Two New Poems and New Book Update

NEW POEMS NARRATED BY DJ COWDALL

I am pleased to tell you two new videos are available on my DJ Cowdall YouTube channel. Both are poems that I have narrated.

The first is Spring by John Clare. It is a short poem, another about nature and I think a very fine piece.

The second is The Bridge, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This is a longer piece, and one that I found particularly emotive and inspiring.

As always, these are narrated by me as practice for eventually narrating my audio books. On this channel, I will add more first chapters of my own books, fully narrated by me, and I think next up will be a short story. I am uncertain whether this will be one of my own or another’s.

SPRING BY JOHN CLARE

THE BRIDGE BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

Comments on the poems or the narration are always welcome, either on YouTube or here. Please feel free to like and subscribe to the channel for new content regularly, including full length audio books by me.

NEW BOOK

I am pleased to say progress on The Dog That Wouldn’t Sit 3 is going very well. I am very happy with it and I don’t think it will be long at all before a release.
It certainly helps with the lovely weather lately in the UK, and I have been sitting out a lot enjoying the sun and writing a great deal.

I am sure everyone is getting a little tired of hearing AI mentioned so much in the news. The interesting part for some in all of this is the use of software to narrate our books into audio books by machine. As of right now, audio book publishers generally do not allow for this, but that may change. What I have seen and heard of machine narrated prose seems quite good, but doing this is expensive for now, and it has plenty of problems, such as odd pauses and an uncanny sense of the voice not being real, still.
Personally, I am more than happy to fully narrate my own books. I think the benefit I have is that I am the author and the narrator, and so can choose to do this. I am not reliant on being hired by others to do the work, and I don’t have to employ others to do my work for me.
Another aspect is that I believe people will appreciate actually hearing the author of a book narrate their own works, rather than from a machine or an unknown voice.
I am sure there are plenty of people out there that don’t mind or care, but if given the choice, I know what I would prefer.
The future is definitely going to be interesting in this space, that is for sure.

APPRECIATION

Thank you so much for your ongoing support. It matters so much and I always appreciate and develop and learn from your feedback.

Please do click the follow button on Amazon for updates on new releases and new additions to my blog here and narrated content.

David.

New Poem Narrated By DJ Cowdall.

Rain In Summer By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Here is a new poem, Rain In Summer, which is another reading and created as a video on YouTube. This is a longer poem and another beautiful piece of creativity about the countryside and nature.

Comments and suggestions are welcome, here or on YouTube.

If you would like to see new content like this and have any suggestions, they are always welcome.

More poems will be made available on this site and YouTube and then next up will be longer pieces, such as first chapters of some of my books and whole audio books, read by me.

My new book, the Dog That Wouldn’t Sit 3 is coming along nicely. As usual Ethel and Champion are antagonizing each other and engaging in a never-ending battle of wills. I am sure this will be on sale soon.

As always, enjoy.

David.

Audio Narrating beginnings.

YouTube Videos

As promised, I have started creating audio content with a view to, in time, narrating all of my books as audio books. I created a simple YouTube channel which I can add videos of me narrating poems, snippets of my books, some full audio books and more.

The first two poems are on the channel, and are lovely poems which are focused on nature, suitable for the new beginnings that Spring brings.

The first poem is The Country Beautiful, Poem by Paul Bewsher, which is short but beautiful. The video is simple and was recorded by my daughter, Maya Cowdall. She has recorded a lot of similar clips for me to use, but they are background B roll footage where what matters is the audio.

I have recorded and tested these aimed at Audible requirements, although YouTube compression may make an impact on this quality played from there.

I will post more on here as I add more, and once I have a reasonable size catalogue of narrated content, I will post them elsewhere, possibly on the likes of Spotify.

This is of course all for rehearsing and learning how to narrate to a professional standard, simply because I would like to narrate all of my own audio books to go alongside my many published titles.

Please feel free to leave comments here or on YouTube regarding anything to do with the narration, sound quality, my narrating, or the choice of poems, and if you have any suggestions for what I might narrate then you are very welcome to contact me and suggest some anytime.

