Joan Anson-Weber, 83, was self-published author who won awards

Joan Anson-Weber took the character of an adventurous pig and turned it into a children's book.

Her story was about an American swine with a remarkable sense of smell that was recruited by a French farmer to hunt for truffles. Mrs. Anson-Weber's 1994 debut literary effort simply was titled "Snuffles." A follow-up, "Snuffles Goes to Scotland Yard," was published in 2001.

Anson-Weber self-published her books when publishers showed no interest in what she wanted to turn into a series, said Christopher Martin Anson, her son, from Cary, N.C.

"I think she was hoping someone would pick up this work, but it is a really difficult market and very competitive," said Mr. Anson, a North Carolina State University professor. "But she loved what she produced. She is not a highly-recognized name or anything, but she got a lot of solace and satisfaction out of writing."

Snuffles earned the writer the Louisa Halporn Award for fiction at a Indiana University writer's conference. She was a Georgia Writer Association's 2002 author of the year nominee. Richard Weber, her husband of 26 years, said she received numerous awards over the years.

"I am sitting in her office now and her room is filled with different plaques and what have you," he said. "Her writing style was very gentle and dealt with traditional things where everything turns out good at the end."

On Nov. 17,  Joan Anson-Weber of Roswell died from complications of a blood clot while she was at a doctor's office. She was 83. A funeral will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Episcopal Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Marietta. Roswell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Born in England, Mrs. Anson-Weber graduated from St. James Park College and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. She moved to the U.S. with her husband, the late Ronald George Anson, who worked for an international advertising firm out of  New York. He died in 1982.

She met Richard Weber, her current husband, as neighbors in Darien, Conn. Two decades ago, they moved to Roswell for the warmer climate and to be near friends and relatives.

The author also wrote poetry, including a 1992 paperback called "The Gate of the Year." Her prose appeared in various poetry journals and periodicals, too.

Mrs. Anson-Weber was a world traveler and music lover, but she wasn't a computer user. She preferred to write by hand or use a typewriter.

"We tried valiantly to get her to go digital," her son said. "She was kind of old-fashioned in that sense. Her handwriting was deteriorating, but she just kept writing. We were getting letters right up to last week."

Additional survivors include another son, Michael Anson of Switzerland, and a sister, Celia Corden of southern England.