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

The Thunder Rolls...

I didn't have a table of contents until a day or so ago and now that the ebook for both volumes of  Thunder on the Battlefield are available here it is.

Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword
Featuring

G. Jerome Henson: “THE HORDE”

Jay Requard: “PAPER DEMONS”

D.T. Neal: “THE WOLF & THE CROW”

John F. Allen: “FOREST OF SHADOWS”

Marcella Burnard “EMISSARY”

David J. West: “THE DOGS OF WAR”

Alexis A. Hunter: “THE RED HAND”

James R. Tuck “WHERE THE RED BLOSSOMS WEEP”

Loriane Parker: “THIEF OF SOULS”

W. E. Wertenberger: “THE GNAWED BONE”

Stephen Zimmer “ALL THE LANDS, NOWHERE A HOME”

J.S. Veter “THE WITCH OF RYMAL PASS”
 
Thunder on the Battlefield: Sorcery
Featuring

Jeffe Kennedy: “NEGOTIATION”

Alex Hughes: “THE FOURTH RULE”

Selah Janel: “THE RUINS OF ST. LOUIS”

Steve Grassie: “MARK OF THE WARRIOR”

James R. Tuck: “ANGELS OF SCRAWL”

M.B Weston: “THE CHERUBIAN, THE LINDWORM, AND THE PORTAL”

Brady Allen: “GRINDING THE GEARS”

S.H. Roddey “BLACK ICE”

Steven S. Long: “THE TWO FIRES”

D.A. Adams: “ACROSS THE WILDS”

Mark Taverna “DARK GENESIS”

Steven L. Shrewsbury “WHORE OF JERICHO”

G. Jerome Henson: “THE HORDE”

Jay Requard: “PAPER DEMONS”

D.T. Neal: “THE WOLF & THE CROW” 

John F. Allen: “FOREST OF SHADOWS” 

Marcella Burnard “EMISSARY” 

David J. West: “THE DOGS OF WAR”

Alexis A. Hunter: “THE RED HAND”

James R. Tuck “WHERE THE RED BLOSSOMS WEEP”

Loriane Parker: “THIEF OF SOULS”

W. E. Wertenberger: “THE GNAWED BONE” 

Stephen Zimmer “ALL THE LANDS, NOWHERE A HOME”

J.S. Veter “THE WITCH OF RYMAL PASS”

- See more at: http://seventhstarpress.blogspot.com/2013/08/full-list-of-authors-for-both-thunder.html#sthash.72Z2d87q.dpuf

G. Jerome Henson: “THE HORDE”

Jay Requard: “PAPER DEMONS”

D.T. Neal: “THE WOLF & THE CROW” 

John F. Allen: “FOREST OF SHADOWS” 

Marcella Burnard “EMISSARY” 

David J. West: “THE DOGS OF WAR”

Alexis A. Hunter: “THE RED HAND”

James R. Tuck “WHERE THE RED BLOSSOMS WEEP”

Loriane Parker: “THIEF OF SOULS”

W. E. Wertenberger: “THE GNAWED BONE” 

Stephen Zimmer “ALL THE LANDS, NOWHERE A HOME”

J.S. Veter “THE WITCH OF RYMAL PASS”

- See more at: http://seventhstarpress.blogspot.com/2013/08/full-list-of-authors-for-both-thunder.html#sthash.72Z2d87q.dpuf

Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword

Featuring

G. Jerome Henson: “THE HORDE”

Jay Requard: “PAPER DEMONS”

D.T. Neal: “THE WOLF & THE CROW” 

John F. Allen: “FOREST OF SHADOWS” 

Marcella Burnard “EMISSARY” 

David J. West: “THE DOGS OF WAR”

Alexis A. Hunter: “THE RED HAND”

James R. Tuck “WHERE THE RED BLOSSOMS WEEP”

Loriane Parker: “THIEF OF SOULS”

W. E. Wertenberger: “THE GNAWED BONE” 

Stephen Zimmer “ALL THE LANDS, NOWHERE A HOME”

