David A. Willson spent over two decades as an Alaska State Trooper, working major crimes across some of the most remote and beautiful terrain in the country. But even before the badge, he was a kid who found refuge in stories — reading everything he could get his hands on, trying to make sense of a world that moved too fast.
That love of narrative never left him. Today, Willson writes fiction that blends his real-world experience with a deep curiosity about the human soul, the patterns that shape behavior, and the spiritual mysteries that often go unspoken.
His supernatural crime thriller, Wet, Warm and Noisy, pulls readers into the haunting beauty and danger of Alaska, where truth is elusive and healing comes through fire. He is also the author of the YA fantasy duology Looking for Dei and Finding Kai — stories that explore destiny, courage, and faith.
More recently, Willson turned his storytelling lens toward a new adventure: grandfatherhood. Confessions of a Tiny Genius, a comedic short story told from the perspective of a hyper-intelligent baby, captures the absurd joy of watching the world through younger — and sharper — eyes.
When he’s not writing, he’s traveling, reading, or building something — a barndominium, a bookshelf, or a better question. He splits his time between Alaska and Kentucky, always watching for the next story worth telling.
David A. Willson spent over two decades as an Alaska State Trooper, working major crimes across some of the most remote and beautiful terrain in the country. But even before the badge, he was a kid who found refuge in stories — reading everything he could get his hands on, trying to make sense of a world that moved too fast.
That love of narrative never left him. Today, Willson writes fiction that blends his real-world experience with a deep...
A routine polygraph. A violent escape. A conspiracy that defies the laws of physics.
Alaska State Trooper Investigator Jake Ward is fighting two battles: one against the cancer that nearly killed him, and one to get his badge and gun back. Stuck on light duty in the frozen north, he is desperate for...
Alaska State Trooper Investigator Jake Ward knows exactly what a desperate fight for survival looks like. But the victims turning up in the bitter Alaskan cold aren’t fighting at all. Devoid of defensive wounds and left with expressions of eerie, perfect calm, the bodies tell a chilling story.
A hilarious and heartwarming short story told from the perspective of a baby genius—because someone has to make sense of this ridiculous world.
Sage is seven months old. She drools. She babbles. She’s stuck in a highchair that squeaks when she thinks too hard. But behind those wide eyes and wobbly limbs lies a mind sharper than most adults on...
"Fifteen-year-old Nara Dall has never liked secrets. Yet it seems that her life is filled with them..."
Join Nara in this complete two-book fantasy saga. In Looking for Dei, Nara’s simple life is upended when she uses her hidden magic to correct a local injustice, setting...
A grounded detective with an edge. A speculative twist on the classic police procedural.
Detective Jake Ward is a man stripped of pretense. After enduring a harrowing battle with cancer, he approaches his job with a hard-earned, gritty pragmatism. He knows time is short...
Case Study: Overcoming EFS Encryption Without Original Hardware
Originally published by Police Technical magazine, this technical case study outlines how the Alaska Bureau of Investigation successfully bypassed Microsoft Encrypted File System (EFS) protection during a felony investigation into the exploitation of a minor. When standard forensic tools like FTK and PRTK failed to decrypt evidence located on a loose "suspect drive" separate from the original operating system, the investigators...
As I wandered through social media this morning—scrolling past posts, comments, headlines, and hot takes—I noticed a familiar pattern. People tend to cluster around voices that echo their own. It’s human nature, really. We gravitate toward viewpoints that align with ours because it feels safer, simpler, and more validating. Especially as we get older, we become less tolerant of cognitive dissonance—the discomfort that comes from holding or encountering conflicting ideas. We start pruning our...
I finished this book today. It wasn’t the kind I normally read, but it was recommended by someone I love, so I gave it a try.
It was melodramatic. There were no magical spells, spaceships, or alternate dimensions. It was about people. Relationships. Love, hate, anger, envy, and above all else, a relentless frontier spirit that drives the plot forward.
It’s set in Alaska, and I live in Alaska, so that pretty slick. But it’s set in the 70’s, which is different, and...
Warning: not spoilers, but kinda-sorta hints will reveal themselves in this review.
Ok, this isn’t a perfect book. You won’t walk away from it as a changed person, you won’t fall in love with any of the characters, and you won’t cry, or scream in horror, or anything like that.
But it is fun.
It’s campy, satirical, creative, and entertaining in the way that merry-go-rounds and waffle cones are fun. Dean Koontz seems better known for suspense, sci-fi, supernatural works, and this has some of that...
