Em Van Moore Motley Writers Guild member Dylan West writes faith-based young adult science fiction and fantasy novels. He joined the Guild in 2023 with an already impressive catalogue of stories and self-publishing success.
I sat down with Dylan to talk about his experiences as a reader, writer, and overall “geek”. We recorded our chat, and it is available on YouTube HERE!
We discussed everything from his professional background as a nuclear plant operator (but not like Homer Simpson, as I learned!) and his history homeschooling his daughter — and how all of that ties in to his Scribeverse novels.
About Dylan West
Dylan is a writer, navy vet, husband, father and fitness buff who grew up in the United States and currently lives in Chesapeake, Virginia. You may have seen him out and about in the areas attending conventions and homeschool speech and debate tournaments, where he serves as a parent judge. If you see him around, there’s a 100% chance he’s got one (or more) of his books nearby, so be sure to strike up a conversation and you could snag yourself a signed copy!
Dylan he has written 9 books to date, with 3 self-published. He started writing at the tender age of 13, and just like many of us those first couple books were ‘learning experiences’. But the third he wrote was what would eventually become the debut novel of his Scribes’ Series. To date, he’s written 5 of the series, with three published and available for you to read. The first two books are meant to be a part of the main series, while the third book, Emolecipation, is related content directly to the shared universe. You see, Dylan doesn’t just world build, he creates immersive experiences.
While the Scribes Series takes place in the same universe, Emolecipation is a show from that particular universe that the characters themselves enjoy. I feel this is a very clever and engaging way of rounding out the readers experience and making a world truly feel fleshed out.
Not only does he write and publish novels, he also is an incredible world builder who has created a game that ties in directly to that same world.
You can play a free demo of Scribes Descent HERE!
Another amazing aspect of the game is that Dylan is inserting the names of the first 500 people who have read his books and left a review for them online. As you play you can see peoples’ names pop up, and those are real folks from the real world who are now a part of the Scribeverse forever. What a great way to shout out your fans!
The Scribeverse
There’s the books, the tie-in book, the game, and that’s not all… Dylan has started creating two fictional languages for the series as well, and though that information is just for him (for now) it’s still just more interesting aspects that have been created to the world of the Scribeverse.
The first in his Scribes Series, Scribes’ Descent, sold over 1,000 copies in the first year and a half alone, and has a 4.8 rating on Amazon. It tells the story of Mallory, a resident on the Planet Daishon where people worship technology and live unnaturally long lives thanks to it. But when an “earthquake kills thousands, including Mallory’s parents, [she] scrambles for answers. Such a disaster shouldn’t be possible…but an old mine sits at the epicenter of the recent quake, and an unbreakable alien barrier seals it off, [until] a door opens for Mallory when she translates its engravings…” (Scribes Descent, Amazon.com)
The second book, Scribes Aflame, was released on September 2, 2023. It delivers more of the hard sci-fi, futuristic fantasy and immersive world building readers loved in Scribes’ Descent.
Once the water runs out, millions trapped in a mine will die. Unless civil war kills them first.
Mallory Leighyan vows to save them all.
She plans an escape to the surface while falling in love with a prince who teaches her to fight. But as an army of traitors besieges the capital, she hides the royal family in tunnels below the palace.
Problem is, food is running out. And the tunnels swarm with monsters invincible to all but Mallory’s weapon powered by alien nanotech. In desperation, she calls to the voice of one she can’t see. He’s guided her out of danger before, but now he keeps silent while enemies close in.
Mallory seeks answers at the bottom of the mine, where others cry for rescue from a volcanic hellscape. Among the flames and toxic gases, something else awaits her. Something from another universe with designs to dominate this one, and it needs to steal a part of Mallory’s mind to do it.
Scribes Aflame, available on Amazon Kindle
Available on Amazon, paperback and hardcover.
You can check him out on the MWG website and his personal website DylanWestAuthor.com. Or follow him on his social media: Twitter and Facebook.
Sign up for his newsletter HERE.
The reviews are in…and they’re great!
Journeys and quests abound in this breathtaking and fast-paced sci-fi fantasy novel. Colorfully detailed imagery enhances the non-stop action as you’re running from scene to scene (or climbing, or swinging through trees) with Malory and her team. The plentiful creatures and sapient species are inventive while not going overboard. The Author does a great job keeping his creativity within, mostly, believable science… This is the second book in the Scribes series, but Author Dylan West strategically drips information from the first book throughout his story, giving you a handful of “oh yeah!” moments. I recommend reading book one first, but West made sure you wouldn’t be lost if you didn’t.
Adrian M. Leishman, September 7 2023
The story is fluid and well directed, the excitement and action never let off. As the heroes go deeper, so does the plot. The ending will leave you gasping for air. Can’t wait for the third one!
Erik Martinson, September 9 2023
…this second book leaves me still wanting more while continuing to draw me in with new facts and characters. I am fully engaged with bigger questions that need answering after reading this second chapter to his overall series… I encourage anyone teenage aged and older to give the series a shot. It’s a fun read that you can tell has been meticulously created.
Chris Greenwood, September 6 2023
Scribes Aflame has a 4.7 rating on Amazon Book and rave reviews. This next installment in the Scribes Series is a must-read as far as we at the Guild are concerned!
If you want to see the full MWG interview…
You can watch it on YouTube. We talk about Dylan’s origin story as an author, his favorite books, what he’s been reading recently, how “Pickle Jar Press” came about, and the entire Scribeverse — including a live demo of him playing the game he designed. It was a really fun chat, and I hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed filming it and talking about who Dylan is as a person, and as a writer.
We love our members!
Dylan West is the first Motley Writers Guild member spotlighted, but stay tuned for more. The Guild’s made up of many talented members. Find some of their published works on the lower part of the front page of our website, HERE.
Have you read the first in the Scribes Series? What did you think of it? Did you know the series actually started as a game? One made by Dylan West himself! Read about it HERE!
Let us know in the comment section below!
The Motley Writers Guild’s – Em Van Moore
If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to The Motley Writers Guild for notice of new blog posts and writerly news, as well as promotions and unique content only available to our valued subscribers!