So my good friend, Maureen Miller, posted a picture of her Chinchilla muse whom she says will pummel me with its tiny little fists if I call it like I see it... well, here is my muse. A Pirate Puffin named Paddy Puffingtowne. Oh, sound familiar? Yes, well a few years ago when I was writing my fourth or fifth Red Cross of Gold series novels, I was beset with litigation concerning the naming of certain characters in the stories. My muse, Mr. Paddy, brought a law suit in district court against me, claiming a breech in his muse/author contract that, under Section III, paragraph five, subparagraph n, required that I name a specific character of his choosing after him. I had entirely overlooked the stipulation and somehow missed his memo concerning the name of a certain faery creature from Kilkenny, Ireland. Needless to say, I had to change the faery's name from Tudwaller Elrood Hoodwinkin to Paddy Elrood Puffingtowne. If anyone thinks Miss Miller's chinchilla is tough, well think again. Mr. Paddy settled out of court for $5 cash, a stuff-crust pizza from Pizza Hut (which is 35 miles away), two pairs of mittens and a quart of Guinness Stout. Of course, I still had to name the faery after him. Geeeshhh! Muses, hmmph! But please don't tell him that I posted a picture of him here because he'll probably charge me rent.
I've seen your muse. I think I spotted him as a backup in that Billy Crystal/Gregory Hines movie in Key West.
ReplyDeleteThe definition of a muse is as follows:
Many artists, writers, poets and musicians have said that their creative work has been inspired by an individual whom they refer to as their muse. A muse is someone who has such an influence on another that he or she becomes the focus and inspiration for that person's creative work. The term has historically been used by men to describe the women that they have been in love with and made the subject of their work.
That said...why do I have a hedgehog dogtoy that misrepresents himself by referring to himself as "Chinchilla"? And why do you have a 'fowl' specimen that frequents Key West bars and keeps an attorney on the payroll?
We're very troubled, Mr. Carroll. Oh wait, they call that eccentric if you're a writer. :)