Local author and adventurer Brian Dickinson is trading his personal survival stories for fictional thrills. The Snoqualmie Valley resident, known for his gripping memoirs about solo summiting Mount Everest while blind and his time as a Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer, releases his debut novel, “Bloodline of Redemption,” on September 17, 2025.
The high-stakes military thriller follows a rogue Russian submarine, a buried Cold War vendetta, and a hunted American aircrew caught in a deadly game spanning the Pacific Ocean to the icy Cascade Mountains. For Dickinson, the shift from memoir to fiction represents both a creative challenge and a deeply personal journey.
His first two books drew from traumatic experiences in his military and mountaineering career. This new work takes a different approach. “Bloodline of Redemption uses some real events with alternative outcomes,” Dickinson explains. “So this fiction thriller is a blend of real and imaginary but not considered historical fiction.”
Dickinson found the creative process for fiction quite different from his memoir work. Fiction writing requires extensive research and developing multiple storylines and backstories, he explains, while nonfiction relies more on memory recall and journaling. However, he notes that nonfiction can be easier creatively since the story already exists, though it’s not necessarily easier from an emotional standpoint.
Local Landscapes Shape the Action
True to his love for the Pacific Northwest, Dickinson weaves familiar Snoqualmie Valley locations throughout the thriller. Scenes unfold on Burke Street in Snoqualmie, at Huxdotter Coffee, North Cascades Ross Lake, Redmond, Fall City, Alpental, and Snow Lake. He also traveled to Newburyport, Massachusetts, and La Jolla, California, for research, while drawing on Navy memories from Nevada and Persian Gulf operations.
“We live with the perfect backdrop for a fiction thriller,” Dickinson says. “There are so many areas unique to Washington that the challenge was actually choosing just a few and not oversaturating the plot.”
His research involved revisiting areas he knows well but wanted to experience from what he calls a “literal explanatory perspective.” He spent time in these locations to document sensory details like smells, sounds, and temperatures.
The author, who has been a member of Church on the Ridge for 19 years, credits his local community with influencing his writing. “Church on the Ridge has been my family for 2 decades,” he reflects. “All of the encouragement from my relationships helps influence the interactions and characteristics that can only come from those who intimately know this area.”
Fiction as Healing
“Bloodline of Redemption” is Dickinson’s first work of fiction. “I’m not sure if all fiction helps process trauma, but Bloodline of Redemption isn’t a typical fiction. Not for me,” he explains. “Just like my last 2 books, this one helped in my journaling, which is critical for dealing with trauma.” The story explores themes of redemption, with two main characters, Hayes and his daughter Maddy, who “must rely on faith and their own strength to overcome impossible situations when all is lost.”
The novel draws from a classified military operation Dickinson participated in during the late 1990s. “The most I’ll say about that is that I was on a classified op in the late 90’s and now most of my air crew is no longer with us,” he explains. While their deaths weren’t related to that operation, the losses inspired him to honor their service through his writing.
Most scenes stem from real operations and training, either his own experiences or those of fellow service members. The protagonist, Brody Hayes, mirrors Dickinson’s background as a former Aviation Rescue Swimmer, though the author worked to give the character his own distinct personality.
“It’s tough to not include yourself in a character that emulates who you are,” Dickinson admits. The fictional family dynamics also reflect his own, creating emotional authenticity while maintaining fictional distance.
Like his previous books, this thriller helped him process personal trauma through journaling. Two main characters, Hayes and his daughter Maddy, face intense situations requiring them to draw on faith and personal strength. “We all reach this point in our own lives,” Dickinson notes, explaining how he wrote from personal experiences with loss, trauma, and PTSD to explore healthy survival strategies.
Looking Ahead
Dickinson plans “Bloodline of Redemption” as the first in a trilogy while continuing to work on nonfiction projects. His next memoir will require international travel when conditions allow, as he hopes to retrace his grandmother’s World War II defection from the Soviet Union. The journey from Kiev to Nuremberg to the United States would be undertaken with his daughter Emily, currently earning her master’s in American journalism at NYU.
Current global conflicts prevent immediate travel, but Dickinson remains optimistic. “I feel we’ll find the inspiration and be guided through the journey when the time is right.”
For now, readers can experience his blend of authentic military action and Pacific Northwest adventure in “Bloodline of Redemption.” As he puts it: “I wanted to write a thriller that felt real — because much of it is.”
The novel is available for preorder and will release on September 17, 2025.
Dickinson will be signing copies of “Bloodline of Redemption” on Saturday, September 20, from 12-2 p.m. at the Snoqualmie Trading Co. The local event offers Valley residents a chance to meet the author and get their copy of his debut thriller signed just days after its official release.
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