Vlogging a Dead Horse

Well hello there, you're looking remarkably well. Have you been working out? Me neither.

Anyway, the reason I'm writing this post is to tell you about a new thing I'm doing - Vlogging a Dead Horse - a new series on YouTube about writing, books and whatever else pops into my head. Plus, there'll be all kinds of other surprises and whatnot. 

The first episode is up now and features a WORLD EXCLUSIVE Joe Cowley short story set before the first book. So what are you waiting for? Watch the thing so I can become one of those big time YouTubers like Zoeena or Danzig and Philbert.

My Embarrassing Dad's Gone Viral!

Greetings! 

Ben Davis here with a blog about my new book, My Embarrassing Dad's Gone Viral!

It's the story of Nelson - a twelve year old boy whose mum disappears one day, leaving his dad to look after him and his five year old sister, Mary. After a search turns up no clues, Nelson thinks that the best way to get Mum back is to become a famous YouTuber and make enough money so that she'll want to return. However, that plan goes awry when Dad moves the family to the middle of nowhere and enforces a strict no computers or TV rule on them.

Despite that, Nelson continues to secretly make unsuccessful videos until one day, his Dad unwittingly becomes the star of the show and is catapulted to internet fame. Can Nelson get his mum back before his dad finds out just how famous he is? There's only one way to find out!

I made a video about the book for my publisher's sales conference which you can view below:

And to top it all off, MEDGV! has been named a 'Book We Like' by BookTrust (review here) as well as a Young Writers Recommended Read and a Bag of Booklists Book of the Month.

My Embarrassing Dad's Gone Viral! is out now from all the usual places.

Podcast Time!

Hello blog people!

I was recently a guest on the marvellous ThankBookFor podcast. We talked about books, sharks and Marmite. It was loads of fun.

You can listen at ThankBookFor.com or via your preferred podcast-listening app.

Gensundheit!

Q&A Video

Good day! Here is my Q&A video for your perusal . . .

Welcome to Cringefest video

Guten abend! To mark the publication of Welcome to Cringefest this week, I'm making an FAQ video. If you have a burning question about Joe Cowley, writing in general, or what my favourite crisp flavour is*, just write it as a comment, send a PM, or get in touch through my website and I will answer it in the video.

PLUS! Everyone who asks a question will be entered into a draw to win a signed copy of Welcome to Cringefest. A prize potentially worth hundreds of pence.

*Trick question. Twiglets

Welcome to Cringefest

Yes indeed, Joe is back!

Welcome to Cringefest picks up eight months after the end of Return of the Geek. Joe is still desperately sad at losing Natalie, the love of his life, and is determined to win her back.

Of course, because it's Joe, his attempts at talking to her only make things worse, and he is about to give up hope. That is, until he discovers a foolproof strategy, a plan that works in so many TV shows and films -

The Grand Gesture.

In case you're not familiar with Grand Gestures, here are some of the most common examples:

The Rain-Soaked Declaration of Love!

The Last Minute Airport Dash!

And of course . . .

The Standing Outside Her Bedroom Window Like a Big Creepy Freak!

Now, you know what Joe is like and that attempting any of the above activities would be a very bad idea for him, but Joe isn't that clever. And with a VIP trip to Buzzfest, the greatest music festival ever, the opportunities for Grand Gestures (as well as pain, humiliation and degradation) are limitless.

The Private Blog of Joe Cowley: Welcome to Cringefest is out on 7th April from all the usual places. Here is a video I made about it.