The Wisdom of Old Man Bill was originally written on the eastern shore of Lake Saint Claire while the author spent time at a beach house in the warm weather of early autumn in 2013. It was first published in a small circulation publication called the Moloney Sabbatical Journal in the winter of 2016 under the pen-name, C.K. Stevens. The characters and locations in the story are not real though they are inspired by life experiences the author has had.