The Father's Day & Invisible Plane Post

Two of my children have grown up and gone away, and I have one left at home (here seen piloting her invisible plane, in a photo by Kyle Cassidy). And it's Father's Day, which seems like the best time to mention how much I enjoy, and appreciate, being a father. I've learned more from being a father than from anything else I've done, any books I've read, anything I've studied, anyone I've spoken to. It's a good thing being a father, if you enjoy it, which I do. So this is where I say thank you to Mike and to Holly and to Mads, for teaching me so much. And for being smart and loving and funny.

Last night Maddy told me she has Planned Things for today. I do not know what these things are. She and her friends have not yet woken from their sleepover. Last night I used them as guinea pigs to test out some BPAL prototype scents Beth had sent in my direction. Last year's Snow Glass Apples scent and booklet was a huge success when it was released at Comic-con, both as a scent and as a snapped-up CBLDF benefit unique thing (here's a CBLDF link to what appears to be the last few copies/bottles in the world). This year's scent is remarkable. I forgot it was meant to be a secret, and cheerfully unbagged the cat on Twitter, but will be slightly more circumspect here and say only that it is a scent that will accompany a short story that appears in Fragile Things and M is Magic, concerning the eating of things.

(Beth, Goddess of BPAL, sent me three different versions of the scent in question, and let me choose. I picked the version with Raisins and Smoke, but without Beer. For some reason the beer made it smell like coconuts, when applied to skin. Everything Beth does is alchemy and magic as far as I am concerned.)

Over on CBC's Definitely Not the Opera, the wonderful Sook-Yin Lee interviewed me about being a father and being a son, and that's now up in their Father's Day special. (It's a really good interview, much of it stuff I don't recall being asked in interviews before. It starts about 55 minutes in, and ignore the awkward link-edit at the beginning that makes it sound like I'm saying that my small son and I were newlyweds.) The MP3 file is at http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/dnto_20090620_17235.mp3

This writer has a list of "Five Things Someone Else Should Do."

http://www.omnivoracious.com/2009/06/leave-an-idea-take-an-idea-five-things-someone-else-should-totally-do.html

(Sorry about the awkward link). Among them is "Ideas in Abundance," taking Madoc's outpouring of ideas in "Calliope" and actually writing stories around them. Have you ever considered authorizing such an anthology?

The writer in question is the remarkably brilliant China Mieville, who is smart and prolific and a nice guy to boot.

And no, I don't think I could officially authorise such an anthology (given that the Sandman is owned by DC Comics.) If someone did it, however, on the web or on paper, I would be delighted.

Hi again
I was looking at my new-from-Amazon Crazy Hair book (pretty pictures, lovely rhymes), when something seemed a bit odd. Did you change the second line? I remember you reading it three years ago, and I remember something like "I am thirty, Bonnie's three".
Now I see it's "We were standing silently" or something like that.
Just out of curiosity, am I right, and why did you change it?

ET

I changed it because, when Dave had finished the illustrations (and it took him many years to do Crazy Hair), Bonnie really did not look like she was three. Not even a little bit. And it seemed much easier, and quicker, for me to change the line than to ask Dave to repaint every page.

Hi Neil,
"The native dragons of the British Isles"
The term British Isles is a bit of a sore point.
I'm an Irish fan of yours. The term British Isles suggests Ireland as part of the Isles. We are no longer part of Britain and up to the point of the vikings you mentioned we were not part of Britain either. I know it might seem like a silly point to you but the term still strokes a lot of old wounds with people here. And I know it was not intentional, so I thought I would clarify for the future.

I hope the writing is flowing and all is well in your world,

Declan

Ah, there. I managed to give offense while just trying to figure out a way of talking about the places that these stamps were sold. If it's any comfort, I wasn't thinking about Ireland while writing that sentence. (And just read the Wikipedia discussion with fascination.)

Hi Neil -

you may want to let your readers know that in addition to the presentation pack you can also purchase postcards of the stamp designs - which will be absolutely perfect for filling the conspicuous Neil Gaiman bumpersticker void. (Seriously, please tell the Neverwear people to get some bumperstickers up - the 'How to talk to girls at parties' art or the 'lil Sandman would be fabulous... If I were creative enough, I'd make a black & white bumpersticker w/the silhouettes of the Endless on it, but alas - my skills are lacking.)

I just ordered both from the US with no problems, btw.

Thanks for the stories!

