Barnaby
Wilde, of course, doesn't exist. Even his name is a joke. (If you
haven't got the joke yet, think Steppenwolf and, if you still haven't
got it, you'll have to Google).
The
truth is that Barnaby Wilde is a liar. He makes things up. He
confabulates. He tells stories for personal gain. You can't believe a
thing he says.
The
question is, why does he do it? The obvious answer, one might
suppose, is that he'd like to be rich and famous, but even he doesn't
believe that's going to happen. So, why?
Perhaps
he just wants to be loved? Actually, that might not be too far from
the truth. Certainly he's delighted when someone tells him that
they've enjoyed reading something he's written. In fact, he gets far
more pleasure from a piece of positive feedback, such as a book
review, than he does from any commission he might make from selling
it. In that case, you might ask why he doesn't give all his books
away for free. Well, he has this strange belief that the only praise
you can truly trust comes from the stranger who's laid out his own
money. If someone takes the trouble to leave a positive review for
something they've paid for, then it's probably genuine praise.
Maybe
he's insecure? He needs to feel needed? Perhaps, though he has plenty
of people around him who appear to find him useful. He certainly
doesn't admit to feeling insecure.
Could
it be that he just has an urge to be creative? Now, that surely has a
ring of truth to it. He's certainly tried his hand at a few creative
endeavours such as wood turning, pottery and painting in the past.
Writing, though, has been there at some level or another ever since
he was a kid. One of his earliest memories is of his father
one-finger typing a story that Barnaby had written at his Primary
School and turning it into a miniature book. (No idea what ever
happened to it, sadly).
On
the other hand, could it just be conceit? Maybe he just wants other
people to see how clever he is? He swears it isn't, but it's an
unconvincing denial.
Barnaby's
own explanation is that he simply wants to entertain, amuse, and
maybe, occasionally, mystify people. He loves the sound of words. He
loves puns and rhymes. He says his head is full of stories and he
thinks other folk might find them diverting.
But,
as I said at the beginning, you can't believe a word he says. He
makes things up.
You
can find out more about Barnaby Wilde and his books at
http://www.barnabywilde.uk
follow him on bluesky @barnabywildeauthor.bsky.social
or buy his books at Amazon (or your own favourite bookseller).
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/barnabywilde