Please enjoy.

David.

The Country Beautiful, Poem by Paul Bewsher

Spring Is Here, And Life Moves On

Spring is here at last, and summer is approaching. For me, this is the best time of the year. I usually write indoors, but when the weather is nice, I love to get outside and work and enjoy the sun. It seems to have been a bit slow to warm up lately, but I’m sure any time now we will have BBQs and shorts weather!

Time as always eases pain, and the loss of our beloved Scooby took just that to come to terms with. It affected what I was doing, because a lot of what I write and enjoy doing is related to our four-legged friends. Emotions have subsided now and we feel better able to look back occasionally, just a little to remember him with love and the wonderful memories we have of him. For us, we will never forget him. We took thousands of photographs and videos of him over the years and in time I will post some of them on a section on this website, just for him and maybe some of our other wonderful pooches.

Of course, life goes on, and I have begun writing again. I am pleased to say my focus is going to be The Dog That Wouldn’t Sit 3, and it shouldn’t be too long before that is out. At the time of the loss of our wonderful dog, I just couldn’t imagine writing about dogs, but as the sadness has subsided, I think it would be the best way to move forward to remember him and his love in this book. The best part of it is that until now the first two books were only available in eBook, Kindle, but once the third in the series is out, it will be an eBook, but I intend to bring all three first books together and publish them all in a single bumper paperback. Watch out for that.

Other plans are to release a hardback special edition of all three Dog Under The Bed series in one volume. This has been so well loved that I think it is something many would love to see.

I haven’t forgotten about my audiobooks, which are in the works. I am in the process of setting up a YouTube channel which I will read poetry, small snippets of my books, full-length books etc., as well as releasing all of my back catalogue of books in audiobook format, narrated by myself.

Watch out for news here and on my website for launches and new videos as I begin to release again soon.

You can subscribe to my newsletter on my website and don’t forget to follow me on Amazon.

I hope you are all well.

Sign Up For DJ Cowdall’s Newsletter To See When New Books And Stories Are Released and for all things related.

*We do not share your information or Email with anyone.

Facebook: @djcowdall
Instagram: @djcowdall
goodreads: @djcowdall

Blog Post: Updates For 2023

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well, a very happy new year to everyone. It has been some time since my last update, but things have been a bit difficult for us all here.

Shortly before Christmas, my dog, who went by the name Scooby Doo, was diagnosed with cancer. It was such that the vet advised us he should be put to sleep, as he was suffering badly.

As I’m sure most dog owners will be aware, this was a very distressing and painful time. I took Scooby in and remained at his side throughout.

The impact on us all was very strong and left me feeling unable to write for some time.

We had Scooby from a dog’s home when he was very young, and I got him because I wanted my daughter to experience growing up with a dog. She, like all of us, loved him very much. She has suffered more than most in trying to come to terms with his death, but like so many things in life, we have to adjust and adapt and accept the inevitable with our lovely pooches.

Scooby lived until he was fourteen years old and had an amazing and wonderful life. We are proud to say that we spoiled him rotten, and he was one of the softest and most loving dogs I have ever had.

I can be philosophical about his passing, in that before him I had a dog named Bill, who lived until he was sixteen, which means across thirty years of my life I have had two very amazing dogs.

Most will know Scooby, as he was the very famous cover model on The Dog Under the Bed books. He always looked sad when we took photos of him for such things, but we have a ton of funny and enjoyable and happy photos of him which I will post on my website in time.

Right now, it is about taking a deep breath, thanking him for all the love and joy, and hoping he is keeping a close eye on us across the rainbow bridge.

THE FUTURE

Given what had happened, I could not bring myself to write much lately, but had been looking to begin work on a new installment of my Missing series. As time has passed, I feel able now to work on a new dog book instead, because I think he was worth it, and through that I can allow some of my emotions to come out on to the page.

