Product Description
Synopsis
The last of apprentice Bacon Curers, Maynard Davies, tells his story in his own distinctive style.
From the Publisher
Maynard's manuscript sat on my desk for several weeks before I got round to the task of, as I thought, rejecting it. It looked like an ape's breakfast and I felt sure it would never make any money. But I was touched at the thought of a now-elderly bacon curing apprenctice and his life story, and felt that out of courtesy, I would read a couple of chapters in order to write a fair rejection letter. I took it home with me that night. By 3am I was still reading. Yes, it was a tale simply told, yes, it would take so much editing that the profit margin would be totally eroded. But by dawn I had finished a straight read-through and I was hooked. I loved Maynard, I loved his approach to life and I loved his approach to food. My next difficult task was persuading my long-suffering colleagues that we should throw time and effort toward his fringe project. We publish country books, but not like Maynards! But in the end, everyone was won round - and we have never looked!
back. Maynard is totally dyslexic - so much so that even writing his own name doesn't come easily, and he doesn't hide that fact. He had dictated the entire manuscript to his long-suffering wife Ann and as any editor will tell you, the spoken word is entirely different to the written word. But, although I have never had to cover a manuscript with so much red ink in all my career, I had no difficulty in keeping that strong, prevailing voice of Maynard coming through - his distinctive turn of phrase, his quirky sentences - I left them all in. In many instances, no one could put things better than Maynard. The honesty shines through: the triumphs and failures are seen and described by Maynard alone. I have learned a lot through him. And so, happily, have many other readers. We are a medium-sized company, but I think the majority of all the fan mail we get is for Maynard. It often runs along the lines: 'I hardly ever read books but I have just finished Maynard, the Adventures of a Bacon Curer and I loved it. I can't wait to hear what happens next. I am a great fan and can relate to all the things he has said....' The good news is that Maynard is currently writing the sequel to his life story in bacon - and it looks as promising as the first book - which I am happy to say is now in its THIRD printing. I knew I thought it was special, but it is so gratifying to find that other people agree too. Karen McCall, Merlin Unwin Books