Author Notes

A Celebration by Luke Cowling.  I'm really excited to announce that all the details have been ironed out for my Audible contract, and I've signed on the dotted line! To celebrate I've decided to reduce the price on my third book, the second volume of the Notes series, so that more people can familarise themselves with the universe, the closer the audiobook comes to completion. Enjoy! Find Notes From The Monster Cartographer Vol. II Here! What does the contract mean? Glad you asked. It means that soon, my first novel 'Owenoak' will be made available on the audiobook platform. For a full list of available platforms to listen to the upcoming Owenoak audiobook, I've included an image down further.  The narrator for the first novel, and most likely the squeal, is none other than Sean Posvistak. Why Sean? Well his audition for the role stood out amongst all the other narrators who auditioned to narrate Owneoak.  We'll be working together ...

An Insight by Luke Cowling.  Twenty-Five when Owenoak was finished. Twenty-Five when it was edited and published. Nervous. Excited. Scared. Proud. Worried. Twenty-Five. I could've been younger, I could’ve published Owenoak years ago. The story was always there. The skeleton. But I’m glad I wasn’t. I’m glad I didn’t. But that’s not really what this piece is about. It’s about the reason, the difference between now and then. You see my Wife has this incredible ability to detract so many of those trepidations, she’s wipes them away like an eraser through a chalk board. To have someone who can do that during the creative process? Well that’s invaluable. To have someone whose intellect and opinion I trust, to critique and give encouragement to my art. That is why my works are published. That is why the stories got written, the creatures came alive, the reason books sell. Invaluable. I’ve already written about the self-doubt that all authors feel, all artists feel. And to...

An Insight by Luke Cowling. Charles Bukowski is my favorite poet. He's everything that appeals to me in a writer, in fact. He's self depreciating, humorous, dark, insightful, crass and unapologetic. His work has been criticised for being lowbrow, but so be it, I enjoy his poetry regardless. As such I decided I might share of my favourite Bukowski pieces, some of his more macabre work if you will, as these are the one's that I tend to resonate more with. Though please do not think me ignorant to his crude assessments of the human condition, in attempts of humour. I just enjoy his darker works more than those. I believe his widow made much of his library available to the public, though I don't remember how or why. A PDF of much of his poetry can be found  Here. Anyway, here are some of my personal favourites:

A Thought by Luke Cowling. I'd like to share with you an excerpt from an article in this month's New Yorker, and whilst the piece falls under the humour column, I've extracted a piece from that article that I found really thought provoking.  Don't get me wrong, if the entire piece is read then the attempt at humour is quite obvious and very enjoyable. It's designed to be a tongue in cheek analysis of what your writing utensil says about you as a person, but there's a snippet that I really enjoyed at the beginning of the piece.  It's about your identity as a writer, and how not only your work speaks for you, but how you build it. This is something I think on often, how not every person who wants to write has the utensils they want or need, and how these barriers affect our art. Anyway, I wont clog up the quote any longer.  "Cromac McCarthy purchased a powder blue Olivetti Lettera 32 mechanical typewriter in a Tennessee pawnshap, in 1963, fo...

An Insight by Luke Cowling. Whizbuzz Books have been gracious enough to feature one of my works on their website, and across their various sources of social media. This partnership is something I am really excited about, as the platform is one that I've enjoyed as end user for some time. What is Whizbuzz books you ask? I'm so glad you asked. Whizzbuz books has an expansive catalogue of books where readers can discover new talents, and expand their library! You can find books from just about every genre, all by authors who are trying to take their first piece of the pie in the industry. Find Owenoak on Whizbuzz now! Where do I read Whizbuzz? I've added links to all their social media accounts, so that you can follow their additions and hopefully expand your horizons some.  Twitter.   Facebook.   Pinterest.   Tumblr.   RSS.

An Insight by Luke Cowling. Justin Furstenfeld is one of the most creative and gifted minds in human history. A big call, I know. But like nearly everything on this blog, this is said from my perspective. And from my perspective this statement is true absolute. The man is a source of great inspiration for myself, and not just artistically. His story of story of perseverance in the face of overwhelming mental anguish is something I reflect on often, and use most days with the everyday struggles that we all face. What brought the man to my attention though, is his art. Whether it be his book, his poetry, his music, his paintings. Everything speaks to me on a level that is so cerebral, I feel as though each piece was made particularly for myself. And if it seems as though I am pissing in the man's pocket, it is because I am. For those unfamiliar with his works, please spend a quiet evening to yourself getting familiar with some form of his artistry. It is something you will ...

