Friday, November 20, 2009

An Extended Vacation


I'm afraid the time has come for Frank and the gang to take an extended vacation. For those of you who've been loyal followers of my photo-comic strip, "The Wildcat's Lair," I'm sorry to pull the plug in this manner, but I suspect you've also sensed things haven't been quite up to my usual "speed" of late.

I'd hoped to delay this until the end of the year, but I've found that simply isn't feasible. As some of you already know, producing this comic strip can take a great deal of my time, and even though I don't really make money off of Frank and his pals, I've been satisfied with the pleasure of producing something I feel has been really funny and has grown into a creative endeavour I can look back on and be very proud.

There are many reasons I can give for why this had to happen now. Two of those reasons tied tightly together: age and ambition. One of my lifelong goals is to become a published writer. I've written several books that I feel have great potential, but I've not invested the time to truly shop them. That's not easily done while working a full-time job (in which I also work a great deal of overtime) and producing this comic strip twice a week. This year, I turned 36-years-old, and while that isn't old by any means, I can feel time starting to work against me instead of for me. I thought taking the comic strip down to one episode a week would help, but I find it steals so much of the energy that had gone into the Lair and that's not a good thing.

I won't say this is a final goodbye. I've always known what I would do for a final episode, and I can't bring myself to do it. The idea of ending this and never coming back hurts too much, more than I ever expected it to. Hopefully, that's not just denial, but a sign I will eventually return to my favorite mischievous cat and all of our crazy friends. I'm sorry I can't give a more definitive idea of when that return might be, but I can tell you that I won't be disappearing entirely from the blogosphere. I will be semi-active on my writer's blog, "The Wildcat's Other Lair." Some of you have even commented over there, and for that, I'm very thankful. I hope Frank and I will get a chance to make all of you laugh again in the future.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bill. I for one will miss your Wildcats Lair, but you have to do what you have to do.
I wish you the best of luck with your endevours, Jill

Anonymous said...

Bill. I for one will miss your Wildcats Lair, but you have to do what you have to do.
I wish you the best of luck with your endevours, Jill

Ken Riches said...

As you can imagine, I am dismayed by this entry. I wish you luck in your publishing endeavor, and know I will be here when you return :o)

Liz said...

Be seeing you...soon :))

Beth said...

I'm so sad to hear of this, Bill, but it sounds like the time is right to start making an earnest effort to shop your books. I will miss my weekly dose of the gang, but we'll always have Paris...errr, the calendar! :)

I wish you great success in your efforts. You are obviously a very talented writer, and I hope your hard work pays off. I wish you great luck, my friend, and hope to still see you once in a while on Teh Bookface. And eventually on the best sellers list!

All my best,
Beth

Leona Wisoker said...

I'm going to miss Wildcat's Lair, but I'm glad to hear you're focusing on your writing career -- good luck! I hope to see you at RavenCon this year!

Admin said...

Whish u all tje best