Author, Proud Father and Husband, Wisconsinite

A former journalist, Brett Kihlmire has been writing since the age of 14 and has completed dozens of works ranging from short stories and feature-length articles to full screenplays and novels. A self-described cinephile, the world of cinema has inspired his work equal to that of true crime, printed fiction, and personal experience. Taking inspiration from whatever inspires him, his works often blend spy fiction, martial arts, science fiction, comedy, true crime, and horror.

First discovering a love of writing in middle school after taking on the challenge of completing Stephen King’s IT by the end of the year, Brett began writing his own horror stories by high school. After losing his first manuscript to computer failure, his focus took a turn upon reading Daniel Silva’s Mark of the Assassin. Inspired by the novel, he dived deeply into the spy fiction genre, leading to his first complete novel by the end of his junior year. Since then, Brett has completed over a dozen novels in the At All Costs series, blending spy fiction, martial arts, and crime to create a fictional world not so different from our own. Aside from his At All Costs series, he also writes a comedy series entitled SMASH! which, in the spirit of the Simpsons, can be down to earth or absolutely off the wall with zombies, aliens, and even a video game from the depths of Hell!

Believing that experience matters just as much as research, Brett does as much travel as possible and seeks out experiences that can be translated into writing. Such endeavors include membership in a classic car club, haunting the occasional biker or heavy metal bar, and even training for several years in Shotokan Karate and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. To achieve accuracy with his work, he often puts his journalistic training to work by sitting down with people who have lived like his characters, including military veterans, police officers, federal agents, and even outlaw bikers. The end goal is to get a proper perspective while remaining entertaining and thought-provoking.

Brett is a lifelong reader and writer and would love to hear what you have to say about his work. Knowing how much it means to have your work read, he would be honored to read your own work, or just hear your life story. Feel free to reach out, so we can have a conversation.