J.S. Veter “THE WITCH OF RYMAL PASS”

- See more at: http://seventhstarpress.blogspot.com/2013/08/full-list-of-authors-for-both-thunder.html#sthash.72Z2d87q.dpuf

Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword

Featuring

G. Jerome Henson: “THE HORDE”

Jay Requard: “PAPER DEMONS”

D.T. Neal: “THE WOLF & THE CROW” 

John F. Allen: “FOREST OF SHADOWS” 

Marcella Burnard “EMISSARY” 

David J. West: “THE DOGS OF WAR”

Alexis A. Hunter: “THE RED HAND”

James R. Tuck “WHERE THE RED BLOSSOMS WEEP”

Loriane Parker: “THIEF OF SOULS”

W. E. Wertenberger: “THE GNAWED BONE” 

Stephen Zimmer “ALL THE LANDS, NOWHERE A HOME”

J.S. Veter “THE WITCH OF RYMAL PASS”

- See more at: http://seventhstarpress.blogspot.com/2013/08/full-list-of-authors-for-both-thunder.html#sthash.72Z2d87q.dpuf

Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword

Featuring

G. Jerome Henson: “THE HORDE”

Jay Requard: “PAPER DEMONS”

D.T. Neal: “THE WOLF & THE CROW” 

John F. Allen: “FOREST OF SHADOWS” 

Marcella Burnard “EMISSARY” 

David J. West: “THE DOGS OF WAR”

Alexis A. Hunter: “THE RED HAND”

James R. Tuck “WHERE THE RED BLOSSOMS WEEP”

Loriane Parker: “THIEF OF SOULS”

W. E. Wertenberger: “THE GNAWED BONE” 

Stephen Zimmer “ALL THE LANDS, NOWHERE A HOME”

J.S. Veter “THE WITCH OF RYMAL PASS”

- See more at: http://seventhstarpress.blogspot.com/2013/08/full-list-of-authors-for-both-thunder.html#sthash.72Z2d87q.dpuf

Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword

Featuring

G. Jerome Henson: “THE HORDE”

Jay Requard: “PAPER DEMONS”

D.T. Neal: “THE WOLF & THE CROW” 

John F. Allen: “FOREST OF SHADOWS” 

Marcella Burnard “EMISSARY” 

David J. West: “THE DOGS OF WAR”

Alexis A. Hunter: “THE RED HAND”

James R. Tuck “WHERE THE RED BLOSSOMS WEEP”

Loriane Parker: “THIEF OF SOULS”

W. E. Wertenberger: “THE GNAWED BONE” 

Stephen Zimmer “ALL THE LANDS, NOWHERE A HOME”

J.S. Veter “THE WITCH OF RYMAL PASS”

- See more at: http://seventhstarpress.blogspot.com/2013/08/full-list-of-authors-for-both-thunder.html#sthash.72Z2d87q.dpuf

Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword

Featuring

G. Jerome Henson: “THE HORDE”

Jay Requard: “PAPER DEMONS”

D.T. Neal: “THE WOLF & THE CROW” 

John F. Allen: “FOREST OF SHADOWS” 

Marcella Burnard “EMISSARY” 

David J. West: “THE DOGS OF WAR”

Alexis A. Hunter: “THE RED HAND”

James R. Tuck “WHERE THE RED BLOSSOMS WEEP”

Loriane Parker: “THIEF OF SOULS”

W. E. Wertenberger: “THE GNAWED BONE” 

Stephen Zimmer “ALL THE LANDS, NOWHERE A HOME”

J.S. Veter “THE WITCH OF RYMAL PASS”

- See more at: http://seventhstarpress.blogspot.com/2013/08/full-list-of-authors-for-both-thunder.html#sthash.72Z2d87q.dpuf

Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword

Featuring

G. Jerome Henson: “THE HORDE”

Jay Requard: “PAPER DEMONS”

D.T. Neal: “THE WOLF & THE CROW” 

John F. Allen: “FOREST OF SHADOWS” 

Marcella Burnard “EMISSARY” 

