out of airplanes or rappelling from helicopters. When I was 27, I commanded a firebase on the DMZ in the Republic of Korea, which at the time was considered a combat zone. Heady times. I wouldn’t have traded those experiences for anything else.

Twenty years after I graduated from college, I finally decided to get my law degree. I took a part-time course and finished my first year in late 2001. In September of that year the US was attacked on 9/11. At that time, I was serving at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The next day, NATO declared war on terrorism — a formal invocation of Article 5 of the NATO Charter. NATO was formally at war, and I was assigned as the counter-terrorism policy officer. That put an end, at least for a while, to my law studies because we all worked long days to come to terms with what was happening in the world.

In 2004, I retired from the Army and took a job as a civilian defense planner at NATO. Again, a very busy and exciting job. I travelled a lot and worked something like 60-80 hours a week.

In 2018, after many trips to difficult places, like Iraq and Libya, I was diagnosed with PTSD and sent back to the US to get treatment from the Veterans Administration. When it became clear that I wouldn’t be able to work, I decided to take up the study of law again. I called the California State Bar, where I had originally been registered as a student, and they encouraged me to come out to California to take a test that allowed me to continue my studies. This also when I decided to complete the novel and get it published.

I hesitate to offer advice to other writers, because I am too new to the profession. I do take motivation from others. The Greek Philosopher, Epictetus wrote, “If you want to be a writer, write.” He also wrote, “Decide what you would be, and do what you have to do – now.” I think that is probably good advice for writers and for life in general.

So, that is an abbreviated and incomplete answer to your question. I think you readers will recognize in my story what they knew from their own experience. Life is an adventure. You can’t always know what’s coming, but every twist and turn has the opportunity for adventure, achievement and joy.

 

LINK:

https://www.brendanwilsonwrites.com/