A fictional grumpy duck adored by children and adults alike across Cumbria is making a return due to popular demand.
The second book featuring Allan the Duck has been produced by fuel tanker driver turned part-time children’s book author Dominic Brown after the success of the debut story.
Allan to the Rescue tells the tale of how the main character comes to the aid of a seagull called Flip Flop who gets lost in a storm and accidentally lands on the side of an Allan Stobart Lubricants & Fuels tanker, very similar to the one author Dominic drives for a living.
The book takes place across Cumbria and features local landmarks and shops centring around Silloth and Pooley Bridge, including the iconic Big Fella sculpture, the Verey Bookshop, Cumbria Classic Coaches, Silloth Chip Shop, and many more.
Dominic and wife Karen, who designs and edits the series, have worked with Silloth-based illustrator Tim Stead to produce and self-publish the book.
“I was totally blown away by the success of the first book because I’ve never been a writer, but the story just came to me and it relates to local children by featuring local areas and landmarks,” said Dominic.
“By setting the stories in Cumbria, it enables children to identify with the places and characters and promotes pride within their local community by helping them learn about what makes the county such a special place.
“The local references have been included so the book is entertaining to adults reading the book as well as for the children, and there are some jokes included which only adults will get so they don’t find reading the book a chore.
“People really loved Allan the Grumpy Duck and this spurred me on to write another story about him – and we have more books in the pipeline.
“I’m really grateful for the support my employer WCF has given me to allow me to write about the quirky tales of Allan, as well as stocking it in their Pet & Equestrian stores, and I can’t thank the local community enough for buying the book and making sure Allan’s adventures continue.”
Dominic and Karen, who live in Askham, near Penrith, enlisted the help of award-winning illustrator Tim to bring Allan’s journey to life in pictorial form, and he was only too happy to come on board after striking up an instant rapport with the author.
Tim said: “When I learned the book was to be set in Silloth, where I have lived for the past 15 years, I thought that was a coincidence, but then when Dominic told me he had named the seagull Flip Flop, I knew we were on the same wavelength as there is a character with the same name in my previous book iPlay.
“Dominic and I hit it off instantly and it made working together such a pleasant experience, and we’re really happy with how the book has ended up and we hope that it proves just as popular as Allan the Grumpy Duck.”
Dominic has been supported through his creative journey by his employer Allan Stobart Lubricants & Fuels, which is based near Carlisle and part of the WCF family of businesses.
Jo Ritzema, managing director of WCF, said: “We all love the tales of Allan the Grumpy Duck and we’re very happy to support Dominic in creating this now iconic Cumbrian character and stocking the books across our Pet & Equestrian stores.
“As an employee-owned company, we are committed to supporting our team and we are pleased that Dominic is able to share the fantastic tales of Allan with us all. We were delighted he chose to feature one of our fuel tankers in the latest adventure.”
Allan to the Rescue is available at numerous stockists across Cumbria, including WCF’s eight Pet & Equestrian stores, the Verey Bookshop in Pooley Bridge, Silloth Post Office and Askham Stores.