There can be no better way to deal with the loss of him than by writing something very funny and enjoyable, which is why I am now beginning to write the third installment of The Dog That Wouldn’t Sit series. I have often found myself laughing at the hijinks of Champion and how he comes up against Ethel, each trying to outdo each other. I have so many funny ideas that I am sure it will write itself.

Of course, there will be tears along the way. It would be impossible not to, given how wonderful a dog Scooby was.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and that like all of us here, you are looking to the future, ready to deal with and overcome whatever comes your way.

David.

Sign Up For DJ Cowdall’s Newsletter To See When New Books And Stories Are Released and for all things related.

*We do not share your information or Email with anyone.

Facebook: @djcowdall
Instagram: @djcowdall
goodreads: @djcowdall

Blog Post: New Books.

New Book Launch, The Puppy

Finally, I am happy to say my new book has just launched. It is available in paperback and eBook, and can be bought immediately.

The book is titled The Puppy, and is available to buy from here:

The Puppy – Click Here To Buy

It follows the travails of a newborn puppy, and his adventures in the world as he struggles to find someone who will keep him. Like most young dogs, his life is uncertain, but he is resilient and never gives up.

It is a loving tale about a puppy, very much reminiscent of a puppy I once had when much younger. They are so cute and so beautiful, before often growing up into the huge handful they become, and as always, an integral part of our lives.

This novel is a wistful look at the life of one such puppy and the people he meets on his journey and the experiences he has with them. It is lighthearted, fun and down to earth, and filled with my usual love of dogs.

I am pleased to say my next novel will be the third installment of The Dog That Wouldn’t Sit
Once again, it follows the trials and tribulations of Champion and Ethel, two of the most stubborn people and dogs in the world.

The good news is that book 3 in the series will also have a paperback. The first two books are only available in eBook form, but the third in the series will have all three books together for the first time in one bumper book.

Hopefully book three will be out before too long, and for now everyone will enjoy The Puppy.

Hope you are all enjoying the sun.

Take care.

David.

Sign Up For DJ Cowdall’s Newsletter To See When New Books And Stories Are Released and for all things related.

*We do not share your information or Email with anyone.

Facebook: @djcowdall
Instagram: @djcowdall
goodreads: @djcowdall

New Novel On Sale

The Puppy

Few things in life can bring us quite the level of joy that comes from a new baby, but also from a new puppy.

Both are soft, gentle, and loving, so warm, and so beautiful. Those early days often bring memories that last us a lifetime and make us feel in a way that nothing else we ever experience can.

But what of those puppies born to those who can’t keep them?

The Puppy is a tale of one such dog, who seems to live each day as if it started fresh, only with a new owner each time.

This particular dog has no name, only an idea of what he should be called. When Sally and Albert must say goodbye, Rebekka comes into his life, but in time she has to let him go. Then Gregg takes him, not only home but to school, with all the fun and frolics that follow.

Pushed from one home to the next, the puppy keeps his head up, loves one day at a time, until he can find that one person to take him forever.

The Puppy is a tale of the uncertainty that every dog faces, whether to be loved or used, hoping they will find that special person to give them a place they can share for the rest of their lives.

From the author of The Dog Under The Bed comes a book about life for the dogs in our lives at the start, and the trials and tribulations of being born into the world.

humor, love, adventure and fun await.

The Puppy. The new novel from DJ Cowdall about everyone’s best friend.

On Sale Now Here:

Click Here To Buy In Paperback or Ebook

Sign Up For DJ Cowdall’s Newsletter To See When New Books And Stories Are Released and for all things related.

*We do not share your information or Email with anyone.

Facebook: @djcowdall
Instagram: @djcowdall
goodreads: @djcowdall

Happy New Year

Well, here we are with a bright new year. I hope you all had a good Christmas and are looking forward to a fine new year.

Given how things have been over the past couple of years, we can only hope things improve for us all.

I am back at it now, working away to finish my new novel. I hope to have a very productive year ahead and am looking to release several new novels.

Thank you for all your support.

Take care and be well.

David.

