Bo’s Cafe Life
Bo’s Café Life is about the writing life, its joys and its frustrations. It is loosely based on my experiences. Other writers relate to it because they can see themselves in the strip. They see the joy of getting a piece published. They also see the blues that comes from constantly dealing with rejection.
Like Bo, I spend a lot of time writing in cafés. I go to a café nearly every day and there are two things I know for sure. First, never have two large coffees and a bran muffin before sitting on an hour-long bloggers panel. Second, cafés are not just about the coffee. I write in cafés because they make me feel more creative. And if I don’t feel more creative, at least I look more creative.
Just prior to creating Bo’s Café Life I was feeling down because another agent had decided not to represent me. I wasn’t surprised; I had written a satire about the civil rights movement that guaranteed I wouldn’t get a book deal. I was sitting in a café, telling my frustrations to a chai latte and a blueberry muffin, when the idea of writing a comic strip that takes place in a café hit me.
I’ve always liked reading about the relationships between famous writers, such as Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. I wanted to capture some of this, but with humor.
Although Bo’s Café Life is about relationships, it is primarily about determination and persistence; Bo is determined to get a book deal.That’s what the strip is really about, pushing on with a dream despite the tremendous odds you face. One thing you can be sure of is that Bo will keep writing and trying to get a book deal.
This made me smile – I love reading comics – they always get my mind and body working together – I will definitely check out Bo’s writing life.
By: Sheila on 03/16/2010
at 4:01 am
Thanks, Sheila!
By: Wayne E. on 03/16/2010
at 3:38 pm
Besides enjoying the comic strip, I really love that when faced with publishing challenges–of which there seem to be even more in this economy–Wayne decided to create a new venue for his talent.
What a proactive way to deal with the rejection that all creatives have to face! Makes me want to take that graphic novel class I’ve been considering…
By: Sally Charette on 03/16/2010
at 6:35 am
We needed a comic strip about the writing life! Way cool–of course I have bookmarked it.
By: RuthG on 03/16/2010
at 9:29 am
Thanks for bookmarking Bo’s Cafe Life, RuthG! I appreciate it.
By: Wayne E. on 03/16/2010
at 3:39 pm
I love collecting cartoons about writers and there’s not enough of them. You should publish a book of them!
By: Ruth Kozak on 03/16/2010
at 12:45 pm
Thanks, Ruth! I’m working on a Bo’s Cafe Life book right now!
By: Wayne E. on 03/16/2010
at 3:40 pm
Based on that particular comic, other writers are going to *love* me!
By: Mark Hunter on 03/17/2010
at 12:09 am
Funny, Mark!
By: Wayne on 03/17/2010
at 4:54 pm
If the truth doesn’t kill us, it makes us funnier …
By: Mark Hunter on 03/19/2010
at 10:04 pm
This comic is a great idea! Having seen a few of these, I appreciate the way peoples’ choice of coffee container expresses personality.
By: Peg McCarthy on 03/17/2010
at 6:29 pm
Thanks, Peg!
By: Wayne E. on 03/18/2010
at 4:16 pm