I'll get onto it. Any Neverwear suggestions should be directed at Kitty, at her blog: http://kittysneverwear.blogspot.com/

Hey Neil,

Wayward young writer here.

I have a question concerning characters. Most of the writers I respect seem to create autonomous characters inside their own mind. This process sounds mad and delightful and impossible, at the moment.

I feel that my characters are glaring flaws in my stories. I want them to feel real and sovereign to my whims, instead of contrivances.

If you have any time to bestow some advice, I would greatly appreciate it. Just a revelatory aphorism or two.

Also, thank you for so many wonderful stories. Your stuff is guiltless pleasure reading.

Sincerely,
Dan Kelly

When I was a young writer I would come up with stories, and then put characters into them. And each of the characters would often feel like, in Thurber's words, "a mere device".

I think the breakthrough for me came when I started writing comics -- because I believed in them. Because sometimes I would be using characters I hadn't created, but simply cared about. And over the next few years I learned that if you cared enough about your characters, what happened to them was interesting.

I'm not sure that's much of an aphorism, but it's important to care about them, about who they are and what they do. And (for me) for them to be people I would want to spend time with -- I don't really care whose side they are on, and they can be monstrous on the outside or, worse, on the inside, but you still have to want to spend time with them. If you met one of these characters socially would you talk to them, or make an excuse and flee?

(As a sidenote, I think the years I spent as a journalist doing interviews for magazines really helped as well. I learned a lot about speech patterns, and ways of describing people, and letting their words describe them. But more importantly, I learned that if you are actually interested, and not faking it, people will tell you anything, and you will take pleasure in their company. So my suggestion for any young writer is, talk to people, especially people you would normally avoid talking to. Find out their stories. Figure out how you would put them into stories, if you would, or just describe them with a few words.)

Hello Mr. Gaiman,

My question, or requested suggestion, is how to properly utilize personal tragedy to fuel writing. For reasons that do not bear explanation, someone that was unhealthily important to me has left, and I have continually tried to use it as inspiration, but it's having quite the contrary effect.

I have the kind of free time any writer would dream about, but none if it is productive, and I would like it to be.

So, again, any words of wisdom would be very appreciated. And if not, I understand given your busy schedule.

Thank you either way.

I don't think immediate tragedy is a very good source of art. It can be, but too often it's raw and painful and un-dealt-with. Sometimes art can be a really good escape from the intolerable, and a good place to go when things are bad, but that doesn't mean you have to write directly about the bad thing; sometimes you need to let time pass, and allow the thing that hurts to get covered with layers, and then you take it out, like a pearl, and you make art out of it.

When my father died, on the plane from his funeral in the UK back to New York, still in shock, I got out my notebook and wrote a script. It was a good place to go, the place that script was, and I went there so deeply and so far that when we landed Maddy had to tap me on the arm to remind me that I had to get off the plane now. (She says I looked up at her, puzzled, and said "But I want to find out what happens next.") It was where I went and what I did to cope, and I was amazed, some weeks later when I pulled out that notebook to start typing, to find that I'd written pretty much the entire script in that six hour journey.

So my suggestion is, stop trying to use it and do something else. (Which sounds a bit dim and simple when I put it like that. "Doctor. It hurts when I do this. What should I do?' "Stop doing this." But you know what I mean.)

Right. Girls are stirring in rooms above. I shall make them pancakes with sliced strawberries in them.*







*When I am king I shall make out of season non-local strawberries illegal. They don't taste like strawberries. Every year in June I have to remind myself that actually, I like these things, and that sun-warmed strawberries fresh-picked in season are one of the heavenly delights of the world. It's those big red faintly starberry-flavoured things called strawberries that turn up the rest of the year I dislike.

The Littlest Beekeeper

 

 

A beautiful Spring day. I worked on things that I'm late on, including an introduction that got away from me, and then went out with Lorraine and Maddy and checked the bees (four hives, all brightly coloured. Three hives still to go.) Then I took a few more photos, mostly of the gazebo and of bookshelves and, seeing she was there, Maddy.

Looking at the finished photos was of those odd, heart-stopping moments for a father, when you realise that your little girl has started to wear the face she'll wear as a teenager and beyond. And it seems like only yesterday she was a wee thing hiding in the leaf-pile next to you...

circa 2002

...and then, and it seems like no time has passed at all, and she's a very long way from the leaf-pile.

 

And I must stop blogging as I am falling asleep...