I Fell Down A Rabbit Hole

Well, I haven’t posted in a long time, and the simple reason is I fell down a hole, but it wasn’t a rabbit hole. I knew for a long time I needed to take editing and all that comes with it much more seriously, and so these past few months I have been revisiting previously published books and taking a much closer look at them.

This is where the adventure begins.

As I have mentioned in the past, I have used editors to correct and work on any issues in my novels, but these haven’t always been positive. I have frequently paid for so-called professional editing services, only to find out they leave as many issues as they find. Many of them, it is clear, have no qualifications in editing and no experience, and are simply making money fraudulently.

Fingers burned.

I am pleased to say I have come across one or two excellent editors, and I think the best of my books have benefitted from their attention. Sadly, even the best editors miss things.

This is where my latest journey has led me.

I took much greater time to line edit my work, and to use every means possible to ensure not only that I find as many problems as possible, but that I learn a great deal more about writing than I ever did.

This, of course, won’t make me perfect, but then it is a journey. I have learned that it isn’t ninety percent of a good novel being the story and ten percent the quality of the writing. A good book is a polished mix of them both, and that is what I have focused on addressing: rebalancing my attention to grammar, spelling, repetition, and the building blocks of a great book.

I hope this shines through in my works from past and in the future. Time, and reviews, will tell.

I just wanted to add this to show what I have been doing. My latest full length dog adventure is still in the making, and is half complete. Once again, I will get to it, hard at work, pressing out those words and building more fun and meaningful adventures. So, watch this space.

David.

Sign Up For My Newsletter To See When New Books And Stories Are Released.

(I do not spam, and only send the occasional newsletter)

Contact Me Any time Right Here:

Email: djcowdall@gmx.co.uk
https://www.instagram.com/djcowdall/
https://twitter.com/djcowdall
https://www.facebook.com/DJCowdall
www.davidcowdall.com

Blog Post: Reviews, Summer and Reading.

Reviews

I just passed a milestone of sorts as an author where one of my books now has over five hundred reviews and ratings on Amazon, and almost as many on Goodreads. The book in question is the first in the trilogy of The Dog Under The Bed Series.

When I first started writing this book, I was fairly new to writing full-length fiction, and as a fairly new author, I understood the importance of reviews, not just to guide others on whether a book was worth buying but also for me so that I would have an indication whether what I was creating was at the very least a good book.

The more positive reviews and ratings you get on a book the more confidence you gain that not only are you writing well but that readers like your stories, and that you are writing stories and novels that they want to read.

So, I simply want to thank everyone for being so kind as to leave a review or a rating. I do read them, and I am guided by them, so thank you all for that.

Summer Is Here

Well, once again the lovely warm weather is upon us, and that means glorious days sitting outside and holidays to come. Things are far better now than they have been in too long, but of course, I will continue to write all the time and have new books in the pipeline. There’s nothing better than sitting in the sun (Don’t forget the suntan lotion) while reading a good book. I aim to do my part, providing the book!

New Books

Talking of new books, of course, I am in the middle of a new book, as I mentioned previously. It is a full-length novel and another book about one particular dog. It will be the longest novel I have written about dogs and will be a real adventure to follow. I hope to release this by autumn.

Better Days

I know things have been very tough for everyone with how the situation is globally, and for a great many it remains so. As things improve with this and our lives recover, we will all still experience the impact events have had on others with jobs and finances, and the economy. Being Mindful of this, I deliberately released The Dog That Wouldn’t Sit at only 99 pence, 99 cents, and 99 Euros. In my own small way, I wanted to help out with a fun novel at a very low price. As things will remain tough for many of us, I aim to do this on other occasions, and I intend to release a few more novels at this price point. I know it is only a small token of assistance, but I believe every little bit helps.

I hope you are all well and continue to be so, and thank you for taking the time to read what I write. It really is a passion for me and something I will always engage in, writing novels.

David.

Email: djcowdall@gmx.co.uk
https://www.instagram.com/djcowdall/
https://twitter.com/djcowdall
https://www.facebook.com/DJCowdall
www.davidcowdall.com