Whoville

Mitchell expressed concern that Dr Seuss Enterprises might "seuss my caboose" for using the name Whoville. I note that the name appears in two versions in the Seuss Canon -- Whoville and Who-ville. My own variation is WhoVille. At any rate, I also draw attention to the name of the Mayor of Whoville in the movie version of Horton Hears a Who: 

Ned McDodd is the Mayor of Whoville and is the father of 96 daughters and one son. It wasn't until the movie's release that his full name was revealed, and even then he is usually addressed as his title, only being called McDodd once by the narrator's introduction of him ("was devoted, fair, and a little bit odd"), and a few times as Ned by his wife, Sally.

Source: Dr. Seuss Wiki

Now, I'm not saying that McDodd and Mike Dodd are the same being, although there is a certain assonance, don't you think? And I think the description of "devoted, fair, and a little bit odd" certainly applies to my good self.

My brother, by the way, is Ted. Not quite Ned, but again, in the ballpark. And he works in city administration.

So maybe I have a chance of saving my caboose? Well, that's why I married a lawyer.

At any rate, the WhoVille in my books is definitely not the Seussian Whoville. although there is a connection. To quote from "A Hot Time in WhoVille" (the novella included in Wickedness in WhoVille), the neighborhood around the university where the protagonist teaches got its nickname in this way:

Philip Peabody Horton University by now was known just as Horton University.  In 1956, at an otherwise forgettable rugby match, the visiting team began to shout and jeer, “Horton U, P-H-U, Pee-you, Who are You?” 

As luck would have it, some of the Horton students in an elementary teacher's reading class had been examining the Dr. Seuss book, Horton Hears a Who.  Their perverse little minds took up the challenge: “We’re H-U Whos, That’s Who” and the Who soon was the unofficial mascot of the school.  Prior to this the school sports mascot had been a Ho-Chunk chief with an appropriately antisocial scowl highlighted by war paint. Although this predated concerns about political correctness by decades, the mascot’s feathered headdress and war paint were officially retired in 1960, and an elephant costume replaced them. Of course, Horton was an elephant, not a Who, but a foolish consistency and all that.

With the arrival of How the Grinch Stole Christmas a few years later and further popularization of the Whos down in WhoVille, the University leaped aboard the Grinch-wagon and in 1963 created a combination Winter-Festival-cum-Mardi-Gras-cum-Mummers event called “A Hot Time in WhoVille Tonight”.  There is a Cindy Lou Who beauty contest, a roast-beast chili cook off and nonstop fraternity keggers.

Perhaps as a sign that naked attempts at marketing may even sell a book, Bob asked where he could get a copy of Wickedness in WhoVille. Just click on the title on the sidebar (under My Books) and it will take you to the Amazon site where you can order it in paperback or in Kindle format. Feel free to click on any of my titles to order copies. 

When you go to the Amazon page, be sure to click on the book cover image. (Tom designed the cover, by the way.) That will allow you to look at a few pages of the book and give you an idea of what you are in for.  

Caveat emptor! And perhaps I should add, Caveat lector! 

And by the by, for those who do not know, Damien F. Malachy -- protagonist of the WhoVille stories and my co-author -- maintains his own blog over at Damien's Queer World.