From the man on the sofa

Two small things:

Firstly, I've meant to post for a while that if you are in the US (or have figured out a way to give a computer the impression you're in the US) you can watch the whole of The Prisoner, the Patrick McGoohan series that was such a part of my mental landscape growing up, legitimately online at http://www.amctv.com/originals/the-prisoner-1960s-series/. I think it's great that they've put it up. As a teenager, before videos, I collected all three of the Prisoner novels, just to try and get back to the Village, and was unsatisfied by all of them. Finally got to watch them again on Channel 4 in the mid 80s, and they were just as good, and as odd, as I had remembered.

And secondly, Miss Maddy is interviewed by The Fabulous Lorraine, over at Lorraine's blog. Well, it made me smile. http://lorraineamalena.blogspot.com/2009/02/interview-with-maddy-gaiman.html

Now, when twilight dims the sky above...

Maddy and I are now in Brazil. We got to the airport in Sao Paulo where the driver and Tom Stoppard were waiting, and then we drove down to Paraty. (At no point did I say to Tom Stoppard, "Funny old world innit? You wrote a film called Brazil, and now we're here." Tom Stoppard is, I discovered, who I want to be when I grow up. I did, however, tell him how much I liked his Waterstones story card.)

Anyway. All is good. We went off on a boat to an island and had a very late lunch, or a very early dinner, and after dinner I lay down on the roof of the boat as it chuntered back to Paraty and watched the sun set and slept under the stars, waking just before we docked.

I have a plan for Saturday -- I spoke to the Festival organisers and they seem happy with it. After the programme item (starts at 11:45, finishes around 1.00pm) I'll sign for whoever's there for as long as it takes. I figure this may take a while, but basically anyone there who wants a signature, whether they made it to the official event or had to content themselves with the big screen overflow or are just wandering around Paraty clutching an ancient Portuguese translation of Sandman. So if you were wondering whether or not it was worth your while making the trip to Paraty, yes, if you're here then, I'll sign your book.

Not a question, just a post on a glorious clockwork tower I thought you might enjoy.
http://cabinet-of-wonders.blogspot.com/2008/06/san-marco-clock-tower-venice.html

I was thinking the other day that it had been a while since I'd posted a link to cabinet of wonders - http://cabinet-of-wonders.blogspot.com/ - as I've been enjoying the recent grand tour, so I took this as a reminder. (My favourite recent article was http://cabinet-of-wonders.blogspot.com/2008/06/languages-of-tone-and-rhythm.html)

dear neil,
did you know that people are selling the graveyard book on abesbooks.co.uk?? is that allowed??

i've entered the epitaph competion because well i just had too what with the desperation and the sweaty paws and whatnot! Even so it feels a little like cheating, and in the unlikely event of winning a copy, i do think i might miss out on the all hallows atmosphere!

just thought i'd do a little 'grassing' seeing as i was in the neighbourhood, the stink of spoilsports to me! they wouldnt allow that with that Potter boy so why Bod?!

davey

Well, the publishers didn't send out advance reading copies with the Harry Potter books -- they were extremely strict about shops violating the on-sale date, though, which is a slightly different thing. Here you have books that people have been sent or given that they are putting up for sale on eBay or Abebooks.

The covers of the ARCs all say "Not for sale" on them, but most of the copies for sale are being sold by booksellers who got them at Book Expo America, and many of those booksellers use the sale of the various advanced copies of books they got there as a way to fund their trip to Book Expo. Which is my way of saying I can't get mad about it.

I'm most disappointed when copies proudly proclaim themselves to never have been read. The reason for the advanced reading copies is so that people can read them. So I hope the people who buy them on eBay or elsewhere read them and tell people about them, and don't just put them away in the dark as collectibles.

Is "bugger me sideways with a coracle" a real expression, or did you make it up?

You mean the two things are mutually exclusive? Everything has to be made up first... I mean, take the following as an example:

Hey Neil,

I found the most interesting thing today. I received a book order today including Creating Circles & Ceremonies by Oberon and Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart. It's a Pagan ritual book. Anyway, I was looking through the appendices and they had a section listing Pantheons of different cultures and religions. Guess what was included in the list? THE ENDLESS. I was shocked! Apparently, people have created very successful rituals using the archetypes of The Endless. I guess your characters have taken on a life of their own! Just thought you might be interested in knowing that little tidbit.

