Former partner of Horsham estate agent publishes children's book

A man who used to be partner at a Horsham estate agent has published his first children's book
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A man who used to be partner at a Horsham estate agent has published his first children's book.

Howard Ball, 54, released the picture book titled Wilbur and Friends with Pegasus Publishers on February 22.

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The book is based on his family's real-life King Charles Spaniel of the same name and features his two daughters, Lucy (11) and Emily (15), as main characters.

Howard Ball, 54, released the picture book titled Wilbur and Friends with Pegasus Publishers on February 22.Howard Ball, 54, released the picture book titled Wilbur and Friends with Pegasus Publishers on February 22.
Howard Ball, 54, released the picture book titled Wilbur and Friends with Pegasus Publishers on February 22.

Howard said to the County Times: “I'm ecstatic really, I never thought tis would happen, but now that it has its great. I know the sales are important, but getting out there was the real accomplishment.”

Howard, who now lives in Kent, was a partner at Henry Adam Estate Agents for 22 years, but had to retire in 2018 due to a blood clot on my brain.

During this time, he was also on the board of directors at Shooting Script Films and an executive producer on 2016 film – A Street Cat Named Bob.

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Howard said: “ My kids since they were very young have always looked to write their own little stories.

“We were bored one day during lockdown and so the three of us decided to write a book. We thought about it and decided it should be about us. After about 5 minutes they had lost interest and went and did something else. But I persevered with it throughout the first year of lockdown.”

The first edition of Wilber and Friends, called Splash, centres around Wilber befriending a lost duckling, looking after it and helping to build the little bird a home.

Howard said: “What I was trying to do in each book is have a subliminal message. Ranging from environmental to children’s anxiety. In this particular book, Wilber takes in a lost duckling, with the basic message being that whoever you are, you should always look after someone that is in need.

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“It’s predominantly a children’s picture book, so I had to work out the pictures before the text and of course it was minimal text, so it was actually quite hard to write.”

The book is illustrated by Savanna Metcalfe, whose mother Tracy used to look after the real-life Wilbur while Howard worked in Horsham.

Howard has drafted five more Wilbur and Friends stories and says he has been speaking to Adam Rolston, producer and director of A Street Cat Named Bob, about potentially turning the book into a TV series.

Howard said: “I’ve always had a dream in the back of my mind to do something like this. I loved working at Henry Adams. But I always had other interests which to me were more of an interest than the property market. It was not necessarily a dream to write a children's book, but that is where it has started.

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“What I'm hoping is that the first book is relatively successful and can bring in the other books in time to add to the series. I'm aiming to release six in total. But it all depends on how successful the book is.

“If we sell one book, that’s fine, at least we have produced a book. It’s always something I wanted to do and I've done it. If it is successful we can do some more.”

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