Coming 2025: Otter Boy

  • March 1, 2024

An Odd, Little Novel

COMING SOON
Otter Boy Cover
Editions:Paperback
Size: 9.00 x 6.00 in

In a town named twice (due to its founder's stutter or hiccups, depending on who you ask), Tim has an unusual dream: he wants to be an otter. But in Bottom Bottom, where the mayor taxes question marks and the local bartender serves drinks to match your existential crisis, perhaps that's not so strange after all.

When Tim's attempt to become the town mascot spirals into an accidental otter heist from the Happy Waves Aquarium & Zoo, he finds himself at the center of an underground resistance movement led by surprisingly eloquent otters who specialize in "grand theft shellfish." Guided by the cryptic wisdom of Mr. Sushi (a Polish marine biologist running a Chinese restaurant), and haunted by the ghost of his experimental music career with the mayor's daughter, Tim must navigate a world where corporate executives learn life lessons from marine mammals and the local bureaucracy requires permits for trans-mammalian initiatives.

"'Otter Boy' is a delightfully absurd tale that blends Vonnegut-esque social commentary with the whimsy of Douglas Adams, all while exploring what it means to find yourself in a universe as complicated as mismatched socks. Perfect for readers who love their existential crises served with a side of pierogi sushi and their philosophical revelations delivered by talking otters who prefer to keep their English-speaking abilities to themselves." ~ Neb Jenkins

Genres:
Excerpt:

Tim was about to disappoint everyone. This is what humans do best.

He found Betty at their usual spot behind The Sad Dream Tavern, where the neon sign's flicker matched the rhythm of their dying relationship.

"You're really not going to do it?" Betty asked, her theremin case propped against the wall like a coffin for electronic wails. "The costume re-fitting/re-sewing is tomorrow."

"I can't, Betty," Tim said, fiddling with his perpetually out-of-tune guitar strings. "Do you know what they want me to say? 'Shell we dance?' It's like they're trying to weaponize dad jokes."

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"That's the point, Tim! It's supposed to be silly. Remember silly? Like when we wrote 'Mayo on My Mind' and you insisted on rhyming 'condiment' with 'continent'?"

Tim winced. "That was different. That was art."

"Art?" Betty laughed, but it wasn't the kind of laugh that suggested anything was funny. "You played a guitar that you claimed was 'experimentally' tuned to the frequency of passing traffic."

"The critics said we were 'definitely making noises.'"

"The critics were my dad's poker buddies, Tim. They also think putting ketchup on steak is culinary innovation."

Tim slumped against the wall, his reflection in a puddle looking marginally more pathetic than he felt. "I just... I can't be your father's dancing monkey. Or otter. Whatever."

"No one's asking you to solve world peace, Tim. They just want you to wear a costume and make people smile. Is that really so beneath you?"

"The tail has a mind of its own, Betty. It gave your cousin Derek a black eye."

"Derek deserved it. He still thinks hot dogs are sandwiches."

"They're obviously tacos," Tim muttered, then caught himself. "That's not the point. I want to make a real difference."

Betty's expression softened, then hardened again, like ice cream left out in Bottom Bottom's unpredictable weather. "A real difference? In Bottom Bottom? The town where my dad finally renamed the library 'Book Book' because he thought it needed more brand consistency?"

"Maybe that's exactly why we need someone to take a stand."

"Against what? Joy? Fun? Sequined whiskers?"

"Against... against..." Tim gestured vaguely at the air, as if the right words might materialize if he waved his hands enough. "Against the absurdity of it all."

"Tim," Betty said, her voice carrying the weight of someone who'd just realized they were dating an idiot, "we live in a town called Bottom Bottom. Absurdity is our primary export."

"That's why I have to say no."

"No, that's why you should say yes. Because in a world this ridiculous, making people smile is probably the most serious thing you can do."

But Tim stood firm, like a man who'd accidentally super-glued his shoes to the ground and was pretending it was intentional.

Betty picked up her theremin case. "You know what? Chad Puddlington said yes to being the backup mascot. And you know why? Because Chad understands that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is put on a silly costume and make people happy."

"Chad thinks mayonnaise is spicy."

"At least Chad's willing to try." Betty turned to leave, then paused. "You know what's really absurd, Tim? Thinking you're above the absurdity."

She walked away, leaving Tim alone with his principles and his out-of-tune guitar, both of which suddenly seemed like poor company for a Friday night in Bottom Bottom.

In Bottom Bottom, rock bottom was just another tourist attraction.

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Isabel Mendez

Isabel Mendez

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