Sincerely,
Christina

picture time

Hey world! It's Maddy G-Dogg. Guess what! IT'S PICTURE TIME! WOOOOOOOO

Myself, Dad, Heather and Henry Selick. Yeah, we look cool. I know.

The Wonderful Madeleine and Henry Selick's son, Harry.

Me getting my make-up done! Oooh la la!





Henry's magnificent assistant Shelley!! And I would just like to point out that behind her, there now sits a napkin. On this napkin, written in the finest of magenta ink, is:

Maddy Gaiman is amazing!
-the world.
P.S. I heart Shelley

Marvelous Maddy and Shining Shelley!

Dad, me and Merrilee in a yummy little sushi restaurant! P.S. If your daughter has never tried a Caterpillar Roll, please do not persuade her to pop one in her mouth. The whole eel and avacado thing is not something that a particular 13-year-old is a fan of.

Me with my chocolate pig named Franklin. :)

That's all for now folks. Oh and by the way as I am writing this, my father, aka the brilliant yet slightly odd Neil Gaiman, is downstairs signing some books like crazy! GOOOOO DAD!

Bye. :)

Maddy Is Back

Hey everyone!! Well this is Maddy Gaiman and I would just like to say that I am very tired! Today was a long day and now I totally know how dad feels after he gets done with a day of interviewing, or at things like Comicon.

Well we arrived at Laika studios this morning at like 10:00, ate a nummy breakfast, and went on a tour around the sets of Coraline. It was amazingly super cool!! There are sooo many sets for all the different scenes in the movie. Then I interviewed Henry Selick and my dad, then did a bunch of little TV spots for things like [censored by her father and Laika] and [censored] and [censored], where I would be all like "Hi! This is Maddy Gaiman. Stay tuned for an exclusive sneak-peek of the cool new 3-D animated movie CORALINE!".

After that I interviewed Georgina Hayns and Deb Cook who are the heads of the departments for puppets and costumes for the puppets. It was pretty wonderful. I love all of the puppets, too. I would never have the patience to do what the people working there do. With all the fine detailed things, and moving the puppets a tiny little bit every shot and taking a picture and then moving them a little more, my head would about explode!! That takes talent I tell you. Oh, and we also saw about 20 minutes of footage in 3-D and that was also pretty darn fantastic. The film is coming along great so far and I simply cannot wait to see the finished version!


Okay, well I better get to bed because I am pretty tired. But hopefully I will be back tomorrow with some more wonderful blogging!


Talk to ya lata skatas!! :)

Rain and suchlike

Good morning! Miss Maddy and I are in Portland. Last night we went to Henry Selick's house and met his family and lots of nice people from Laika and ate lots of amazing food (and I also drank my first cup of the kind of coffee that's made from beans that have travelled through the digestive system of the civet cat [Paradoxurus hermaphroditus]).

Today it's off to Laika to visit the Coraline sets (all 40 of them) and to be interviewed for the DVD extras. Maddy will be doing the interviewing.

I have to get dressed... Here's Maddy:


Well helloooooo everyone I missed you so! Um well today we are going to visit the Coraline sets as I see Dad already mentioned, but I am very excited because everything is going to be super cool! Plus I'm going to interview people so you better watch out because the new Larry King is right here. :) Just kidding! Or am I? Anyways we have some pictures of last night's get together but I do not exactly have the camera with me right now so I guess you will just have to wait until later to see them. It will be the time of your life! Ok, well have a really great day. :)



Me again. People have sent me lots of important emails this morning, many of them letting me know that a bee truck overturned near Sacramento.

Millions of swarming honey bees are on the loose after a truck carrying crates of the buzzing insects flipped over on a highway in Sacramento.

The California Highway Patrol says 8-to-12 million bees escaped from the crates in which they were stored, swarming over an area of Highway 99 and stinging officers, firefighters and tow truck drivers who were trying to clear the accident from the roadway.

CHP Officer Michael Bradley says at about 10 a.m. a tractor trailer owned by Inter City Inc. flipped over while entering the highway on its way to Yakima, Wash. The flatbed was carrying bee crates each filled with up to 30 thousand bees.

Bradley says several beekeepers driving by the accident stopped to assist in the bee wrangling. The beekeepers called their colleagues, who responded and came to help repair damaged bee crates and get them loaded onto two new trucks.

The bees were on their way back to Washington after being used in the San Joaquin Valley to pollinate crops.

(I don't think they were swarming at all. But hurrah for the drive-by beekepers.)


