The Lee Kennedy Acknowledgments

As usual with a released book there are a number of people who I would like to thank, who have been involved in the production of this book.

First to AUK who have agreed to help me to get this book out to the world, so that more than just my friends and I can read it.

To everyone who read the first couple of chapters on www.waveysbookbyjune.blogspot.ie (while that site existed) and provided comments and feedback, thank you.

To William Paul Young for both ‘The Shack’ and ‘Crossroads’, two wonderful books, if you like this one you will like both of them.

To Andy McClintock, who listened to my outline ideas and began to correct some of the ideas, and improve on them, almost immediately and provided his shoulder and head for the cover.

Thanks also to Jon McClintock. I had an idea about ending this book but he and Andy thought it could be improved with an alternative ending. They then helped tease out what that ending would look like, and that is pretty much what you are reading now (or just have read, or will read soon, hopefully).

I must also thank the Irish Bible Institute, where I am presently studying a Masters in Applied Theology, this course has allowed me time to think about some of the things touched on in this book, which has been a wonderful experience for me.

Thanks mum and dad for your support and love, and Jamie and Katelyn for being awesome little siblings (even if you are both taller than me now).

Last, but by no means least, I want to say a cheesy thanks; but I really mean it. Thank you Jesus for loving me and saving me. Thank you for making every bad day good, and every good day better. Thank you for being the one set of footprints.

The ODDs Acknowledgement Section

Hi everyone, so today I got my copies of "the ODDs Beginnings" and noticed that they left out the acknowledgement section.

I believe it is very important to thank the people that believed in the twelve year old who began writing the ODDs and encouraged it the whole way up until publication.

If you were wondering why I tagged you in a post on Facebook containing a link to this that is why. You are someone I am thankful for in the production of the ODDs. If you buy the book (available here Book Depository, ODDs) then please feel free to print these acknowledgements and stick them in the pages at the back. They should be in your copies!

Acknowledgements:

It was over ten years ago that the first version of the ODDs was begun and there are so many people to thank between then and now.

Thank you to early concept artists: Richard Martin, Aisling Harney, David McInerney, Jonathan Cribben, Conor Campbell, Jenny Callan, Jamie Cowpar and Anna-Victoria Lynch.

Thank you to all the people who read versions of this book and offered criticism and advice: Shane Vaughan, David 'Milky' Barry, Ben Jackson and Samuel Lawes.

Thank you to the people who helped inspire parts of the story, as well as the above, that includes Finbarr Begley, Daniel Wheeler, Melissa Kelly and Kevin Neville.

I need to say a big thank you to the staff of Villiers Secondary School in Limerick who, apart from giving me an education, also believed in this book.

Thank you to Mr Geoff Griffin who tasked us with writing a five chapter short story, a poem and a play that instilled a love of this craft in me way back in 2002-3.

Thank you to Mary O’Sullivan who read the ODDs before it was even called such.

Thanks to Dr. Richard Johnston who allowed me to submit chapters as essays and was the first person to read the completed first draft of this book, and pass it on, recognising a talent that was really undeveloped at the time.

Thanks to Jonathan Lawes for everything he was and is as a teacher and a person. 

Thanks to Janet Woods who ignited a passion for history in me which I was not aware was there and for being one of the first people to feedback after downloading it to her Kindle.

Miscellaneous thank you(s) are owed to Aoife Beville, Conor O’Neill, Isabel Kennedy, Tom and Grace Campbell, Dónal Walsh, Colman McCarthy, Jason Kelly, James Kelly, Jon McClintock, Aislinn McClintock, Daniel Duffy, Tricia Flannery, Michelle Malone, Greg Duffy, Mark Duffy, Katelyn Cowpar, Mary-T Clancy and many others who have been involved in this process in some way, shape or form over the past ten years.

To my mother and father, Katharine and Ken Cowpar, I am most grateful for all you have given me, and the support you have been. Told you I could do it ;)

Finally, I need to thank my three cover artists. Anna-Victoria Lynch, who worked on the back of the cover. Jamie Cowpar, who did initial sketches and pulling together of the front cover, and Andy McClintock who perfected those sketches and made the front cover what it is today.

