As you may have noticed, since 2010 I've used Butler University's mascot Butler Blue II as my avatar on my old Wordpress blog and the old Grumpy Bulldog blog. It all started when I saw some pictures of Blue during the NCAA tournament with a giant bone in his mouth as he sat by the court. And then thanks to the magic of Twitter and Facebook I could follow him to get even more cute bulldog pictures.
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| The pic that started it all! |
So it's a bit sad that today Blue II is retiring from mascot duties and passing his collar to the next generation: Blue III or Trip. It's not unexpected as he's 9, which is pretty much retirement age in doggie years, especially for a bulldog with their sundry health issues. Though Blue might not fade entirely into the sunset yet; he'll be around for the NCAA tournament, which if Butler has a long run could go into April.
Anyway, here's my Blue II tribute!
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| Retirement makes me a Grumpy Bulldog! |
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| Hail to the Victors! |
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| Hey Rudy, I got something for you! |
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| Books are fun...and taste delicious. |
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| This is my court! |
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| These aren't the mascots you're looking for! |
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| Saturdays, in the park... |
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| May the Force be with Blue! |
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| Mmmm...giant Twinkie! |
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| Come on, just one bite? Please? |
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| Just cleaning out my locker |
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| Mascotting is tiring |
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| Is this parade all for me? |
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| The real reason for the Super Bowl blackout... |
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| Ready for my close-up! |
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| Who turned out the lights? |
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| I'm not a doctor but I play one on stage... |
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| Nap time! |
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| The name's II, Blue II... |
If you
check out Blue II's Flickr feed you can see all the awesome things he's done, like posing with supermodels, visiting historical landmarks, and going to the Super Bowl. (Bulldog mascots also get all the chicks, which was the subject of my story "Trey the Wonder Dog" in the "We Are Now" anthology.) On the Dan Patrick Show site there's also a video where Blue schools Dan Patrick on the basketball court. (Word of advice: don't try to steal a bulldog's basketball!)
It seems only fitting that Blue and I are retiring at the same time. I'm only retiring from writing books, though actually I've been pretty much retired since October of last year. The absolutely dismal performance of the Scarlet Knight series up to this point has convinced me there's no point continuing with this charade. Like any good capitalist I've let the people vote with their dollars and they've voted for...someone else. (Pretty much anyone else.) I mean if after nearly a year of blathering on about the series in this blog I still couldn't sell more than 2 fucking copies, then that means something. It means the people don't care. And a writer with no audience may as well not bother to write at all.
The evidence has been there for some time; I was just too stubborn to see it. I mean even my own family reacts to my books as if I'm trying to force them to eat brussel sprouts. So, OK world, you win. I'll stop trying to force my brussel sprouts on you.
Or to illustrate how I feel more clearly:
Think of it as I'm Batman and the reading public is Bane.
Unlike Blue II (or Batman for that matter), I don't have a successor lined up. Though I think if I did, I'd pick a successor who didn't look like a Predator:
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| Which one is Blue III and which one is the Predator? |
Always go out with a smart joke.
6 comments:
But I thought you made a pretty good chunk of change from writing last year? Or did I read that incorrectly? Just want to make sure I know what I'm talking about before I say something that proves to be less than accurate.
Did I read that right? Seriously? You're quitting being an author?
Yes, are we reading this correctly? Are you and the bulldog going into retirement? If that be the case, I don't understand. Think of your determination and resilience and how much it all means to you. Where's your "bulldog" spirit?
From a concerned and determined Jack Russell dog named Penny.
I really enjoyed A Hero's Journey and I think others would too if you could find a way to reach readers with it. I think blogging is a very small factor in book sales. Especially for me. Don't think it's because people are deciding not to buy it. Your book isn't getting much exposure at all. If at all possible, I would try and get my rights back because your "publisher" doesn't seem to be doing anything. This is why I don't do small presses.
Retiring you say, not the bulldog way. Just have to keep at it at your bay, for the best promotion is another and another to add to the pile on display.
Unless you're closer to the Cavanaugh nucleus, I too wouldn't say blogging is the best way to ensure sales. Now that you have physical copies of the first book possible, you could get it into stores, maybe do signings, with a bulldog around (you could call it Matilda, until the ghost of Davey Boy Smith haunts you) for good measure. I learned the hard way last year that numbers of followers doesn't count for anything when I went a little crazy over the lack of success in Michael Abayomi's fundraising campaign. He eventually raised some and released the whole series. I don't know how successful he's been, but he made a similar schedule to the one you have (had?) and kept to it through the end of the year.
Considering you haven't written since October, it does seem as if you're on a break. I was also going a little crazy because I'd been working on my WIP and went through a dry spill of two months without being able to write again, but that turned out to be a good thing and helped the story along. Part of what's affecting you is probably the feeling that you've completed the Scarlet Knight saga (but there's always a chance for more, even when Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock and was subsequently forced to resurrect him by hungry fans) and you may be wondering what comes next.
Anyway, like I said before, clearly you've gone through periods where you're extremely prolific. I knew that just from going through your archives and seeing the stuff that was there, even before I figured out the secret origins of those names in your imprint. You've apparently come around from trying to pretend you aren't the man behind the curtain. If anything, you should be a lot more honest about all that here, where the first readers, fans, whatever, exist in the Dilloway curve. We know you launched this particular blog to promote Scarlet Knight, but you could just as easily talk more broadly about all of your efforts, how they came to be, even the material that you've promoted in the past that people will definitely know about. That's always puzzled me, that you've more or less ignored what's amounting to be your legacy. Yes, this STARTED as a Scarlet Knight blog, but it's got your name in the URL. It should probably cover everything. And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING.
Although if you feel like being in a funk at the moment, just know that funks emerge like bear dens. You eventually emerge from them, hopefully well-rested. And ready to steal pic-a-nic baskets.
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