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.

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

The Wrong Sort of Rain

We are apparently in the middle of a drought due to the low rainfall experienced over the past two years, which has failed to replenish the underground aquifers to their normal levels.  In an effort to correct this situation, the God of Small Things has arranged for two years rain to fall in one week, or so it feels to Barnaby and millions of others.  Our local rivers and streams are now swollen torrents, the like of which Barnaby hasn't seen for many a year.  There is extensive local flooding and no let up in sight.  Coupled with very high winds, which have brought down trees and branches everywhere, it has been extremely unpleasant venturing outside at all (though the dog doesn't seem to mind it and rushes about just as enthusiastically in the wet as the dry).
Unfortunately, despite April being the wettest on record since 1910, we are informed by those who know that it's the wrong sort of rain, which is simply running off dried out soils and not soaking in as needed to restore the underground supplies. 'They' tell us that what we need is months of soft, gentle rain, not the torrents we are currently experiencing.
In Barnaby's opinion, what we need is months of nice warm sunshine.
Of course you could just curl up in front of a nice warm fire with a hot drink and amuse yourself by reading one of Barnaby's ebooks until the weather brightens up.  You'll find the details at www.barnaby-wilde.co.uk

Barnaby is still searching.

It has been said that moving house ranks with bereavement or divorce in terms of stress.  Barnaby has experienced all three in his lifetime, and while he doesn't feel especially stressed at the moment he can confirm that searching for a new home is certainly time consuming.  Scouring the press and internet and many many house viewings seems to take an interminable amount of time and leaves little time for writing, or anything else for that matter.  We are still awaiting the eureka moment.

It has also been said that the best time to view a prospective house purchase is when the weather is bad. Everywhere looks good in the sun. Barnaby can certainly vouch that the weather has been extremely wet during most of his recent house viewings.

Fortunately Barnaby has made it very easy to find his ebooks simply by visiting www.barnaby-wilde.co.uk which will brighten up even the dullest day and can be done from the comfort of your own home. Best of all, some of the ebooks are still available 'FREE'.

Barnaby gets overcharged

Barnaby and Mrs W. have just spent a very pleasant week in the Eastern Algarve area of Portugal despite some very cold winds. We rented a very comfortable apartment just outside Tavira, about 30km east of Faro and did much reading, people watching and a little walking. On the whole the Portugese experience was very positive and we shall undoubtedly go back there again.
The only glitch in the operation was a moronic toll system which has been introduced onto the A22 motorway. There are no toll booths or ticket machines or even signs to indicate the toll charges, instead your vehicle is mysteriously photographed at some point in it's journey and then the driver is required to attend a main post office no sooner than 48 hours and no later than 5 days after making his journey to pay the toll.
Barnaby had to queue for over an hour in a badly organised and inefficient post office in Tavira in order to pay what should have been about 3 euro in charges.  In the event he was charged 9 euros because the previous hire car user had not paid his tolls and there appears to be no system to prove who was using the car.  Needless to say this did not improve the holiday experience.
Barnaby is pleased to tell you that there will never be any bad surprises over the pricing of his e-books. What you see is what you will pay and will always be good value, and some of the books will always be available for FREE download.  Why not visit www.barnaby-wilde.co.uk and check for yourself?

The Trouble with Thorndyke

'The Trouble with Thorndyke', a short novel co-written by five independent authors has been published on Smashwords.  You can read a sample or download a copy for your e-reader here https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TopWritersBlock

'Writer's Block' is a group of writers who have decided to write stories together - just for the fun of it.
Each writes a chapter following the story's thread.

The authors of this first effort 'The Trouble with Thorndyke' are: Anna Scott Graham, Barnaby Wilde, Gary Weston, Jeffra Hays & Suzy Stewart Dubot. Any future works may include other authors within our Writers Block!

It has been agreed amongst us that proceeds will go to an animal protection charity starting with Sea Shepherd.

Just what is the trouble with Thorndyke? He doesn't even know himself but he's in it neck deep! Why not check it out and if you like it, check out other works by the authors, all of whom can be found at
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TopWritersBlock

Barnaby gets an offer he can't refuse

Barnaby has accepted an offer on his house, so it looks as though he (and Mrs Barnaby) will be moving out sometime soon.  Unfortunately they have no idea where they will be moving to, so it looks like a few frantic weeks searching for a new home.  Fortunately both of them have plenty of experience of moving home, so they are choosing to regard it as the start of a new adventure, rather than a life threatening event.
Another adventure, 'The Trouble with Thorndyke' (the story being jointly written by five authors. See earlier posts for details) is now completed five times over.  Whilst each author has written individual chapters throughout the story, every one of the five has written a final chapter.  It remains to be seen whether the book will be published with the most popular ending or with all five alternative endings so that the reader can choose the ending they prefer. Details about the publication date will be included in a future post, but you can find out about ebooks which are available now by visiting www.barnaby-wilde.co.uk