New Book Progress & New Videos

Progress is going nicely on my new book, details of which are still being held back for the moment, but it is a new genre for me and one which I have been enjoying greatly working in.

I will post some excerpts from what I have written soon and some notes about what to expect.

More soon.


My videos on the Official D.J. Cowdall YouTube channel are increasing. It has a very wide variety of snippets of me reading from my books, some full-length audiobooks, and some poetry. This is in anticipation of my releasing my entire back catalogue of novels in audiobook format, soon.

I will link some new videos here, and continue to add more as time goes on.

Please do subscribe and let me know your feelings on this project so I can learn and grow as a narrator.

More to follow…


 

Pride & Prejudice – Full-Length Audiobook. Narrated by Author D.J. Cowdall.

This is the playlist of the book, which I am narrating and adding to weekly. You can click the video and watch and listen, or you can click the Watch On YouTube button and check out other videos of mine on there.

Please do subscribe, like and subscribe if you enjoy the content.


As always, thank you so much for all your kindness and support. It is very much appreciated.


PS, Please do also follow me on Amazon, click the Follow button for all latest news as it happens from me.


Email: djcowdall@gmail.com

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New Videos & Book Update

New videos continue to be added to the official DJ Cowdall YouTube page. Here are a couple of the newest ones, which you can view here or go to YouTube to see.

They are very old short stories from a variety of authors, narrated by DJ Cowdall.

The first is a story by Susan Glaspell, which is a positive short story with a lovely ending. I enjoyed reading this and I think you will enjoy listening to it.

For The Love Of The Hills

The next up is a story by Kate Chopin. It is beautifully written, with a mixture of expression and sadness. I enjoyed narrating it.

The Recovery


I am pleased to say that plans for my new book are going well. I am working on plot and style at the moment, choosing what to include and the way forward.

I will be sure to share more on here as I begin writing and will let you all know what is planned for it in due course.

I am intending on continuing with my Dog That Wouldn’t Sit series shortly, so I will be in the process of writing two books simultaneously. I am excited to get started on the fourth chapter of Champion’s adventures, and I am sure it will be a blast to read.

More soon.


As always, thank you so much for all your kindness and support. It is very much appreciated.

David.

DJ Cowdall.


PS, Please do also follow me on Amazon, click the Follow button for all latest news as it happens from me.


Email: djcowdall@gmail.com

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The Dog That Wouldn’t Sit 3 Finished & New Video

I am pleased to say that the third in the series of the Dog That Wouldn’t Sit is finally finished. It is currently being edited and will hopefully be on sale within the next week or so.

I have enjoyed writing this as much as any book I have written, as it flowed so well and I have come to know the characters so well. I love how the dog Champion has such a character of his own and comes across as being so daft but so intelligent.

I will be sure to post here as soon as the sale goes live.

I have narrated a new video, which is a poem by Susanna Moodie, and is very appropriate for the time of year, the subject being winter. I enjoyed narrated it and creating the video. It is live on YouTube and available to watch here on my official site.

Winter by  Susanna Moodie


My latest novel is my 16th, and I am loving everything about it. I have no set ideas of what is to be next, but I will be back at it writing for my next novel, set for release in the new year.

I have spent time looking back at some of my old works, and can see how much work some of these need, from editing to formatting, and a lot of my time over the next couple of months will be dedicated to fixing them all.

All of my novels were edited, but as I have found not all editors are equal, and not all of them are real. Just because someone is an avid reader it doesn’t mean they are a capable editor.

My newer books demonstrate the much higher level of work gone into making them and should be as perfect for your enjoyment as possible.


I will update you all again soon once my latest noevel is on sale.

I hope you are all well.

Take Care.

David.

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Email: djcowdall@gmail.com

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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.

AI

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.

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.


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New Book Coming and About Dogs

New Dog Book

My new book is coming along nicely. It’s always a huge amount of fun and enjoyment writing a new book about dogs, thinking of all the emotion and joy they bring through their antics and how they share our lives.
It will be the longest book about dogs that I have written and is a feature-length story about one very special dog. I hope to have it on sale by the end of Spring and will work hard to make it the standard of story readers have come to expect from me.