A Celebration by Luke Cowling. I'm really excited to share the news that Owenoak has broken into Amazon's Bestseller top 10,000 Fantasy Adventure Fiction books. Which has come as really welcome news as I dutifully work away at it's successor. For those unfamiliar with the story of the first book, I've added it's synopsis below. Anyway, I thought I would make an attempt to make the publication a little more accessible to those who haven't had the pleasure yet, in that vein I've heavily reduced the price of reading the E-Book with amazon, to celebrate! So enjoy! Find Owenoak here! The tormented soul of a corrupt Genie. A man-man on the cusp of world-ending power. A magical city at the centre of The Continent's military and political power. People from all over The Contient come to Owenoak to have their problems solved, more often than not, at the Guild. For within the Guild resides problem solvers. Members ranking from lowly Rank One Guil...

A Review by Luke Cowling.  Everybody knows Emily Rodda as the brilliant face and pen behind the ridiculously popular Deltora Quest series, but her other works often go unnoticed, suffocated by the success of DQ. And this is a shame, because without Emily's other works, I may not even be as interested in fantasy as I am today. Her series entitled 'Rowan of Rin' largely slips under the radar as far as the genre goes, and this is again a great shame. The series is an extremely simplistic read, designed for children and young adults, but includes some of the most well known tropes in the genre, which serves as a great introduction for young people to realms of dragons, elves, orcs and so forth. I cannot tell you what year, but my primary educations included the first book in the series somehow as part of the curriculum. And as a result this lead me to reading the rest of the series in my youth, and much past that I was hooked on Rodda. The stories are not so complex t...

A Thought by Luke Cowling. I am time poor. Simple as that. None of us has the time we wish we had, for all the things we love. In a perfect world we all would, but the sad reality is that we all simply do not live there. So, what's the solution? Some people avidly stick to schedules, time management sheets, allotments and alarms. I am not so organised, and to be honest, I don't really want to be. I simply do with my spare time was feels right, and if a lament it later, well, so be it. But when it comes to writing, I find it especially difficult to priorities this time. I am so excited to tell the story I am working on, but sometimes the monolith of things that remain to write, becomes daunting.  I would hazard a guess that this is part of the reason we're all still waiting for Martin to finish 'The Winds of Winter'. But maybe I don't know this stranger's intent, as well as I think I do. But I take solace in the fact that I might share a common proble...

An Insight by Luke Cowling. Describing things that have no worldly example is difficult. To make a portrait in words of something conceived of your own imagination that is, is something I struggle with regularly. It's something that has cropped up more often as I continue my progress with Owenoak's elaborate and lengthy successor. As a result I feel sometimes it helps to point these ideas to pen, and try to describe what I am able to draw, rather than what is in my imagination. You see a drawing in pen is a finite thing, unlike your imagination. It will not evolve as your description is written, it is plainly there for you to describe, and I find this essential to getting an apt summary of something I've conceived. I did toy with the notion of including these is the upcoming special edition of the NFTMC series. Though I feel they are such rough drafts, and of poor artistic quality, that they would add very little to the encyclopedia. I do however have a poorly drawn...

An Insight by Luke Cowling. Keeping in the theme of meaningfulness pieces of art, or media, in the form of the ten most impactful in a list, I'd like to share another form of media that has shaped my personality over the years. It is no secret that I am a self-confessed nerd. I love everything geek, and this is in it's fullest in the form of video games. So, these are the ten video games that mean the most to me. Again they are in no particular order: Pokemon Gold / Heart Gold, from Game Freak. Mass Effect 2, from BioWare. FF7: Crisis Core, from Square Enix. Dragon Age: Origins, from BioWare. Rappelz: Epic 4, from Gala-Net. Digimon World 2, from Bandai. Middle Earth: Shadow of War, from Monolith Productions. Halo: Combat Evolved, from Bungie. Monster Rancher, from Koei Tecmo. Fable, from Lionhead Studios. These are the games that I remember as having a lasting effect on me. Throughout thousands of hours, dozens of replays on replays, and years of mem...

