Daniel Klapheke

From an interview from June, 2022

What inspired you to write the Vitus Swinggate series?

I enjoy learning about Military History. Not just battle tactics, but how it effects the participants and the civilians around it. I’m also what you might call an amateur naturalist and enjoy wilderness survival and adventure. Vitus’s character allows me to combine these interests.

Tell us about your background and how you got into writing.

I’ve been a life-long student of martial arts, and have always been fascinated with how different cultures engage in warfare, i.e. the grunts of the U.S. Military, Native Americans, and Japan’s Samurai. I want people to see the small details of a character's personal struggle and feel the gritty experiences.

What are hobbies and pastimes?

Martial Arts, hiking, skateboarding, traveling, reading, and of course, writing.

Who books have inspired your writings?

Just to name a few: Daniel DeFoe's Robinson Crusoe, Howard Bahr's The Black Flower, Micheal Punke's The Revenant, Robert Morgan's Boone, and Eiji Yoshikawa, Musashi.

What about your books do you think will draw readers in?

I’d have to say the amount of research and passion I put into my stories. I work to provide gritty realism, and a lovable, heart-of-gold-antihero.