Dogs

Speaking of dogs, I am like most people and have a deep love for them. I have had dogs since I was very young and like most people have experienced so much with them, from laughter and joy to times of inevitable sadness. They bring so much to our lives and make us feel so loved, I think it is worth the pain we experience as they get older because they love us so unconditionally and with so much love. Not only that, they can and do teach us a lot about treating others and how we reflect their love.
Much better than cats. Ha!

Beyond

I am looking at the next follow-up to my series titled Missing. I am unsure of what the subtitle will be at this time, but once again it will follow the lives and experiences of the family as they come to terms with loss and the struggles of poverty. I very much enjoyed writing both previous titles and I think Missing 3 will be quite an experience as I expand on the lives of the primary characters.

Summer

Summer brings with it hopefully a lot of change for the better for most of us. Of course, there will be warm weather and perhaps holidays to come, but we can hope to see better times beyond the difficulties we have all shared. So much has changed but I think in a way our shared experiences have guided us to understand each other more as we accept what makes us all the same. I think it is obvious we have all suffered and shared a lot of the same, and every one of us will have been affected. We can get through this, though much will have changed, but, I hope and believe we will learn from it, as much about what matters in our lives as how we can overcome problems in life, together.

Having said that, as a writer summer is both a good thing and a bad thing because while writing is a love and a joy when it is hot outside all we want to do is go out and enjoy it. It’s tough to argue being a writer is somehow arduous, but being indoors when it is so nice outside is certainly not much fun. Yes, I could write outside, but then who doesn’t want to just lay back and relax in the sun as soon as the temptation presents itself? Don’t worry, I’m a trooper, I shall cope!

Thank You

Once again, a huge thank you to all of you that continue to buy my books and enjoy them. What I do would be nothing without you, my dear readers, and every single word I write I do for you. Life is nothing without the people in it and around us and your support and love inspires me.

So again, thank you.

Roll on summer.

David.


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Blog Post: New Book, Reviews, Editing Issues, Thanks.

New Book

I am pleased to say my new book is coming along nicely. I am busy writing the follow up to Missing, which lately has been doing very well, and is proving very popular. Yesterday I passed 50,000 words on the followup and I have to say I am enjoying it immensely. Though it deals with some very difficult subjects like abandonment and poverty, things which I have personal experience of, I find it helpful and rewarding to write about. Almost everyone will experience some kind of poverty in their lives, even if it is through knowing or helping others to deal with it. The one thing that matters for those affected by it comes from the help of others because when you have nothing it is near impossible escape from that situation. Given the prevalence of such conditions for most people, it really does matter to help each other overcome it.

I hope the new book will be finished by the end of September, perhaps into October and on sale by then.

Reviews

I’m sure all writers say it but reviews really do matter. I have been fortunate that many kind readers have left me reviews on lots of my books on Amazon and Goodreads. There are occasions when books sell well but get few or no reviews, but all I can say is they help writers know if they’re doing well, as well as if there are problems, but they also let other readers know if a book is good and worth reading. It helps others and when they review they help you too. So if you like a book please do try to find the time to leave a review or a rating. Thanks!

Contacts

If you find something wrong in a book, not just mine but any, you always have the option of contacting the author and commenting on it or asking about it. Most authors are happy to hear from their readers, and I am no exception. I always try to reply to any emails or other contacts I get, and if there is a problem I will always try to offer a proper response to it. So please feel free to contact authors any time, whatever it is for, I am sure they will welcome the feedback and response. I know I do.

Editing Problems

I had an email from a man recently who was unhappy with issues in one of my books. He was quite unhappy with things, and I have to admit I understood completely. The fact is I pay others to edit my books after I have completed my revisions. Unfortunately, I have been let down, not just once but on a number of occasions, because these so-called editors who claim expertise and attention to detail miss more than I do from an initial cursory check. I have found it difficult to get a reliable editor, something I am sure many people suffer from, but I am aware of problems and work hard to fix them. If you find an issue with one of my books you are always welcome to email me and say so, and I will ensure it is dealt with immediately.

I have taken steps to ensure editing is much better in my books, but obviously, it is something that needs improving across publishing and I for one will work much harder to do better.

Thank You

I just want to say a very big thank you to every single person who has ever bought and read one of my books, and there are a lot of you. It means everything to me, and I fully appreciate you investing in me and what I create. I love writing and love the worlds I create and the characters and events I imagine, and I am so happy that so many of you feel the same way. Thank you very, very much for your support. I look forward to writing many more books to come and seeing your reactions.