A Thought by Luke Cowling. Everyone has that one book. That one that has a special place in your heart. That one that you return to time and time again. Maybe there’s a special reason for you. Maybe there isn’t. Maybe you just read it once and couldn’t imagine it not being special. Maybe it saved your life. Made it better. Made it easier. Who knows. For me? I read The Call of the Wild by Jack London whilst I was in my younger years in school. Maybe I was 8, or 12, younger, older. I don’t really recall to be honest. Memory isn’t my strong suit. Anyway, The Call of the Wild. I can’t particularly articulate why it is that book. Maybe I am looking through a haze of nostalgia. Maybe it truly is a perfect masterpiece. The point is that book introduced me to my love of the written word, for the keen appreciation for it. As a child, I’d finish it, turn to the first page, and start it again. I was that hooked. Buck’s story is to credit for much I’ve done since, and truly I’m ...

An Insight by Luke Cowling. I think the Owenoak sequel might come as a surprised to most readers. Not in the fact that it exists, there was obviously more story to be told there. But in the content, the writing style, the tone. I’d say I’ve tried to make the book more accessible. Whilst Owenoak’s writing style and content were targeted at very young readers, the sequel has evolved to a point where that may be true, but it will not be droll to older audiences also. I am not trying to seem arrogant, the work simply is what it is, and I am proud of its accessibility. Readers can look forward to a deep and rich lore, adult themes and situations, but not so dark that the lovers of its predecessor will be isolated. I am excited to prove this too. As the Amazon copyright, and the cover artists copyright, come in to completion, then I can share snippets of the story that elaborate what I’m speaking on, and images of the artwork that show this evolution also. The crux of...

An Insight by Rosemarie Cowling. One of my biggest pleasures in life is sitting down with a new film, the whole experience is one I find absolutely delicious. I will gather my favourite snacks, I'll make myself comfortable; ready to hunker down and be transported to a different world for a period of time that is just mine. By mine, I mean cuddled in beside my husband, usually in bed as this happens to be my happy place. As such, over the years I have seen an embarrassing amount of films. Some, well, let's just say I'd deny ever having seen them and others stay with you long after they've finished. It's a special type of magic. I believe our tastes in films are as unique as our fingerprints and enjoy swapping recommendations with others. Often a gem is found and added to the library. So, here is my list of gems, not in a particular order. The genres vary, but each holds a special place in my heart. Some made me laugh, some I enjoy with my children, some made me st...

An Insight by Luke Cowling.  I love a good film, much like everybody else, and I like to use this platform to give insights into my personality. The things we enjoy in comparison with other people is what defines our personality, what separates us as individuals. As such, I thought I might list some of the films that I enjoy above all others; ones that have meant something to me, moved me, entertained me, changed me, made me laugh, made me cry, etc. You get the gist of it. What's the best way to do this though? Well there are literally hundreds of thousands of top 10 lists across youtube, blogs, social media, etc. They're the done thing lately. And if it ain't broke, don't fix so it. So, here's my list of films. Mind you they are in no particular order, not listed 10 through 1 in order of significance, merely listed as the ten most meaningful to myself. The Godfather Part II, from Francis Ford Coppola. The Green Mile, from Frank Darabont. The Shawshank...

A Thought by Luke Cowling. Hindsight is a beautiful thing. Examples pop-up in our every day lives often, and the turn of phrase has survived for as long as it has because of the frequency of it's use. One of the most precious and lengthy examples comes upon the evaluation of ones life; either as it comes to a close, a near death experience, a traumatic event, a midlife crisis, anything of the kind where we really take stock of who we are, and what we've done. The problem of hindsight is exactly that, one cannot have it until the event has passed. And though we can learn from the experience, that only helps to preempt the next event to a degree, rather than handle it in it's entirety. The reason I'm being all philosophical with you is that mortality is something we all have in common, and I think a fear of being disappointing in one's life during the stages of evaluation that I mentioned earlier, is one that I feel a lot of people would share with myself. ...

