About David J. West:
David J. West writes dark fantasy and weird westerns because the voices in his head won’t quiet until someone else can hear them. He is a great fan of sword & sorcery, ghosts and lost ruins, so of course he lives in Utah with his wife and children.
What inspires you to write?
I love history and playing with the “What if’s”. So a llot of what I do is my imagination running around the what if this happened and that – especially during era’s that intrigue me, the old west, the dark ages and ancient history. Anything that requires a lot of swords and a time when magic was commonly thought to be right outside your door.
Tell us about your writing process.
I get most of my writing done at night, but I’m trying to get more done during the day when my baby (Athena) is taking her naps. It can be a lot of snatches in the office – which I finally have y dream office!
I tend to have some basic ideas that come from the aether like dreams so with those in mind I just start pansting the rest. I don’t create much in the way of character sketches, I just see what kind of person appears fully formed in my mind and I find out who they are as I write. Sometimes I am very surprised and I hope that happens to the reader as well.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I find myself listening to them all the time as I write dialogue and I very often wonder “Where did that come from”?
I wouldn’t say I interact with them, but I am a bystander and sometimes laugh out loud t things they say or do – because it can be unexpected even for me.
What advice would you give other writers?
Read and write every chance possible – between the two you are forever honing your craft.
For myself I wish I had trusted my gut and started sooner – not mention following my ambitions for projects sooner and I’m the worst at this – FINISH what you start – Get it done!
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I started by sending my first novel out to several publishers and I got picked up by my third real try – that’s luck – I was in the right place at the right time. That did give me confidence to start expanding my reach, I sent out a lot of short stories after that and got to a point of saying I can do this myself too. Right now i would call myself a hybrid author in that I am both traditionally and indie published and plan to keep pushing it both ways like that for the immediate future.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Its a tough field to get noticed in (thats’ why I’m here – thanks guys) but if you persevere and network and get smart, along with letting that creativity flow – there is always going to be someone somewhere who is touched by what you do.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Science Fiction, Action-Adventure, Western
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
David J. West Home Page Link
Link To David J. West Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Twitter
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