David J. West: “THE DOGS OF WAR”

Alexis A. Hunter: “THE RED HAND”

James R. Tuck “WHERE THE RED BLOSSOMS WEEP”

Loriane Parker: “THIEF OF SOULS”

W. E. Wertenberger: “THE GNAWED BONE” 

Stephen Zimmer “ALL THE LANDS, NOWHERE A HOME”

J.S. Veter “THE WITCH OF RYMAL PASS”

- See more at: http://seventhstarpress.blogspot.com/2013/08/full-list-of-authors-for-both-thunder.html#sthash.72Z2d87q.dpuf

Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword & Sorcery

“HARK! to the sounds of battle. Mighty men and women who take their destinies with the strength of their arm and the sharpness of their blades. These are tales of warriors, reavers, barbarians, and kings. Lands of wonder populated with monsters, black-hearted sorcerors of Stygian power, and heroes who have blood on their hands and on their steel.

This is SWORD AND SORCERY.”

Available this Thursday in eBook formats, and mid August in print, SSP is proud to offer a 2 volume anthology edited by James R. Tuck, author of the Deacon Chalk Novels. Introducing Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword, and Thunder on the Battlefield: Sorcery, featuring two dozen brand new, hard-hitting sword and sorcery tales!  My tale The Dogs of War features Tyr, a viking mercenary and the Templat poet - Wolfram Von Eschenbach - more of them will be available soon in a sequel of sorts Whispers of the Goddess.
Here are the two covers from artist Enggar Adirasa!  Stay tuned for more information on this exciting release week! I was hoping for a table of contents list but I don't have one just yet. I'm excited to see who else is in the books.

In the Works...

Life has made my blogging this year incredibly erratic (did I completely miss February?)

But projects are coming along, The Mad Song in Artifacts & Relics shouldn't be too far off, and The Dogs of War in Thunder on the Battlefield will be shortly behind that I think, Rolling in the Deep in A Flame in the Dark: Monsters should be out anytime as will Make A Monkey Outta Me in Heavy Metal Horror and The Problem with Magick in Another 100 Horrors. Wish I knew something more on the Rogue Blades Entertainment Challenge antho = The Serpents Root and the rumored Sword & Sorcery League collection which supposedly has accepted Sailing to Valhalla, but alas I know nothing on either project.

I still need to format Whispers of the Goddess, so that delay is all on me and I did finally receive the edits on Bless the Child, so I will absolutely have a sword & sandals novel out this year - I'm hoping in the next few weeks but can't promise anything since I honestly don't know what I'm doing with formatting yet.

Bring the Fire (tentative title) for The Barbarian Coast is coming along nicely = almost done. And I have dreamt up my story for Space Eldritch 2 I just have to write it now.

Two more projects demand near immediate attention, one is a Sci-Fi sure thing, the other is a limited invitational Fantasy submission, best 10 out of 25 (good odds), and both MIGHT get published through Baen, so that's cool.

I'm also sitting on a half dozen finished spec tales that I need to just get off my butt and submit somewhere - and then there are the fifty plus starts to tales I need to finish...and then there are the books I need to finish, I wish I was half as prolific as I sound.

Part of the writing problem has been the busy family life and drama but it seems the Muse has returned ~

Storming the Gates of Troy

 

One thousand ships launched astern
For you, the flames they burn
Scarlet lips and hands to hold
Passion unfurled and courage bold
Swords are raised as bridges crossed
One thousand moments count and lost
Two for the neck, one for the heart
Hopes blaze that we may never part
All for you my queen, so regal
I shall be cloaked dark with eagle
Stricken in the heart and the heel
I write to forge what I feel
To be with you again I hope and pray
And win but a kiss today
No tears, no pain, no sorrow
All so I may win the war tomorrow
With sacred horse and a tour deforce
The gates will fall and I’ll tear down your wall
Chariots race and dooms embrace
Will open the path to proceed
And truly fulfill that primal need
To be as one and never ever come undone

Also, it seems I am getting 5 times the hits to this blog from Iran than I am from the usual suspects = The US of A, Canada, Germany and the UK - What the Hell? Can I be so interesting to the Persians? Or is it just the Spartan thing??? I've barely been posting this year - what's so interesting???

