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.
