About David L. Powell III:
David L. Powell III is a multifaceted author, screenwriter, and storyteller whose work spans fiction, memoir, and film. With a distinctive voice shaped by real-life experience, cultural reflection, and poetic intensity, Powell crafts narratives that explore the darker edges of the human condition—blending psychological depth with social commentary.
He has ghostwritten numerous works, penned over 20 screenplays, and brings a cinematic lens to his fiction, often weaving elements of spirituality, trauma, and redemption into immersive, emotionally charged stories. His work challenges conventions and invites readers to confront what lies beneath the surface.
Based in Pennsylvania, David continues to write, mentor, and develop new projects that stretch the boundaries of genre and storytelling.
What inspires you to write?
I write to resurrect what the world tried to bury. The forgotten. The abused. The ones who never had a voice loud enough to echo past their pain. My inspiration comes from the silence I grew up in, and the ghosts that still haunt it. Writing is how I reclaim power from trauma, how I turn survival into scripture. I’m inspired by the idea that pain, when spoken, becomes prophecy, and sometimes, even poetry.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
I draw inspiration from powerful Black voices who bend genres and speak truth through fiction. Octavia E. Butler’s Fledgling and Parable series changed how I view storytelling, she made science fiction feel ancestral, prophetic, and deeply human. Tananarive Due’s mastery of horror and historical trauma continues to influence how I build dread with meaning. I also hold deep respect for the lyrical weight of Toni Morrison, the unapologetic fire of James Baldwin, and the gritty brilliance of Donald Goines. Each one carved a path through darkness and dared us to follow.
Tell us about your writing process.
My writing process feels more like excavation than creation. I dig through memory, emotion, and silence until I find something worth bleeding for. I don’t write with outlines; I write with obsession. I start with a scene, a wound, or a voice that won’t let me sleep, and I follow it into the dark. I let the character speak first, then I shape the story around their truth. Sometimes that truth is ugly, sometimes it's sacred, but I never flinch from it. I write in solitude, usually at night, when the world is quiet and my shadows are loudest.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don’t just listen to my characters, I become them. Especially in Blood & Scripture, the line between the voice in my head and the one on the page blurred until I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began. He spoke in scripture, in trauma, in blood-soaked whispers that felt like prophecy. I didn’t create him, I channeled him. His voice would wake me up in the middle of the night, demanding to be written. I let him speak. I had no choice. He had waited too long to be heard.
What advice would you give other writers?
1. Write what disturbs you.
Don’t chase trends, chase truth. The stories that haunt you, that pull from your wounds, memories, and unresolved questions, those are the ones with power. The reader doesn’t want perfect, they want honest.
2. Structure is your friend, not your prison.
Even the most poetic chaos benefits from a skeleton. Whether it’s the three-act structure, Save the Cat, or commandments like in Blood & Scripture, find a framework that helps you organize your wildness, not dilute it.
3. Read like a thief.
Study the writers you admire. Don’t just enjoy their stories, dissect them. How did they open that scene? Why did that chapter break feel perfect? What did they not say that made it hit harder?
4. The first draft is exorcism, not execution.
Let it be ugly. Let it ramble. Don’t edit your raw thoughts before they have form. You can shape it later, but you can’t revise a blank page.
5. Finish.
Ideas are cheap. Endings are rare. Even if you hate it by the time you're done. Finish. Because once you cross that line, you stop being someone who wants to write a book, and become someone who has.
6. Market like it’s part of the story.
Your book isn’t just words, it’s a movement, a moment, a message. Treat your promotions like you’re expanding the world of your story, not begging for attention. Readers want to believe in what you’ve built, give them a reason to.
7. Protect your voice.
Feedback is helpful. Critique sharpens. But not everyone deserves to edit your truth. Learn to differentiate between notes that make you better, and ones that make you blander.
8. Write like no one’s watching then revise like everyone is.
Create in freedom. Then revise with ruthless clarity. Make sure every word earns its place.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I didn’t write Blood & Scripture to play it safe. I wrote it to bleed on the page. That kind of book the kind that’s dark, disruptive, and deeply personal wasn’t going to survive a traditional publishing pipeline designed to smooth out sharp edges.
So I chose self-publishing. Not because it was easier, but because it was mine.
I wanted to control the story, the cover, the timing, the rawness. I didn’t want to wait for permission to share a story that felt like a confession, a prayer, and a curse wrapped in scripture and memory. I wanted to move fast, to experiment, to market it the way it deserved, not just as a novel, but as a movement.
Self-publishing gave me:
Creative control — from title to tone to trailer.
Direct connection — with readers who felt the book in their bones.
Freedom — to speak without censorship or dilution.
Was it hard? Absolutely. You wear every hat, writer, editor, marketer, designer, publicist. But when someone messages me saying the book wrecked them, in the best way, I know every choice, every late night, every revision was worth it.
So to other authors deciding how to publish:
If your book fits cleanly in a genre lane, traditional might work.
But if your book fights, screams, or testifies, you might need to be the one to carry it into the world yourself.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
For decades, traditional publishers acted as gatekeepers. But with platforms like KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, and even TikTok, the gate’s been kicked off its hinges. Now authors can build empires without ever stepping foot in a New York office.
The future belongs to writers who treat their books like brands and their stories like movements.
Readers are hungrier for authenticity than polish.
Perfect prose doesn’t move people, truth does. Readers want raw voices, lived experiences, stories that feel like scars. That’s why confessional memoirs, dark psychological fiction, and hybrid storytelling (like Blood & Scripture) are gaining traction.
The future favors the bold, not the formulaic.
Community will be more powerful than platform.
Algorithms shift. Publishers fold. But a loyal community? That’s armor. Writers who engage directly through IG, newsletters, live events, or gritty storytelling that sparks conversation will thrive regardless of market noise.
Writers won’t just sell books, they’ll build tribes.
Publishing will become more visual and immersive.
Covers will matter more. Trailers, motion graphics, illustrated editions, and multi-format releases (e.g. print + audiobook + digital bundle) will become the standard, not the exception. We’re moving toward books that feel like cinematic experiences.
Books won’t just be read, they’ll be felt, watched, and heard.
What genres do you write?: Blood & Scripture blends psychological thriller, horror, and fictionalized memoir. It’s a gritty urban noir rooted in real unsolved crimes, told through a poetic, confessional voice. A mix of Black horror, serial killer fiction, and dark literary themes.
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Link To David L. Powell III Page On Amazon
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.