Whispers of the Goddess is Coming

I haven't been around, all my regular readers know why, but finally my first project of the year is almost here.

I need to figure out all the nuances and get it put together but WHISPERS OF THE GODDESS my novella from the departed Roar of the Crowd is coming soon.

Here is the back cover blurb I recently put together, (and thanks to Angie Lofthouse for helping polish it)

"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 marshaled against their mission. The old gods of multiple nations war with the New.
And Ragnarok is coming to Greece."


Here is the cover by the talented Carter Reid - he also did the SPACE ELDRITCH cover.


In other news, the prequel of sorts for Whispers of the Goddess, The Dogs of War, has been accepted into the Thunder on the Battlefield, Sword & Sorcery collection edited by James R. Tuck, so if you like one tale I hope you will like the other and we can get some cross-pollination going.

Roar of the Crowd ~ R.I.P.

After waiting a couple of years for something to come of a tale that I was particularly fond of, I recieved the email that Rogue Blades Entertainment had to concede that Roar of the Crowd is dead. The Editor Jason Waltz has been overwhelmed with a number of issues and could not keep the project on hold continually.

(Ironic I posted this was still forthcoming last week on my birthday.)

So I now have Whispers of the Goddess back.

Looking it over and giving it a reread after sitting for so long, I definetly want to polish it up, not a lot but some. I am proud of what I put together in a white heat weekend to make the deadline for the antho and I was excited to be sharing the TOC with quite a few of people I call friends now among them...

Mbogo Returns ~ Milton Davis

Carcass and Mallet ~ Ty Johnston

Race to Dragonhead Rock ~ Bill Ward

For the Light ~ Gustavo Bondoni

Spirit of the Maya ~ Robert Waters
Winter’s Game ~ Kate Martin
The Last Refuge of Piyamaradu ~ Ryan Harvey
Up the Gladiators! ~ David Bischoff
Panathenaic ~ Bruce Durham
Naumachia Magic ~ Alva Roberts
Hard Crossing at Luhinmov Ford ~ Adrian Simmons
Love and Revolution ~ Jeff Draper
The Turul Spreads its Wings ~ Boglárka Takács
Whispers of the Goddess ~ David J. West
Ulemet’s Wager ~ Lyn Perry
The Dream Horn ~ Howard Andrew Jones
Shini-tai ~ C.L. Werner
Foreword ~ Michael Ehart

I'm thinking now that I'll likely throw my hat into the eRing and release the novella as an ebook. That means polish, polish, edit, edit, edit and a fantastic cover to boot. I'm gonna make a goal of september, just to have plenty of time to get some good help on all facets of this project.

Sean Bean's BLACK DEATH

Sean Bean is awesome, he brings such a visceral presence to everything he does. The latest film I've seen of his, Black Death is no exception.

Set in the midst of the black plague sweeping over Europe, rumors of a village that is free of the affliction set in motion an investigation. Osmund, a monk with his own motivations, offers to lead Ulric (Bean) to the village through the marsh.

He finds out along the way that Ulric isn't on a mercy mission or investigation so much as a witch hunt. Word is that a necromancer leads the village in question. We have a few bizarre intrigues along the way as well as a ambush battle.

There are a number of twists and surprise betrayals but nothing that I as a writer and critic didn't see coming.

In a way I felt the movie couldn't quite make up its mind what it wanted to be. There isn't quite enough action to call it an action movie. I wouldn't call it a horror despite a few thrilling moments and the dichotomy of the Christians as liars, fanatical and harsh was held against the pagans who were equally so-the biggest surprise for me was that at first I was expecting the message to be how much better the pagan way of life was-but it wasn't-they were cruel, fanatical liars too.

Maybe the filmakers wanted us to come up with our own answers on WHY- not unlike my recent review of The Bridge if San Luis Rey except this would be more akin to why do bad things happen to bad people than the latter? The ending especially makes you wonder.