And meanwhile,

Novelists Strike Fails To Affect Nation Whatsoever

The Guest Blogger Reviews Sweeney...

I read this...

I was interested to hear your take on "Sweeney Todd," because I also loved it and thought it was brilliantly done. My thirteen-years-old-in-four-days daughter is begging me to take her to see it, so I have to ask: how did Maddy like it? I'm hesitant to take my daughter due to the graphic nature of the film, and while she thinks I'm being overprotective, I think I'm simply being considerate of her sometimes oversensitive nature. So, I'd love to hear Maddy's opinion on the film!

and sent it on to Miss Madeleine, who replied....

Why hello there blog readers! This is Maddy. I would like to say that I, being thirteen-and-four-months-years-old, enjoyed Sweeney Todd a lot! If you're almost thirteen I don't think it should be too bad. In my opinion it was a little bit icky, but I just turned away or covered my eyes at those parts. They might have made my stomach lurch a little bit, but I mean it's not enough to give me nightmares or anything. If your daughter really wants to see it then I think it would be a mighty fine idea! Have a nice day. :)


and an informative PS on the post from this morning,

Hi Neil,

Regarding the woman who was offended by Stardust: I work in a Barnes & Noble and can say that it is not categorized under Young Readers (which has a sign indicating a recommended age range up through 12). It is only available in the Teen Fiction and SciFi/Fantasy sections.

Also, when I was 12, I think I was starting to read Stephen King.

That was my assumption. (The first bit anyway, about the placement in the bookstores. The bit about what people read at 12 -- I'd just point at what I said this morning. I don't think it's about age, at that age. I think it's about who you are and what you're ready for in your fiction. Some 12 year olds are ready for Stephen King, some aren't. Maddy discovered King on her own age 12 and loved him. I gave Holly Carrie when she was an 11 or 12 year old Goosebumps fan and scared her off horror for life.)

The Night Before Hallowe'en...

An urgent message from Dave McKean, who is making a low-budget film called LUNA right now:

I urgently need 2 white paper origami crabs to appear in a scene in Luna, like this one:
http://db.origami.com/displayphoto.asp?ModelID=2244
if anyone is willing to make them and send them to the UK straight away, I can pay a small fee to cover time (or a signed drawing or book?), give them a name check in the final credits, and give them a fedex account number for shipping.

Go to the FAQ page if you're an Origami whizz (and I know there are Origami whizzes out there, as I get given amazing things at signings) and drop me a line, and I'll put you straight in touch with Dave. Who will probably soon be drowning in Origami crabs.

Went in to Hair Police today and saw Wendy who turned the strange messy mop that my hair had turned into into a rather nice haircut. From there to Dreamhaven where I signed lots of stuff for Elizabeth and the www.neilgaiman.net site, including a half a ton of Absolute Sandman Volume 2s. As I drove home Roger Avary called to let me know that he's reopening his website after a couple of years without one -- http://www.avary.com/.

Then to Maddy's Parent Teacher conference. She's doing wonderfully at school, and got an impressive report card -- which, for the first time ever, she really had to work for, as she came to the UK for the Stardust premiere and having lost a week of schoolwork. (She's coming to LA with me for the Beowulf premiere, but is only missing one school day to do it.)

And then home. Opened the copy of Bust I'd picked up at DreamHaven (officially I get it for my assistant Lorraine, but I always read it first -- sort of like when I'd pick up a copy of Bunty for my sisters as a boy), and found myself staring at an unexpected advert for the Good Omens and Stardust scents from BPAL. Which reminded me that I had meant to congratulate the amazing Beth, who is the mind (and the nose) behind BPAL -- and a woman who has raised an enormous amount of money for the CBLDF this year -- on her wedding.

(And if you haven't looked at the CBLDF site recently -- http://www.cbldf.org/ -- Gordon Lee goes to trial on Monday. Finally. After three years, two completely different sets of "facts", and $80,000 in legal bills so far for something that should never have been a police matter in the first place... http://www.cbldf.org/articles/archives/000318.shtml for the story so far.)

Lots and lots and lots and lots of emails from people telling me that Marmite can be found all over America, normally beside the baking supplies (probably because of the word Yeast). I don't think I'm going to need Marmite again for another couple of years now, but than you all for the info.

(first time question!)

I've just heard from a friend who was quite annoyed. He met this famous UK author while the author was doing research on his latest book - and the author used my friend's anecdote as quite a major plot device in the book. However, my friend wasn't asked for permission or acknowledged in any way.

