Rumor volat

I have an announcement.

I always hate using that phrase because it’s not really Latin, but a corruption of fama volat, which is something that Virgil (sort of) wrote in his Aeneid. Over the years it changed to rumor volat because people got confused by “fama” and thought it meant “fame.” Thus when someone said fama volat it began to be mistranslated as “fame is fleeting,” which is also true, but not what fama volat means. Then some bright kid came up with rumor, which in Latin has a meaning related to but not exactly the same as fama, to make sure everyone understood: “Rumor flies.” (Or I guess more literally, “rumor has wings,” although how that’s more literal escapes my understanding. But that’s what the internet is telling me this morning.) Fascinating, I know.

All this is by way of saying that certain whispers and hints that I have let drop concerning a potential book-length compilation of my Hunting Accidents episodes from this site are true, or rather possibly true, but that nothing has been concluded yet. First, I will need to flesh out the episodes already collected here, and to translate them into readable English rather than the caffeinated hypertext (that is not the usual meaning of hypertext, thank you for noticing) in which they are usually written. Second, I will also need to add a fair amount of new material. While I have been talking to a/some publisher(s), and this/these publisher(s) have expressed interest, I have not made any kind of deal, and I likely will not for some weeks at least. I promise to keep you posted.

There’s also the question of bonus material, such as a CD or a DVD or a link to a download of… stuff. This is being discussed, but involves questions of logistics and rights and licensing and I don’t even know what else, so that may take a while, too.

In the meantime, please rest assured I will continue to churn out episodes of Hunting Accidents at an alarming rate to feed your insatiable appetite for stories about my public humiliation.