Sunday 27 May 2012

Barnaby makes an offer

Barnaby and Mrs W have been house hunting for several weeks.  They've looked at a lot of houses and, just like the Three Bears in Goldilocks, they've found some that are too big, some that are too small and at last, one that is just right.  It also has wonderful views, but it does need a lot of tlc.

Barnaby's offer has been accepted by the vendors and with luck he and Mrs W will soon be living in their new home and applying just the right amount of tlc to bring it back to life.

Of course Barnaby lavishes a lot of tlc on his ebooks and if you visit www.barnaby-wilde.co.uk you will see that they also come in a range of sizes to suit every size of bear.  If you follow the links you will be able to find out for yourself whether they also come with wonderful views. Happy hunting.

Monday 21 May 2012

Barnaby sees the light - almost.

It won't have escaped the attention of anyone living in the UK that the Olympic Games are being held in London this summer.  Barnaby has been waiting for the call, but, so far, the telephone hasn't rung.
As part of the pre games hype the Olympic torch relay is transporting the 'flame' on a 7,000 mile journey around Britain during the 70 day countdown to the start of the games.
The flame was lit by the rays of the sun in Greece last week and began it's journey around the UK in Cornwall two days ago, arriving in Exeter last night, before being carried on into North Devon and Somerset later in the day.  Many thousands of people turned out to see the flame carried by one of the many chosen runners as it passed near to where they lived.
Barnaby and Mrs W. duly turned out and joined the crowds and waited for an hour for the runner to pass.  His arrival was announced by the approaching noise of the crowd, who rose as one with arms and cameras in the air to photograph the once in a lifetime opportunity.  Barnaby is pleased to be able to say that he got a momentary glimpse of the top of the torch as is passed by.
Of course you can get more than a momentary glimpse of any of Barnaby's books by visiting www.barnaby-wilde.co.uk where you can sample or download any of the books to read at your leisure. What better way to prepare yourself for a summer of sport?

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Barnaby is in a wondering mood

Barnaby has been wondering how Alexander Graham Bell sold his first telephone? It's been keeping him awake at night.  Selling the second one would be comparatively easy, even though there would only have been one other person to call, and selling the third one would have been a piece of cake.  But that first one, aye, there's the rub.
It feels a bit like that selling a new book.  The author knows that it's a work of art, of course, but how to persuade the first reader to lay out hard cash and purchase a copy, that's the real trick.  Of course it's easy if you are an established author like John Grisham, or Vikram Seth because people know you already and will be eagerly awaiting the next instalment - though Barnaby seems to remember that even Vikram Seth had problems getting his first novel published - but for a new author it's an uphill struggle getting noticed.
It's comparatively easy to publish books these days as ebooks.  This gets over the first hurdle of how to make your magnum opus available to the world, but unless people read it, like it and tell their friends it's as likely to sit forever on the hard disc drive of some remote server as it ever was to end up in the remainder pile of the print book publisher. What the new author needs is good reviews.
Luckily it's very easy to download an ebook and almost as easy to leave a review once you've read it. Barnaby has decided to make it even easier and for the next few weeks both his novels 'I Keep Thinking It's Tuesday' and 'A Question of Alignment' are available for FREE download by visiting http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/barnabywilde Why not make his day and download a copy now?

Thursday 10 May 2012

Barnaby thinks about kerb appeal

It is frequently said that prospective buyers of a property make up their minds within the first ten seconds based on their initial impressions and that many simply drive on by if the property lacks 'kerb appeal.'
The driveway leading to Barnaby's property from the street is looking rather tired and uninviting following the wear and tear caused during the building of a new house next door.  What was once a smoothly surfaced entrance has been dug up several times to lay new gas and water pipes and damaged by the heavy construction vehicles that have been delivering and manoeuvring to and from the building site during the past year.  Even Barnaby can see that it doesn't present the most attractive welcome to visitors.
The same is true of book covers.  Many otherwise excellent books are dismissed by the casual browser based on a dull or inappropriate cover.
The good news about Barnaby's drive is that it is to be resurfaced tomorrow, which will present his house in the best possible way to the world.
As for the book covers, you can judge for yourselves by visiting www.barnaby-wilde.co.uk where all Barnaby's book covers can be viewed in full colour.  Of course you'll only really be able to judge the books if you take a look inside.  Luckily this is easy and FREE if you follow the links, and if you like what you see, then you can download the whole book in the ebook format of your choice.

Thursday 3 May 2012

The Well Boiled Icycle

Barnaby has published another ebook collection of 'quirky' verse on Smashwords. 
The Well Boiled Icycle contains 35 new poems considering such topics as Wooden Saucepans, Gingerbread Men, the Unfortunate Death of a Vicar, and Clockwork Wellingtons; pausing along the way to wonder if Goldfish get bored swimming round in circles and whether Automobiles have feelings?
There are also mentions for Boudica, King Cheops and Unicorns, but absolutely no mention of elephants or rhinocerus.
If you've ever wondered about a Camel with Three Humps, then this could be the book for you.
You can download this ebook FREE at The Well Boiled Icycle in the format suitable for your ereading device (or PC/Mac).
If you enjoy reading this new collection of verse, why not leave a review to tell others about it. (Use the link above to leave a review).
You can find out more about other ebooks published by Barnaby Wilde by visiting www.barnaby-wilde.co.uk