Has this ever happened to you (in the opposite direction of course)? I'd think there'd be lots of stories you've been told bubbling in your mind, and sometimes you wouldn't even realize that a story has been told to you by someone else. Would you contact someone if you were using a story of theirs?

I try reasonably hard to credit people who helped (see the very long list of names at the back of American Gods) but find it hard to find fault with the author in question. Authors are packrats. If you tell us an anecdote -- unless you preface it with "I am about to tell you an amusing and/or interesting anecdote. Should you at some future time use it in a book you will need to contact me to obtain my permission, or at least credit me by name. I shall now tell you the anecdote and then give you my contact details in a form in which you won't lose them," -- then it's fair game. I think our attitude -- I don't speak for all of us, but enough -- is that if your friend thought his anecdote would have made a good book, he should have written it himself.

I don't know the names of the people who took me down the sewers or into the disused tube tunnels when I was doing Neverwhere, but their anecdotes certainly made it into the book. I didn't give the name of the financially dodgy agent whose interesting approach to paying over royalties inspired the character and behaviour of Graham Coats in Anansi Boys either (probably a wise move, that). And, as you say, very often you know someone told you that Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria obtained a doctor's note to get out of being married, but who it was or when has melted down in the compost heap in the back of your mind to the brown sludge of memory. It's like remembering jokes, and who told them to you. The shape is now there in your mind, and you know the punch line is "Two coffees and a choc ice," but how it entered your head is a mystery.

(And it's worth pointing out your friend might be wrong. I get letters sometimes from people saying "You got this from me." And the people who send the letters believe it, but it's not the case. I find myself replying "Actually, I wrote this four years before you wrote your story," or "I understand you think I got this from something you said. Actually the entire story was in this newspaper on this date, and that was where I got it from.")

Having said all that, I'm also really sympathetic to your friend. Many years ago I was on a panel where I said "I'm going to write a book called X," and no-one laughed longer or louder than the bloke next to me on the panel who, eleven months later, brought out a book with the title I'd mentioned. I was in a conversation with another author who mentioned being stuck on a plot thing, and I said "Oh, that's an easy one," and made a suggestion, and suggested a title for the book for good measure, and he said "I owe you lunch for that one," but I scanned the acknowledgements in vain looking for a thank you when the book came out, and didn't get a lunch out of it either. And conversely I have fuzzy warm feelings for all those people who wrote books and actually did say thank you, and used their acknowledgments to acknowledge.

...

After a long day, i got "your" love letter that the new york times sent out. It was rather funny and made me laugh a lot.(was even funnier trying to explain to my roomate that it wasnt a real love letter)Did you have anything to do with the writting of those love letter? Or did the new york times write them without the help of the varies authors? Do you know if every one got the same letter? Just curious, thanks.

Yes, everyone got the same letter (it's the UK Times, by the way, not the New York one). And yes, I wrote it. (Really, it's a short story.) The day before me people got one from Margaret Atwood. Today, I think it's Leonard Cohen. I think you can still sign up for the last three... http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/commercial/article2623706.ece

...

Finally -- this gave me a warm and happy smile.... http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/when-the-wolves-come-out-of-the-walls-its-all-over/

In Which Maddy Turns Thirteen, Half a World Away

I saw this written, by Maddy, on the fridge door a few months ago, and stopped and took a picture of it.

(Of course, she is.)

I realised, looking on my computer for pictures, that this photo -- about ten weeks old -- is already out of date. She looks older. And when I next see her, she'll be older still.

Happy Birthday Madeleine Rose Elvira Gaiman. I love you and I miss you.

the circus drums in the distance...

This coming Monday the interview media circus for Stardust begins, or it does for me anyway. So I went in to Minneapolis yesterday and got a haircut from Wendy at Hair Police, so I will look less like a man with a honey badger growing on his head in the photographs, then I nipped down to DreamHaven and signed stacks of books for them (some that people had ordered and some so they could sell them over at their www.Neilgaiman.net shop). The circus starts Monday and then, with a few outbreaks of Beowulf on the way, it barely stops until about August the 3rd. Argh.

Let's see... Actor Doug Jones talks about me and Miss Maddy visiting the Hellboy set over at his blog, and the day the three of us went to Margaret Island. His blog is just like him. http://dougjones.wordpress.com/2007/07/08/i-think-im-still-alive/

(Here's Maddy and Doug -- sans Abe or Faun or Silver Surfer makeup -- on the bridge the Sunday of fountains and Viggo Mortenson, with Margaret Island in the background. The next time we saw Doug he had shaved off most of his hair, because it's more comfortable, and cooler, to have your head encased in latex if you look like a marine recruit.)

