A Barnoldswick author has relaunched his children’s book in time for the festive season.
Mark Williams (49), of Melville Avenue, has re-released his novel “Hooty and Pig and The Missing Christmas Pudding”, a fictional tale based on shenanigans at St Michael’s Church in Bracewell.
Hooty and Pig help the local vicar, the Rev. Simms, find the lost Christmas pudding for the carol service that evening.
The story takes them from finding a very worried vicar, the culprit who took it, the means of getting it back and the ending. But will it be a happy one?
Illustrated by church friend Keith Garrett, the story is the first of a planned series of 14, and is available on Amazon and from Silverwood Books, where Mark is already starting to see sales nationally and internationally.
Mark, a church warden at Holy Trinity Church in Barnoldswick, said: “I started writing about Hooty and Pig about six years ago after seeing my daughter’s cuddly owl and pig sitting together in her bedroom.
“I started by selling some of the stories locally at church events and fund-raising.
“It was only when someone said to me that I should go one step further and start getting them published, I needed an illustrator, so I approached Keith.
“Having chosen the Christmas pudding story for publication, Keith unfortunately injured his drawing hand and production was halted for a short time. We just made it in time for Christmas but it’s now being re-released.
“My wife and I met a vicar of all people with his family on holiday and he has informed that they love Hooty and Pig ‘stateside’ and want more.
“My New Year pledge now is to continue and get the rest of the stories into a series and help worthy charities to with the Hooty and Pig books.”
Mark and Keith will be selling signed copies of the book at a Holy Trinity Church coffee morning in Barnoldswick on Saturday from 10am until noon. A percentage of the proceeds will go to the Barnoldswick churches.