One Book Interview #47 – David J. West (Author)

Not only does author 47 write books, he is also an award-winning poet.

And he collects swords.

(Isn’t there an expression about the pen being mightier than the . . . can’t remember . . . it’s on the tip of my tongue.)

Good people of the Internet, writing out of  Utah, the USA – David J. West.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

The Hobbit. I just read it again this holiday and the nuances and wisdom continued really hit me once again. I read it cover to cover back in 7th grade and loved it and as far as I’m concerned it really stands up. The movies are trash by comparison, they ignore the subtle nuance and depth provided by the characters, their very motivation and soul. Really, give it a reread.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

This is really hard, and I mean really hard, how do I fit in all those joys, all that wisdom and entertainment, the laughter and the tears? I would agonize endlessly if I really had to do it.
But if I just guess one right off the top of my head in the heer and now, I’ll go with The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. High School english made me hate the classics, I had no room or time for things where every little bit was overanalyzed and taken apart to find the “deep meaning” by a bitter old man. I wish I knew then what I know now, so that I could have enjoyed reading all those years ago. School crushed my love of reading for almost ten years. In any case, I decided I would give the classics a shot again and picked up a different Hemingway book and was truly surprised at how much I got into it. I’m a big fan, now.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

It’s always the next thing, whatever I am working on is what I like to think is the best thing I’ve ever written.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Definitely the work of Robert E. Howard. As much as I have loved a million different books, nothing fired me up to write like his yarns have.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

That’s a tough one. I really respect everything I’ve come across of Steven Pressfield. He has so many great tips about craft and such, I can’t recommend his War of Art and Turning Pro enough, but again those works are just a facet of the greater jewel. I have also learned a lot from Larry Correia, Dave Butler, Chris Fox, Bryan Cohen, Lindsay Buroker, Andrea Pearson, Orson Scott Card, Michael Moorcock, Lester Dent, Poul Anderson, L. Sprauge DeCamp, Karl Edward Wagner, and Hunter S. Thompson.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

At this point, I’d say BRUTAL.

You can find David here.

David J. West is the author of Heroes of the Fallen, Weird Tales of Horror, and The Mad Song. He has an affinity for history, action-adventure, fantasy, westerns and pulp fiction horror blended with a sharp knife and served in a dirty glass—he writes what he knows.

He received 1st place when he was seven for writing a short story about a pack of wolves that outsmarted and devoured a hunter and his dog. Some children and parents may have been traumatized. He has never looked back.

His writing has since been praised in Meridian Magazine, Timpanogos Times, Hell Notes, and Amazing Stories Magazine which said his writing was “a solid collection of weird fiction.” David’s short stories have been published in the Lovecraft eZine, UGEEK, Sword & Sorcery Magazine, Iron Bound, Monsters & Mormons, Artifacts & Relics, Space Eldritch 1 and 2, Redneck Eldritch and many more.