Where the movie wins is its realistic portrayal of the grim plague afflicted land. The chaos and brutality of an age on the cusp of enlightenment...but not yet.

IF BLACK DEATH and SEASON OF THE WITCH could have been merged, say eliminate Nick Cage altogether and replace him with Bean = teamed with Perlman, and find that balance between two vaguely similar story lines we could have had a classic. Instead this is just all right - worth a watch once IF you already thought maybe this was a movie for you.

My IRONCLAD Guarantee

I know the movies I have been talking about lately are my preaching to the choir & but you faithful readers will dig this one too.

IRONCLAD rocks.

Set in 1215 not too long after King John, Paul Giamatti (is wonderfully wicked) has signed the Magna Carta, he has second thoughts and tries to renege. But the nobles aren't going to stand for it and prepare a tiny force to hold Rochester castle, a strategic strong point.

Enter our Templar knight, Thomas Marshal played by James Purefoy, still channeling Solomon Kane, as a key defender against John.

There are some other fine actors - Brian Cox, Jason Flemying, and Charles Dance but the actor I was especially excited to see in action again is Vladimir Kulich.

Now I would not have recognized his name, but I would have recognized  Buliwyf from The 13th Warrior (a classic in my book). He is the captain of the Danish mercenaries employed by King John to win back England-and I was hankering through the whole movie for the point where he would fight Purefoy's Templar. (The image I found makes him look as how I picture my character Tyr, a Swedish mercenary in the forthcoming Roar of the Crowd anthology (& other antho's I'm working on))

The battles are bloody and visceral and IF you know who you are-you have my guarantee you are gonna like this movie.

Season of the Witch

My biggest motivation to see this was Ron Perlman.

Overall I came away saying this was "good" certainly not great but good-actually pretty good if just looked at as a Sword & Sorcery film, considering how dismal so many of them are. It could have used better characterization-but then again the main character was Behmen, Nic Cage, and he played it about the same as he does anything-perhaps the same with Perlman, but I like Perlman and the gruff tough guy thing - I actually buy that from Perlman as opposed to Cage.

Would have been nice if the soundtrack was anything to write home about but it was pretty forgettable-I didn't catch myself trying to see who did the score like I did with Centurion (Ilan Eshkri). But different than Centurion which was a suspenseful historical with a little extra blood splatter and tension; Season of the Witch is a dark fantasy with just a smattering of historicity.

Afterwards my wife asked - "What do you bet Sean Bean's Black Death will be a lot better?"

Dunno - good odds though.

Templars are Vampires~The Coming of the King: Book Review

I was enchanted with the prologue showing Cromwell (whom I've been fascinated with since watching Richard Harris play him in the titular film) had Charles Stuart executed...because he is a vampire, or Other, as they are called in the novel.
The Coming of the King, by William Meikle is the first in a trilogy of absolutely gripping historical horrors.
This is great scary stuff. Take the concept that the Templar's are actually vampires having conspired with the head of John the Baptist/Baphomet and ultimately becoming the Stuart royal line of England.

Most of the background material for TCOK is familiar stuff for me, I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail when I was in High School, and then that 'snicker' literary classic DaVinci Code brought the controversial bloodline concept even more so into the public consciousness.

While TCOK turns the sacred bloodline concept upside down (perhaps sacrilegiously), I found it an incredibly entertaining read.
Besides the historical references (which I treasure) it is packed with fantastic prose, well-timed surprises, bloody-good sword fighting action, a cantankerous old Scot and the best Pict since Bran Mak Morn-I hope to see more of Lennan in the next installments.

I'd been meaning to read Meikle for awhile now and I was not disappointed-I'll have to keep going on this trilogy for certain.

From the synopsis ~
WATCHERS
BOOK 1: THE COMING OF THE KING

It is 1745, and the long awaited night has come. The Blood King calls his army to battle and will bring them South to claim his birthright; the throne of Britain.

Only the Watchers on the old wall stand in his way.