Norway 10 Vid, Pirates, Writing a 1st Novel: K. W. Knight

Boo! Happy Autumn! Here in Los Angeles, this time of year celebrates Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. Both days include colorful sweets and outrageous costumes, often on the scary side. Among my fave ways to get into the creative writing spirit is to wear something fun (P.S. You can read about my novels that I’ll soon publish here!). This year, Khashayar and I have been pirates twice, and we’ve got another two or more times more to go.

And here’s a look at how my local library celebrates Dia de los Muertos…

More of our visit to Bergen, Norway…

The city has great public transit, but we found so much to see just by walking. This particular day started cloudy, until the sun shone bright as Los Angeles at noon — at 9 pm!

(Note: all posts about our visit to Norway are here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here.)

A few things really caught my attention. For instance, in the United States, the last time I saw a Made in USA label on a blouse or much of anything else was in early 1980s, before everything went offshore…

A historic display offered the opportunity to write our names in runic, a Germanic alphabet that fell out of common use when Christianity eclipsed the old Norse traditions…

We rode the funicular to top of a verdant hill with eye popping bird’s eye views…

At the top, we made some new friends!…

Today’s Guest Blog Post…

K. W. Knight, based out of Decatur, Tennessee, has a passion for the Old West. He’s just released his first Western novel, Cowboy in the Making: The legend of Jesse Calder in paperback and eBook. He’s already working on the sequel to it. In addition, he has a kids book and several non-fiction books in the works. Again, you can click here to keep up to day on him and all of his books.

When I asked him about the nuts and bolts of how he writes and publishes, he replied that once he set his mind to writing, he…

“…dedicated time to writing consistently, aiming for full-length chapters with steady pacing. Once my draft was finished, I revised it thoroughly, formatted it to meet publishing standards (5.5 × 8.5 trim size, correct spine width, embedded fonts, etc.), and created a print-ready cover. From there, I uploaded my manuscript and cover to Amazon KDP and Lulu, following their specifications for print-on-demand publishing. That combination gave me both paperback and eBook distribution.”

What follows is his personal journey that sparked everything…

The Road West: An Author’s Beginning by K. W. Knight

I never set out to be a writer. My hands were more accustomed to turning wrenches than turning pages. For years, I worked as a small engine mechanic, the smell of oil and gasoline clinging to my clothes as I fixed what was broken and sent machines back out into the world. It was honest work, steady work. But deep down, I always knew there was more in me a story waiting to be told.

That story found its voice in the dust and fire of the Old West.

The first spark came on a quiet evening, long after the shop doors had closed. I sat with nothing but a notebook, a cup of coffee, and an idea that refused to let me go. A young cowboy named Jesse Calder. He wasn’t born a legend, he was forged by hardship, betrayal, and the kind of frontier grit that still echoes in the heart of anyone who believes in standing tall when the world tries to knock you down.

At first, writing felt like walking into the unknown. Each page was a trail I’d never ridden before, each chapter a horizon I couldn’t quite see beyond. But Jesse kept riding, and I followed. His world became my world: rustlers in the shadows, gun smoke on the wind, friendships tested under the unforgiving sun. And soon enough, what began as a pastime turned into a passion.

I wrote with the same grit I used in the shop—methodical, steady, never afraid to get my hands dirty. And page by page, the story of The Legend of Jesse Calder took shape.

When I held that first finished book in my hands, I realized something: I wasn’t just fixing engines anymore. I was building worlds. I wasn’t just working with steel and fire. I was working with words and faith.

My Western series is more than gunfights and cattle drives. At its heart, it’s about family, loyalty, and the fight to do what’s right when the odds are stacked against you. Jesse Calder’s journey is the story of every man or woman who has ever stood on the edge of something bigger than themselves and dared to take that first step forward.

As the series grows, so does Jesse’s legend. Each book digs deeper into the struggles of the frontier—blood feuds that threaten to tear communities apart, betrayals that cut deeper than any bullet, and the quiet moments of hope that remind us why the West, though untamed, still carried the promise of freedom.

But this isn’t just Jesse’s story. In a way, it’s mine too. Writing these books has been a journey of faith and courage, a reminder that God plants dreams in our hearts for a reason. My wife and children have been my compass through it all, reminding me of what matters most when the trail gets rough.

I traded in grease stained hands for ink-stained ones, and though I’ll always respect the work that brought me here, I know I’ve found my true calling.

The road from mechanic to storyteller wasn’t easy, but then again, no trail worth riding ever is.

So here I stand, saddle cinched tight, pen in hand, ready to keep riding West. The legend of Jesse Calder is only beginning and so is mine.

What’s one dream or goal you’re working toward right now that requires the kind of grit that K. W. Knight described?