Richard J. Atkinson Imagines a World Where Animals Rule in New Book

In his whimsical new book, "Animal Pursuits: A Frivolous Frolic Through the Puntastic Province of Animals" (published by Trafford Publishing), author Richard J. Atkinson entertains readers with a humorous fantasy about animals filled with puns, trivia and more.

"Animal Pursuits" imagines a world where animals have taken over after the destruction of the human race. An old elephant, Elmer, narrates the story to his grandchildren - grand calves, rather - and he regales them with a tale of the malicious murder of a few animals and the resulting chase, arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.

The elephant explains the details of the investigation conducted by Chief Inspector Bobby Bloodhound to his young audience. Together with his renowned team of detectives, Inspector Bloodhound investigates ant colonies, beehives, the ocean, a bird sanctuary, a farm and the vast wilderness. After a thrilling chase and capture, a court case begins to decide the fate of the suspects.

Written as a drama primarily consisting of dialogue between characters, "Animal Pursuits" features a style reminiscent of a play or screenplay and is geared to readers 13 and up. The animals' conversations are filled with humor, puns on words, homonyms and homophones and various other parts of speech such as anagrams.

"Many human analogies can be made from the behavior and actions of the animals involved," Atkinson notes. "I want readers to see a lighter side of life despite the atrocious things going on around us."

"Animal Pursuits"
By Richard J. Atkinson
Hardcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 828 pages | ISBN 9781466958326
Softcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 828 pages | ISBN 9781466958302
E-Book | ISBN 9781466958319
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author
Richard J. Atkinson was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1948 and attended the University of Queensland. He has an undergraduate degree in education and a graduate degree in computer education. He became a full-time teacher after two years of national service in the Royal Australian Air Force. For the next 34 years, he taught math, English, economics and computing classes, retiring in 2003. More information is available at http://www.animalpursuits.com.

Trafford Publishing, an Author Solutions, LLC, author services imprint, was the first publisher in the world to offer an "on-demand publishing service," and has led the independent publishing revolution since its establishment in 1995. Trafford was also one of the earliest publishers to utilize the Internet for selling books. More than 10,000 authors from over 120 countries have utilized Trafford's experience for self publishing their books. For more information about Trafford Publishing, or to publish your book today, call 1-888-232-4444 or visit trafford.com.