Kilpack Wins Third Firebird Book Award

West Jordan, Uta. — Speak Up Talk Radio announced the winners of the most recent International Firebird Book Awards. Amongst the winners was Utah author W.D. Kilpack III for his fantasy novel, Demon Seed: Book Three of New Blood, in the Fantasy category.

Demon Seed is the third of the eight-book New Blood Saga, which centers 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 will come to pass, deciding what is unavoidable and what is not. In Demon Seed, Natharr and Ellis the Elder learn that, despite growing power of the forces of chaos, there is a glimmer of hope because there are also forces of order in play. It is made plain when he and his comrades from the Order of Light 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.

Authors and publishers from around the world submitted their work to the International Firebird Book Awards. Two judges from a select panel of 25 judges read each book in its entirety, and independently score each entry. All judges commit to a set of standardized criteria that evaluates the quality of the writing as well as production aspects. Only entries with the highest of scores are awarded the coveted Firebird.

This is the third award Kilpack has received for Demon Seed. The first was when it was named Editor's Choice by BooksShelf.com, the second when it was a finalist in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category of the Online Book Club's 2022 Book of the Year Competition. Both Crown Prince (book one) and Order of Light (book two) have also received three awards to date. Kilpack's recently published science-fiction novella, Pale Face, received special recognition from the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest.

According to RedHeadedBookLover.com, Demon Seed is "thrilling and fast-paced ... [a] brilliant tale that is poignant, sensational, and captivating ... where the stakes are as high as ever and the story will enthrall, captivate and excite ... full of twists that will keep you on edge from beginning to end! Demon Seed is an incredibly suspenseful novel ... a wonderful fantasy tale that will keep you hooked!"

According to OnlineBookClub.org, "I love the values taught in [Demon Seed, such as] loyalty [and] the true meaning of love! Events in the story come to life! Demon Seed is well recommended to lovers of adventure and suspense ... the story will keep [you] till the very end!"

Sinister Soup podcast co-founder, Clay Vermulm, "Bill [Kilpack] is a wonderful man who works extremely hard on his craft. Kilpack delivers a stunning blow to the belief that Indie-Fantasy is worth any less that its salt [with] well-crafted epic[s] with unique plot mechanisms, well-developed and believable characters, and a world grounded in the visceral and the real."

Author and screenwriter Jeff Bailey said that Kilpack "is an active author of novels, TV screenwriter, producer, and partner in a movie production company. I consider him to be one of the new breed of fast rising influencers in the publishing, television, and movie industries."

In a prepared statement, Patricia J. Rullo, founder of the Firebird Book Awards, said, "Our judging panel grew again and includes a diverse group who represent a cross-section of ages, cultural heritage, race, religion, gender, and experience. At Speak Up Talk Radio, the mission is to offer authors a welcome place to promote themselves and their books via book awards, podcast awards, radio interviews, audiobook production, voiceover marketing tools, and podcasting services."

Kilpack is an award-winning and critically acclaimed internationally published writer, with works appearing in print, online, radio and television, starting with his first publication credit at the age of nine, when he wrote an award-winning poem. As an adult, he has been editor and/or publisher of 19 news and literary publications, both online and in print, with circulations as high as 770,000. He is an accomplished cook and has cooked nearly every type of food on a grill. He received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Westminster College of Salt Lake City. As an undergrad, he double-majored in communication and philosophy, while completing the Honors Program. As a graduate student, he earned a master of professional communication with a writing emphasis. He was also a high-performing athlete, qualifying for international competition in Greco-Roman wrestling. He is a communication professor and a nationally recognized wrestling coach. He is happily married to his high-school sweetheart and is father to five children, as well as helping to raise five step-children. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he continues to live, coach and teach. For more information go to www.Kilpack.net.

The International Firebird Book Awards welcomes author submissions from all genres; mainstream, independent, and self-published are welcome. For more information.