and...Whispers of the Goddess is out!

So, it is available here at Smashwords and here on Amazon

This has been a long time coming, I wrote Whispers of the Goddess in a white heat back in January of 2010. It was a combination of all kinds of things that fire my imagination. Templars, the Crusades, the Holy Grail, Varangian Guard of Byzantium (Viking mercenaries), Greek and Norse Gods, all told in a proper Sword and Sorcery style. 


I was even more thrilled to have the tale accepted into RBE's Roar of the Crowd anthology, but that died the slow death with some misphaps  and the tale was returned. So I have edited it, added in a couple other short tales starring Tyr (the main character) that have been published elsewhere and got the wonderful Carter Reid (Space Eldritch 1 and 2 covers, his ow Zombie Nation comic along with a slew of others for some great spec fic authors) to do a a cover for me.

My description:
"From the wrath of the Northmen, O Lord deliver us." -- Old French Prayer 

Warships of the Fourth Crusade surround Constantinople threatening murder, rapine and worse. 

The only option left the impotent Emperor to avoid the sacking of the great city, is to secretly give away a sacred relic. 

Enter Tyr, a red-handed Swedish mercenary and Wolfram von Eschenbach, the Templar poet, together charged with retrieving the holy artifact and escaping the city. 

What they don't know is that arcane forces, old as myth, are marshalled against their mission. The old gods of multiple nations war with the New. 

And Ragnarok is coming to Greece. 

Plus two more short sword and sorcery tales of Tyr: Hel Awaits and Sailing to Valhalla 

What the critics are saying about David J. West's writing! 
"Brutal, gory and depressing," - Jennie Hansen, Meridian Magazine 
"I was afraid to read this book." - Marissa Walker, Timpanogos Times 
"And he just keeps getting better," - Keith West, Amazing Stories 
"One of the most well-written fight scenes I've ever had the opportunity to read." - Darkeva, Hellnotes

BLESS THE CHILD: This ones for the children

Few things feel as good as finishing a book. I'm talking as the one having written that book. You have accomplished something that so many others give up on. You have given birth to your own creativity and now its out there to share with the world.

One of the other things that feels so good in life is doing something for someone else. When I first heard about the G.A.N. Warriors I was floored. Here are some young little guys with a horribly rare disease, but they always smile and keep their chins up (good parents) and the whole community we lived in - in Montana and elsewhere, have rallied around them. So many people have donated to their cause and still are, this is an ongoing battle.
I was very tight on cash, tight on time away from home and so much other drama heaped on my shoulders, but I thought about a book that wasn't quite ready for anywhere else yet, a book that needed some polish and perhaps had just the right title to be a good donation toward their cause.

Bless The Child was begun in Primary Childrens hospital when my daughter Maddie was a month old. She had severe RSV and I truly thought I would lose her. I spent a lot of nights there, couldn't sleep, but I did start Bless The Child. The elements of loss were very real in my mind - I suspect you read the first few chapters and you'll know exactly what I was channeling for the Spartan.

Back to the ranch - this seemed like the right time and the right book to donate 100% of the proceeds toward Hannah's Hope Fund, the official arm of the G.A.N. Warriors and the handful of kids like them. GAN is an incredibly rare disease and these kids need all the help they can get.

So I am very pleased to release my sword and sandals historical epic: Bless The Child on their behalf. The kindle edition is available right now and I will have the print version up shortly as well.

The back cover description:
Impelled by a quest for redemption, the man known only as The Spartan finds unholy work in The Holy Land. And work is good, there is no end of service amongst kings and robber barons for a man who sells his sword so well. But blood won’t wash away blood and The Spartan finds himself compelled toward something greater than himself. 
Bless The Child is a romance of redemption and glory. Numerous historical personages cross paths with The Spartan, including Solon, Nebuchadnezzar, the prophets Lehi, Jeremiah and Daniel, King Zedekiah and the poetess Sappho. 
Come back to 586 B.C. when Jerusalem burned and the life of a prince rested in the hands of the exiled Spartan. Can a mercenary trained only for war become an instrument of peace?