A Thought by Luke Cowling I had always been interested by the concept of Audiobooks. For the longest time I was curious as to what the draw was. Why listen to a book, when you can simply read it for yourself? And that's where I left my opinion on the concept for a very long time. Ignorant, I know. I was young, okay? But since then, my commute has expanded and my down time dramatically lowered, and it is this problem that I discovered my instant love for Audiobooks. Their availability as background noise whilst I do the most menial of tasks, like laundry, driving, etc, has made my life dramatically more enjoyable. The theatrics of a read performance of a written works. The modern availability is methods to listen. The price point of Audibook subscriptions. The medium has evolved dramatically over a short amount of time, or perhaps it's my ignorance that has changed in a short amount of time, who knows. The point I'm trying to cement here, is that I would recomm...

An Insight by Luke Cowling. A rare insight to my private life, though probably an obvious one for those who've read my works. I love dogs. They feature heavily in my Bestiary, both volumes (and the upcoming special edition) because of how influential they've been in my life. And for those among you who are also dog lovers, you can attest to just how dramatically they change your life. When I was young I had a small blonde Tibetan Spaniel named Leah, and for many, many years Leah was my best friend and my closet confidant. And whilst Leah is no longer with us, the affection and bond that we shared carries through to my works when I am carving out a personality for a non-human character. A dog's ability so say so much, without needing speak words was a really big inspiration in the writing of the animal companion in Owenoak. Several years later, in my adult life, I have now have a wonderful young Kelpie named Fenrir. A bouncy boy still not out of the tenacious pu...

An Insight by Luke Cowling. The inspiration for creatures in the Owenoak universe is a consistently inconsistent one, which sets them apart from the characters created, or yet to be created. Whereas most characters can be pulled from my personal life, and the interactions therein, the monsters and beasties however, do not, well not entirely anyway. Tolkien set the pace for basically a hundred years worth of high-fantasy: Orcs, Elves and Dwarves. They’re the bread and butter of any fantasy genre book, movie, game, etc. So, much like everyone else, that’s where a fair piece of my inspiration comes from. Some others include memorable video games from my youth, creatures and critters that haunted me on game over screens.  Some come mythologies much older than Tolkien or his colleagues, Norse and Greek for examples. Krakens, Medusa, Harpies. All the well known tropes. I’d like to think a fair chunk of the the bestiary comes from my own imagination, but it’d be...

A Thought by Luke Cowling. The creative process is different for everyone, but you didn’t need me to tell you that. But I think the one thing we all have in common, whether it’s a novel, music, art and anything where you put yourself out there for people: self doubt. “This isn’t as good as I could do.” “My old work is so much better.” “People just won’t like this.” I could give you a million examples, but you get the idea. And I am not immune to this phenomenon. In fact, I am especially vulnerable. Every paragraph. Every chapter. Heck, even my entire first novel. It’s in these moments however, I remember something I read on a website whose name I don’t remember. Probably written by someone notable, but I don’t remember that either, neither are important. “The worst thing you write, is always better than the best thing you don’t write.” Ideas come and go. Your brain is constantly coming to brilliant conclusions, or wonderful stories or lyrics, photographi...

A Snippet by Luke Cowling. I’m really excited about my new upcoming works, and I’d like to take a moment to share some of the inspiration and direction that I’ve decided to take the Owenoak series. First and foremost the upcoming works will most likely remain untitled during much of the creative process.I have something in mind, but it wouldn’t really do to share it now, and have the title change in post production, or during the writing itself. I can tell you that there is a large time lapse between the latter parts of the first book, and the picking up of the sequel. I’ve decided this in part because of the theme direction I wanted to take the sequel, which is a fantastic steampunk setting, and that didn’t really align with where the first story’s time setting sat. There are some returning characters despite those though, and I think they might subvert most expectations, but that’ll be my secret for now. As far as completion and when the title can be expected,...

A Review by Luke Cowling. The Prince of Thorns is a surprise is the best of ways. The book’s cover art, and the synopsis, give no impression to just how brilliant the work is. The writing is extremely simple, suitable for teens or young adults. However the story itself is gruesome and littered with adult content.  What do you get when you combine the contrast between these very, very different styles? Why, a guilty pleasure book of course! And that is exactly what this first entry in the series is, a guilty pleasure. That piece of devils food cake that you eye every time you order a salad at your local cafe. The Prince of Thorns is not an intellectually challenging read, nor should it be. But if that’s what you’re looking for from your next fantasy novel, then this isn’t it. What this is however, is a loveable rogue cutting a path in everyone and everything, making wise cracks and sometimes even enlightening commentary. His commentary is really what makes this b...