These days it seems like every book needs some kind of disclaimer – even fiction which by its very definition is ‘not factual’. Of course there are the standard “no dogs were harmed in the creation of this book and the talking dogs contained herein bear no resemblance to any dogs living or dead’ kind of disclaimers but for the most part they are bland and boring and skipped right over by readers.
Today, we were gathering some final items for the layout of Travis Erwin’s new book, The Feedstore Chronicles – the disclaimer being one of them. The book is one of the funniest I’ve ever read and is a coming of age story that takes place in a Texas Feedstore. Travis took a swing at writing his own disclaimer and I have to say that it is one of the best we’ve seen – and it gives a good idea of what is to come in the book. Here it is:
Bullshit.
Generally speaking bullshit is thought of as a negative. As in …
I’m sick of his bullshit. Don’t bullshit me.Or … That is bullshit and we all know it.
However, in my native state of Texas, bullshit and and all bovine fecal matter, has a much better reputation. Here in the beef capital of the world the actual aroma is quite often described as the smell of money. Bullshit’s redeeming qualities extend beyond the feedlot. A natural and organic fertilizer, bullshit is a garden staple and just as it does for plants, a heavy sprinkling of bullshit helps any good tale grow and flourish. This book is no exception. While it is a fact that I spent much of my youth working at a Texas feedstore for an unabashedly nefarious boss, this book is a fictionalized account of those days meant strictly as entertainment to its readers. No character in this book is to be inferred as an accurate or actual representation of any person, living or dead, as the traits, habits, and mannerisms of many were combined and meshed with my own imagination to create the characters contained in these pages. Other than my own, and the two pro wrestlers who had character enough to stand on their own, most names have been changed. So what I’m saying is … take these stories with a grain of salt, maybe even with a squeeze of lime and shot of tequila, because bullshit tastes much better that way.
Travis has been described as Sadaris with a twang and we know that this book will be one that people talk about for years to come as a ‘keeper’. It is due to be released on November 1. You can read more about Travis on his blog: http://traviserwin.blogspot.com/
