Snake in the Grass

Hi all, this post is a detour from my tour of Scotland because I have a couple of interesting things to tell you about.
The first thing of interest was something that I recently came across in my garden when I was weeding the borders. It gave me quite a fright until I realised what it was. My wife photographed it for me and you can see the photo below.


It was about a foot long and my first thought was that it was a snake. However, closer examination and a reference book revealed that it was just a slow worm. It is interesting to note that the reference books also said that slow worms are common throughout England. If that's true, how the hell did I manage to reach 60 without seeing one somewhere before. Have any of you ever seen one? Anyway, just to make matters more complicated, although it is called a worm, it is in fact a legless lizard. If ever you come across one, the tail gives it away. The tale of a slow worm is not so pointed as that of a snake. having said that, you should always be careful with reptiles and if you come across one with a zig zag pattern down its back, don't even bother sizing up its tale because it will be an adder, they are poisonous and will bite you on the ass.
If you do find a slow worm in your garden please don't bash it with a spade. Although they look like snakes they are completely harmless and eat slugs so really they deserve a big kiss.


The second item of interest is that my latest book Carp Rustlers is now available on amazon's kindle and in other ebook formats through smashwords.com. (The kindle cover is pictured on the right.) If you fancy reading a detective story where the main character doesn't have the cliche 'attitude' you might enjoy it. It is the first book in The Fishing Detectives series and although fishing is fundamental to the plot you don't have to be an angler to enjoy it.

(The picture on the left is the Smashwords cover.) Now you may well ask how I finished up with two covers? The simple answer is that I couldn't decide which looked the best. If you have any views I'd be pleased to hear them.
If you would like more details or a free sample download for you pc please click here.

In my next post normal service will be resumed with the tour of Scotland