Ellington Owl and Thelonious Melon were derived from a photograph I saw on a friend's Facebook wall. It was a picture of an owl plush toy and a watermelon of the same size with drawn features to look like an owl. The characters' names were changed to protect the innocent.

Ellington Owl begins every sentence with "Hoo."

This owl's hospitality is legendary. He is invited to all the best parties, but since he hosts the best parties, it would be more true to say that he's invited to all the second-best parties.

Ellington Owl, as a character, has become somewhat more complex throughout the books in the series. The owl sometimes grapples with attachments, e.g. fussing over his abacus, his fanatic fascination with tall pens, and more recently, a book by Hoot Christian Owlsome.

Ellington Owl is second in command during voyages. (Lady Horse takes charge of more domestic projets, and so far, their management styles and egos have not clashed.) The owl adeptly reads Reginald P. Lizard's gestures and single word responses, then translates them to the crew. Ellington Owl is the quintessence of the role "first mate."