Chatting with New Blood: D. Cowart

Posted: October 26, 2024 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Chatting with New Blood, Historical Fiction, Historical Inspiration, Interview, Review | Tags: Chatting with New Blood, D.Cowart, Elkabel, Historic Fiction, Writing to be Read | Leave a comment

My guest today is author D. Cowart, who has recently released her second novel, Elkabel: A Life Spared, A Destiny Rewritten.

About D. Cowart

D Cowart, born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, began her writing journey as a young girl. She’s written poetry, children’s stories, songs, song lyrics, a short story, and family skits. A Prison of Silk is her first novel. It’s a story of subjugation in ancient times when girls and their mothers were controlled and owned by men.

Males in other countries today still have rights denied to females. One’s gender reigning supreme over the other is unjustifiable in any era. The premise of this book came to her over thirty years ago. A Bible passage she read showing the low value placed on women infuriated her when she read it.

The author’s stories are character and plot-driven with a new slant on old ideas.

http://dalewrites.com

Interview

Kaye: Would you begin by telling us about your author journey? How long have you been writing? What inspires you to write?

D. Cowart: I’ve been a storyteller since childhood. Once I terrified my cousins with a ghost story I told them. They had trouble sleeping that night. Since then, I veered from scary tales forever. Through the years I created many, many children’s stories but never tried publishing. I’ve written poems, song lyrics, two songs with tunes, a short story, many articles on topics of interest to me, and a couple of skits for my grandkids to act out.

Kaye: Elkabel is actually your second novel. This one and your first, A Prison in Silk, both take place during the same time period, when women weren’t valued very much. Can you tell us about what inspired you to write these stories?

D. Cowart: I was a third daughter to parents who wanted a boy. Before I was 2 years old, they had a son! I saw the privileges afforded a male child that females had to work for. The time period of the Bible shows beyond question the way women were devalued. The injustices of then and since inspired me to write A PRISON OF SILK.

Kaye: Where do you find information about the time period of these books? What type of research do you do?

D. Cowart: Historical articles of all kinds, even the Bible. If I have any questions, and I always do, I spend as much time as it takes to get a better understanding of that topic even if it’s to write a short sentence. Research keeps me interested and sort of focused as I write my book. This time period has interested me for as long as I can remember and it’s an enjoyable part of my writing process.

Kaye: Is there a third book planned at this time?

D. Cowart: Yes. The third one picks up where the first book ended. I’m excited about the character in this book and his journey.

Kaye: You write historical fiction. Who would you say is your favorite historical character?

D. Cowart: In a broader sense my books are historical fantasy. In my first book, the king is a combination of Alexander the Great, King Solomon, and King Nebuchadnezzar. Even Hannibal with his use of elephants in war.

Kaye: What author or poet (dead or alive) would you most like meet and visit with?

D. Cowart: So many come to mind that I’ll pass on this question.

Kaye: What other outlets do you find for your creativity besides writing?

D. Cowart: I’ve had many hobbies, refinishing furniture was one (loved seeing the wood shine through layers of gunk). I did genealogy work long before it was available online, and dabbled with drawing and acrylic painting. I also sang in a community chorus and loved to line dance.

Kaye: What traits in your main characters do you most identify with?

D. Cowart: I think when you don’t have a lot of support growing up, you have to be resourceful, even brave, and you become stronger in the process because you must.

Kaye: What is the best piece of writing advice that you have ever received?

D. Cowart: When I decided to write a novel, I tapped into wonderful help online. Author Jerry Jenkins’ articles and tips guided me when I first began and countless others since. I guess the thing I want most to achieve is writing a strong beginning, a strong middle, and a strong ending for my stories.

Kaye: Where do you hope to see yourself as a writer in ten years?

D. Cowart: At my age, I just hope to be alive in ten years.

About the Book

In an ancient world when females had little to no power, fifteen-year-old Elkabel becomes an orphan. Family, friends, and all other inhabitants of her province have been slaughtered. She survives only because Medeba, an enemy soldier, defied the royal command and saved her.

Elkabel’s resilience and resourceful attributes take her from one strange life to another. She experiences customs, places, and people a farm girl never knew existed. Never belonging, uprooted again and again, she struggles to make a life of her own.

Will the constant challenges make or break her? And how will helping her change the young soldier’s fate? Don’t miss reading ELKABEL, A Life Spared, A Destiny Rewritten, a fast paced and unpredictable story of survival.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Elkabel-D-Cowart-ebook/dp/B0DCM145MQ

My Review

I did a final proofread of the manuscript for Elkabel, A Life Spared, A Destiny Rewritten, by D. Cowart and immediately knew that I wanted to write this review. All opinions stated here are my own.

This story has all the elements of a tragic romance. In the aftermath of a raid to wipe out their people, with orders to spare no one, Medeba finds a young girl, still alive amoung the carnage and can’t bring himself to end her life, although it could mean his own life, should his disobedience be discovered. That girl was Elkabel, and although circumstances rake them both in very different directions, the bond between them remains and can’t be denied.

Elkabel faces trials that make her stronger, while Medeba abandons the only life he knows to find the girl he saved and loves, even before his feelings are realized in his own mind. But it seems fate is determined to keep them apart, as each makes their own way through the world and carries them away from each other.

The descriptive language Cowart uses places the reader in the times and settings of the story, where one can’t help but root for the lovers unrecognized to find one another and allow their love to be realized. Her research and knowledge of the times is evident in every scene.

This historic fantasy is delightful and entertaining, and you won’t want to put it down once you pick it up. I give Elkabel five quills.

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