David Mampel is a writer, poet, and former minister living in the Seattle area. His work has appeared in Copperfield Review Quarterly, The Remington Review, Cirque, and more than nine other literary publications. He is a recent nominee for the Pushcart Prize for his short story Green Man, and is currently completing his debut novel The Sound of Alchemy, a work of visionary fiction. A second novel, The Light of Occitania, a work of historical fiction, is also in development. His memoir, Coyote Spirit: The Improbable Transformation from Minister to Clown, chronicles his journey from ministry through addiction and recovery to an entirely unexpected new life. It holds a perfect five-star rating on Amazon. David is an active member of the Historical Novel Society and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.
“Stunning word choice, very alluring and mesmerizing…” (“Noise Opera,” flash fiction.)
— Sophie Chiang, Editor-in-Chief, The Aurora Journal.
Coyote Spirit: The Improbable Transformation from Minister to Clown
What do you do when the life you built no longer fits the person you have become? David Mampel was a minister. He had a congregation, a calling, and a carefully constructed identity. Then, slowly and then all at once, it all fell apart. What came next was not what anyone could have predicted, least of all David himself. Coyote Spirit is the story of one man’s journey from the quiet devastation of a life unraveling to the surprising, joyful, and deeply human discovery of who he truly was. It is a memoir about addiction and recovery. About faith lost and faith transformed. About the courage it takes to become something entirely new, even when the world is watching. Raw, funny, and profoundly honest, Coyote Spirit is for anyone who has ever felt lost in a life that no longer belongs to them. It is proof that transformation is possible, that recovery is real, and that the most unexpected roads sometimes lead exactly where you were always meant to go. If you have ever had to lose everything to find yourself, this book was written for you.
Endorsements
“David Mampel’s memoir brings to light the joy and the anguish of growing up in an America where Ozzie Nelson and Timothy Leary lived on the same street.”
— Steve Glauber, award-winning producer of CBS News’ 60 Minutes
“Dave Mampel’s Coyote Spirit will touch your heart and awaken your spirit.”
— Tom Catton, author of The Mindful Addict: A Memoir of the Awakening of a Spirit and May I Sit with You: A Simple Approach to Meditation
Download a Free PDF version of Coyote Spirit here. If you could write a review on Amazon or Goodreads.
After you’ve read it, I’d appreciate that very much!
“Dave Mampel does not fail to inspire with this show stopper of a memoir. Once begun, it's a “can't-put-it-down” read, filled with personal stories: amazing tales of addiction, struggle, depression, and how he took the steps (more than once) to overcome his life obstacles. Highly recommended for every person, whether you've personally worked the Steps or not, it's heartfelt, open, genuine and brilliantly written.”
— Lynda Alexander, Palo Alto, CA, 5 Stars on Amazon
“What an engaging memoir! I grew up watching Daffy Dave at the local parties/preschool and listening to his music with my family, and it was awesome reading about everything in his life that had led to that point and how much was under the surface. Dave is an excellent storyteller with a vivid memory. For me the most interesting parts were when he broke down how moments in his childhood and early adulthood shaped his clown act and persona. Underneath it all, however, is a touching sobriety narrative about someone who never lost his faith, just found new ways to channel it.”
— Noah Bender, 5 Stars on Goodreads
The Sound of Alchemy – Debut novel coming soon
Recently retired chemist, Alfeo Capistrano feels lost without the daily stimulation of working on drug compounds at Alphasigma Pharmaceutical. And yet, the corporate profit motive combined with his workaholism has nearly killed him during his forty-year career. Now at the age of sixty-seven, Alfeo struggles to slow down and relax, but unfortunately, his marriage is in trouble and making things worse. His usually optimistic, humorous wife, Gabriella, is tired of trying to enlighten him with her eclectic spiritual insights and has become estranged with her husband’s overly-rational view of life. Encouraged by her fun-loving tarot-reading personality, Alfeo decides to pursue alchemy from a purely scientific point of view in hopes that he can stimulate his mind and save his marriage. As he unexpectedly learns how to use alchemy to make gold, his psychic abilities awaken. Together, they are led into a mysterious dimension to save humanity from upcoming global cataclysms. At the same time, Alfeo’s former boss, Heinrich Von Schlosser – who is building an artificial planetary system to save humanity by becoming a space-faring civilization – fails to persuade Alfeo to help him. Heinrich’s multinational empire is collapsing so he desperately pursues Alfeo to obtain his alchemical secrets in order to fund his lofty vision. But his former employee is nowhere to be found. Will Heinrich find Alfeo and win him over in time? Will Alfeo and Gabriella repair their marriage and help save the world from destruction?
The Light of Occitania – Novel in development
Esclarmonde de Foix and her community of heretic Christians must find a way to survive crusader attacks and save their sacred writings from being destroyed by the Catholic Church.
Parallel adventures unfold in 1209 at the zenith of Occitan’s culture of poetry, courtly love, and tolerance between Muslim, Jew and Christian. A reluctant King Philip in the north wages a crusade against Cathar heretics in Occitania at the behest of an insistent papacy. Esclarmonde de Foix, Cathar leader and outspoken critic of the Catholics, rallies Occitan lords to protect heretics at Montsegur. Meanwhile, a scholar from Paris, David of Dinant, is condemned of heresy and flees for his life, separating from his loyal student, Theo, who runs to save David’s writings only to be jailed by the Inquisition in Bologna. Esclarmonde meets David and while they decode important documents, everyone’s lives remain at risk because the Catholic Church does not want the knowledge they’re uncovering to be shared.
writer's quest 