PR Category: Books
Date Added: 20 February 2012
A chance meeting of two old friends leads to a story of truffles.
A childhood pet leads to a truffle hunt
Press release
During his years growing up on a farm in the English Midlands, Andy Frazier had a pet baby pig, which he named Oinky Grub and used to take for walks in the local village. Quite a few years later, after an eclectic selection of careers which including grooming cows for the rich and famous, Andy somehow ended up as a children’s author, living on a smallholding in France.
Then, through a chance meeting, Andy made the acquaintance of Dick Pyle, a retired London businessman who now runs a successful entrepreneurial business in Gascony, selling Truffle Trees on the internet. Pigs were discussed.
After writing a handful of hilarious novels about Princess the Cow, last Autumn, Andy turned his attention to a story that had been locked in his mind for nearly 40 years, that of Oinky Grub. He gave Dick a call.
The Amazing Adventures of Oinky Grub
In this novel, aimed at readers 10 and upwards, Oinky gets his tail chopped off, sold on ebay and has a short career as a racing pig, among other things. Towards the end of the story a certain Dick Pyle spots the pig in a Toulouse marketplace with its owner, 14 year old Daisy, and introduces it to truffles. Spotting that the animal has a fine nose, he covets Oinky in an attempt to help him dig truffles from his orchards. Without spoiling the ending, the threat of a bbq emerges to hilarious and somewhat chaotic consequences.
Truffle hunting in France
“Pigs are still occasionally used in France to hunt truffles but dogs have now largely taken over. They are considerably more portable but their main advantage is that they are not seeking the truffles for their own consumption”.
“The main objective of Truffle Tree is to give foodies, Francophiles and country-lovers the opportunity to own a little slice of France with their own truffle-producing oak in the centre. Adopting a tree also provides a wonderful excuse to visit this beautiful corner of the country and to discover its culinary treasures”.
“Truffle Tree was founded in 2002 and due to its uniqueness has been featured on BBC TV and radio, in most leading British newspapers and in publications all round the world.
“Truffle Tree has already attracted over 800 adoptions from 38 countries. Tree owners include royalty, two double Oscar winners, Michelin chefs, television personalities and dozens of business leaders”.
“When Andy offered me the opportunity to be a villain in his book I leaped at the chance. After all it didn’t do Cruella de Vil any harm”.
Dick Pyle has successfully shaken off his Chartered Accountant image to carve out a long career best summed up as “serial entrepreneur (largely failed).
Andy Frazier moved to South West France five years ago, where he now shares his life with his partner Wendy, a flock of sheep and some power-tools which he is afraid to switch on! “Writing children’s novels is a very enjoyable way to get out of doing real work,” says Andy, who in more recent years earned his living as an IT consultant until it nearly bored him to death.
The Amazing Adventures of Oinky Grub (ISBN 978-1470985141 - Chauffour Press) is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.
Websites:
www.andyfrazier.co.uk
www.truffle-tree.com
For more information, please contact Andy Frazier on andy@andyfrazier.co.uk
Ends
Media Contact Details
Name: Andy Frazier
Telephone: +33 671 429 199
Website: www.andyfrazier.co.uk
Press Release Keywords:
truffle, pet pig, , ,
PRBox Ref: 4806 [110]
