Building From the Bullet Hole

I've worked hard to remember and learn from my past, and I've also had to grow beyond it. The same is true, I've found, in how history shapes and affects current events; we have to remember the past while not being shackled by it. All of these have collided together for me recently - in a painful but illuminating experience in my personal life, in the ongoing COVID crisis, and in the protests, violence, and national reckoning about race that has swept America after the killing of George Floyd. Join me for a raw examination, and weaving together, of all these elements in this final episode of Season 1, and find out how and why I've decided to step up my game - to level up - in all areas of my life going forward.

Whether in a written story, the annals of history, or in life, the smallest of developments can produce immense consequences. How we respond to them often then tells the story of who we each are. In this episode, I talk with Julia Cannell, the Executive Director of Airway Sciences for Kids, a nonprofit dedicated to helping underserved children and teens discover and tell their own stories through aviation and aerospace. Julia also is a big part of my own story, as she came to my assistance at a crucial moment early in my rebuild. We talk about various elements of Krelle's Inferno, talk about several female characters in the book (including one of the greatest pilots of all time - who somehow isn't a household name), and taking responsibility for our past stories so we can write new, healthier ones in the present. What story of yours is most worth telling? It's a question worth asking...

The bullet holes we build from come in all shapes and sizes, from all sorts of sources. In this episode, my great friend Cyra Sadowl stops in to discuss her own life rebuild from the wound of her late husband - and my close friend - Matt's sudden death. Cyra was also my chief creative consultant and initial editor on Krelle's Inferno, so our respective rebuilds wove in and around that story. We dig into that at length, discuss our favorite memories of Matt, Cyra takes us back from her darkest days to her brighter ones today, and we laugh a lot. Matt would've approved. If you are in the middle of a season of grief, Cyra's story and writing could help you take your own Next Indicated Steps out of the darkness.

Now that you've (literally) heard Chapter One of Krelle's Inferno, take a listen as JDK answers questions about the book from Stacy Heller, his friend and a connector-extraordinaire. Learn more about where the book's title and characters originated, JDK's writing process, and hear about some of the locations readers will visit in the book. It's a freewheeling discussion that includes everything from crashing airplane metaphors and fashion critiques to not-so-oblique references to one of JDK's favorite musicians and to a visually-challenged, pint-sized, and beloved right fielder with an overactive imagination and a massive crush on a lifeguard. Now you GOTTA listen, right?

Hey there, all you cool cats and kittens! Grab a snack, a beverage of your choice, get comfy, and settle in to listen to the first chapter of my novel. It's like an old-time radio show, but without the campy studio-manufactured background noises and cheesy accents. Instead, it's me in my campy, ramshackle blanket-fort reading my own words! I’m so excited for you to finally meet Geren Krelle, get a sense of his character, the dilemma he faces, and the world he must confront. Enjoy!

Finally! With JDK's personal backstory established, it's time to kick of the podcast season's second half with the history behind his novel, Krelle's Inferno. Rooted in JDK's professional research and knowledge of the Second World War and early Cold War, the book instead explores an alternate history timeline that skews from a fateful and decisive event in human history - the "D-Day" invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Hear about how JDK made the choices he did in building Geren Krelle's frightening world, and how actual history and counterfactual history can tell similarly human stories in dynamically different ways.

Join JDK for an intimate and fun conversation with Steven Crozier - musician, writer, and Incredible Human Being - about the roots of creativity and expression, not as products of inherent "genius," but from (and through) the wounds we all have. Steven and JDK will talk about how their creative outlets proved to be both sources and outcomes of healing from their past mistakes, and Steven will read the poem that gave this podcast its name. https://www.wordsbyjdk.com/

(Mature Content Warning - Lots of Adult Language and Topics. Keep the kiddies away). Join JDK for a wide-ranging conversation with his "smokejumper", Jay Parker, founder of the No More Secrets recovery program. Brooklyn-born Jay tells his own epic rebuilding story, then he and JDK compare notes on the roles played in their respective rebuilds by letting go of secrets, confronting the shame of their pasts, being involved in shared communities, and developing personal spirituality. It's a deep dive into JDK the human being and author from the perspective of one of the people who knows him best.  https://www.wordsbyjdk.com/

A conversation with emotional intelligence and addiction expert Dr. Hilarie Cash, LMHC, Ph.D. Learn how she helped JDK find the inner strength - his "Voice" - to move beyond his past and begin the growth that led to his writing of Krelle's Inferno. https://www.wordsbyjdk.com/

On previous episodes I’ve spent a lot of time speaking about Geren Krelle’s story from my book, Krelle’s Inferno. In this episode, I talk about mine. More specifically, I give you background on the emotional challenges I faced growing up and into adulthood that brought me to a crisis point where I blew up my life. I love analogies, and the one that best serves my story is that of a forest fire that I was responsible for lighting by giving it all the fuel it needed to burn my life down. That created fertile ground to start again, similarly this episode lays the groundwork for the rest of the season. I start by focusing on how the seeds of my decade-long rebuild were sown and took root in the midst of that all-consuming fire.

It’s a truism that author’s write what they know, and Geren Krelle - the main character in my novel – is well known to me after all, I created him. It wasn’t until after the writing process was complete, though, that I came to realize WHY I knew him so well. In many ways (most, if I’m being honest), he is the me of my past. Krelle’s emotional journey in this story mirrors my own over the past decade. Take a listen to find out how and why, and why it tells both our stories well.

In this first episode, I talk about what it means – and what it’s like – to be a “man in the middle.” In the middle of rebuilding and redirecting my life after blowing up my old one spectacularly about a decade ago. Emotional growth has been the driving force behind the rebuild and it turns out, writing of my alternate history fiction novel, Krelle’s Inferno has been a key part of the redirection as well. The personal and professional sides of me have joined for this journey. Hear about the first steps and lessons I took as a fiction writer and more importantly as a man, purposefully building a life I’m proud to author.

Like Krelle’s Inferno, I wanted to share a prologue for Building from the Bullet Hole (it’s the author in me!). This episode is a quick overview of the WHY and WHAT (to expect) during the first season. I’m thrilled that you’re willing to come on this new journey as I lay the foundation of how Krelle’s Inferno ultimately ended up being an accidental autobiography. This isn’t about entertainment; it’s about connectedness - with ourselves, with each other, and with the reality that have more in common with the generations before us than historical film footage and photos portray. Welcome to Building from the Bullet Hole.