This may sound cheesy but thanks and praise are most certainly owed to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by whom all things hold together and in whose power I live, stand, move, breathe and have my being. My life only continues at Your will and it is my will that my life would be lived in service to you. You gave everything for me Jesus and everything I have is from You, so I give it all to You for You deserve so much more.

Where do we go from here?

This post is about my plans for the future of writing; now that I actually have books out.

I wanted to include the following video, but the only words that actually kind of suit the tone of what I am saying is the "where do we go from here" part. Ah shur, here it is anyway.

It's insane to think that in May 2002 I began writing a story, a story which developed over the ten years between then and 2012, into what is today published as "The ODDs Beginnings".

Although I always wanted to see the day the ODDs would be published it is still hard to believe that it has actually happened. But, now that it has, there is a sense of "what comes next?"

Firstly, sales of the actual books would be great. So I am going to include their covers, and where you can find them now!

The Book Depository is probably the cheapest place to buy the ODDs Beginnings. It has free postage to most countries in the world.The ODDs Beginnings.

At present Lee Kennedy is not in stock in the Book Depository, however, you can order it from Amazon, ignore the not in stock on the page, of course it isn't, no one has ordered it yet so they haven't either. Lee Kennedy on Amazon

Okay, so enough about both of them. Let's talk the future.

The more observant among you will have noticed that 'The ODDs' is published under the name 'Wavey' and 'Lee Kennedy' as 'David J. Cowpar'. There is a reason for this! The future of my book writing will make all of that become clearer, but I will tell you about it.

Everything published with the name 'Wavey' exists in the same fictional universe. This universe is called "the Waveyverse". Everything I write that doesn't find its home in the Waveyverse will be published by David J. Cowpar.

The Waveyverse:

This is the place where the ODDs exist. Here is the current stance of what will be coming out, and in the Waveyverse.

Presently available:

-The ODDs Beginnings (AUK, Nov 2013)

Presently complete, but as of yet unavailable:

-The ODDs 2: Chaos and Discord (hopefully available late 2014 or early 2015)

Works begun, but not yet completed:

-The ODDs 3: The Battle for Limerick.

-Erebus' Darkness (a story about an alien that crash lands on earth. The ODDs and Earth's Army [who appear in the ODDs] will be hunting the alien down.)

-Dahag: The Scourge of Moleth (this one is about dragons in Ancient England, about the time of the Roman invasions, [Dahag is the old Zoroastrian {that's a religion} or Persian word])

-Dahag: The First Ajaja (also about dragons, follows on from 'The Scourge of Moleth'. Ajaja is the Finnish word for Rider)

Works planned, but not begun:

-The ODDs Dragons (a spin off of the ODDs 2, which brings the Dahag story and the ODDs story together)

-Dahag: Chicago (the third Dahag story which brings the characters in Dahag into contact with some of the ODDs characters)

-The ODDs 4: Apocalypse.

-The ODDs 5: Colony

-Erebus War.

-Dimingo (a small lizard-esque creature that teaches kids history.)

-Dragon and Horse (a dragon and a horse that teach young kids about the alphabet.)

Possible Comic book series' that belong to the same universe:

-The Grand Masters (a prequel to the ODDs, like the Old Testament to the ODDs' New Testament, tells the stories through history that are alluded to in the Prequel of 'the ODDs Beginnings')

-The Adventures of James Games (another ODDs prequel, telling the story of the 4 years James Games was the first Water Empowered)

-Waves (my own superhero. He falls into radioactive water, with his radio studio, which is struck by lightning and he gains the powers of Waves)

-Earth's Army (the organisation mentioned in both the ODDs and Erebus series' own series)

Wavey Seas Themepark. With elements from all of those books (and TV shows and movies) as rides. This is the dream at least!

The non-Wavey verse books i.e. things published by David J. Cowpar.

-Sleeper (begun) a story about two cops investigating a modern day case of Sleeping Beauty.

-The Tale of the Magic Dust.