Take Care.

David.

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Good Time To Read & Updates.

A time to sit in and a time to read

The weather in many parts of the world is often quite bad, but in the UK lately what feels like a never ending series of storms has caused a lot of problems. There has been weeks of very high winds, so much rain that large areas in the UK are being terribly affected by flooding, and those who are lucky enough to escape the flooding are stuck with weeks on end of none stop rain and cold.
It is the first of March this coming Sunday, and usually this signals the coming of Spring and better weather. With it we see the first flowers of the season, enough dry and warm days to put our washing out to dry and perhaps even the chance to open our windows or doors to allow in some fresh air. As things are it’s difficult to see such an outcome at the moment, but no doubt before long things will recover, warmth will return, and once again we can shed the heavy clothing and venture out without the shield of an umbrella.
The one thing we all share in common throughout the year is our love of reading. When it is cold and wet outside, there is never a better time to stay in and read, to catch up on that new book you just bought or even simply pick up a newspaper or magazine and read.
Personally I often enjoy going and either sitting in a soft, padded chair or laying a blanket out on the grass and enjoying the warmth, under a parasol, and with a good book. Have a drink beside me and a pillow to rest on, and I can easily spend hours reading and losing myself in the worlds and events of a good book.
So as awful as it is outside, as bad as the weather can get, we will always have the sanctuary of those wonderful books we read and the way they make us feel and think.

New Dog Book

I am just finishing up with the last of my new dog book. It was going to be a short novella, nice and simple, a fun read, but as I got into it I ended up writing more and more and I just don’t know when to stop. Of course I will though, and expect it to be done this coming week, then off to be edited and then on sale. No matter that it will be much longer, it will still be a nice price of 99 cents US or 99p UK, and similar price other countries.

Coming Next

I have had a lot of good feedback from my full length novel Missing, although reviews are slow to appear, it has been well received and continues to be popular. It was always intended as a series of books, and because I enjoyed writing it so much and because it continues to do well I have decided that my next book to work on will be a sequel to that. It is one of my larger titles and takes longer to write, but I know where the series is heading, so I am certain it won’t take long to write. I will keep everyone posted on the progress, and as my new newsletter will be coming out soon for everyone to subscribe to for free I will post snippets of my writing on there for people to enjoy and comment on.

Thank You

Thanks for all the support I have had from my readers, it has been immense and so much has happened over the past eighteen months it’s been quite a whirlwind! I can’t imagine where things are going to go over the next eighteen months and beyond, but it’s a huge amount of fun, and I hope to always ensure that you as readers enjoy that as much as I do.

Bye for now

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The differences between US and UK spelling and grammar, plus new book

For my new book I decided to employ a professional editor to fully copy edit my book. Some things stood out for me:

Firstly, as much as I edit my books, and am very careful about it, I’m only human, and of course there were things I overlooked, one or two mistakes. They happen, but with my new editor’s aid I believe we have ironed out all spelling errors, continuity errors and such. This should make the reading experience much better.

Secondly, I must admit to being shocked at the amount of words spelt very differently in the US compared to the UK. I made the mistake of thinking it was only a few words, and not so important. How wrong was I?!
Other things such as standing and stood, being said differently, and plurals and singular, the differences are so many. Clearly editing for a different market are important. lesson learned.

One thing about doing things so much more professionally is it adds to the time before publication. Thankfully I am at the end of it all now, and my new book should be launched within the next week or so.

The genre is quite a departure for me, dealing with family and emotional issues, which are complex and subtle. Writing something like this can be emotional for the writer too, but I feel if I am experiencing an emotional connection with the events in the novel, and how they effect the characters, then hopefully that will feed through to the readers. Time will tell.

Of course, the work never stops, and my next project is going to be the final part of The Dog Under The Bed. It will be simply subtitled: What Happened Next, and concludes it all.

I have been very pleasantly shocked and surprised at the reaction to the first book, at the time of writing this it has 148 reviews on amazon, and a huge amount of ratings on Goodreads too. Clearly it is a much loved book, and worthy of a good conclusion.
I can say the final chapter will be very loving, full of fun and humour, and a wonderful way to send Arthur off to his new home, with his new family.

Roll on next week, when I begin writing it, I can’t wait!

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