Film Ick reviews the script to Hellboy 2 at http://www.filmick.co.uk/2007/07/all-hellboy-2-you-can-handle-for-one.html.
From the bits they quote, it's obviously an earlier draft of the script than what's being shot currently in Budapest, but you definitely get the flavour. I enjoyed the first Hellboy film, but didn't think it was a major Guillermo Del Toro work. I'm pretty sure, from all I've seen and from reading the script, that the second film will be one of those sequels that improves and deepens and is seriously better than the first film in the sequence, rather than being one of those films that gets knocked out quickly to try and get people to buy tickets for something not quite as good as the thing they liked the first time around. Guillermo sees it as an upbeat, comic-book-based companion piece to Pan's Labyrinth, anyway.

...

I keep meaning to write about, or at least link to, Heather McDougal's Cabinet of Wonders

http://cabinet-of-wonders.blogspot.com/

which is fast becoming one of my favourite stopping off points on the web. It's a blog of essays and pictures of things I either know a bit about and wish I knew more, or about things I know nothing about and really really needed to. Everything from Ossuaries to astrolabes, automata, orreries and shadow-puppets, and even short films of stop motion beetles, like this one.

Start back in March and come forward, or just poke around the coolness...

And not far behind it for sheer interesting stuff, if a little more narrowly focussed, is

http://paleo-future.blogspot.com/

yesterday's future, today.

The link stolen from Eddie Campbell's blog, 1947 comic artists drawing their most famous characters blindfolded... http://a-hole-in-the-head.blogspot.com/2007/07/eyes-wide-shut-in-1947-life-magazine.html

And finally, for when you need a complete trilogy of movies condensed into one tiny pill (like those retro-future "instant roast beef dinner" pills from Just Imagine):

http://xkcd.com/c254.html

My Cheesy Goodbye!

Hi!! Well it's my and dad's last night in Budapest!! This will be my last blog post for a while, but I think I will be doing some more guest blogging while we are at the San Diego Comic Convention, and/or for the Stardust Premiere. Today I had to say goodbye to all the friends that I made on the Hellboy set! I am not going to name them all because I might leave somebody out and then I would feel super de duper bad... but I do want to say "bye" to Gabi the script supervisor because she was so nice and gave me a pretty ring!! (And she reads this, so she better be smiling to herself right now.)

I had such a fun time blogging for the past two weeks, and I'm really, really glad that so many people enjoyed it! Dad did a book signing tonight and Doug and I went down to keep him company and tons of people said they loved the stuff I was doing. My father dearest also got a lot of e-mails from people we know as well as people we don't know, saying things like they really, really liked it, and that I was a great writer, and I should get my own blog! Well I'm glad you liked it, thanks for saying I'm a great writer, and no, I'm not going to get my own blog anytime soon so you should just keep reading this one and maybe I will pop up here and there. Keep a lookout for the Hellboy movie, and be sure to buy the DVD! Ok, I guess I should also thank everyone on the set that was helpful and were really kind! (Especially people whose middle or last names begin with "A", *wink wink,* you'll get it if I've talked to you about that...) Hungary is a great place and I hope I can come here lots in da future!



A picture of me saying goodbye! Sorry about the hand-writing... It's very sloppy because I had to write it backwards!

Thank you soooooo much for reading this everyone.

From,
Maddy Gaiman

I still haven't improved on this whole title thing.

Hi there! It’s Maddy again! I’m very sorry that I didn’t do an entry yesterday but I just didn’t feel like it. Apparently everyone was quite upset though because tons of people on the set came up to me today and they were like, “Hey, there was no blog post last night, what’s up with that?” Well now I am back and ready for action! Speaking of action, yesterday during this little photo shoot type thingie Guillermo wanted me to shout action like he does, but I was too embarrassed. Instead of his big “ACTION!” I was more like “Action”. Then at the end he said, “And that’s a…” but I wasn’t sure what to say so I said "wrap" but I was actually supposed to say "cut"!! Geez Maddy, that’s a no brainer!! So anyway nothing too exciting happened today but I saw some film tests from yesterday a little while ago and its sooooo super cool! I’m not allowed to give details though, so you better just go see Hellboy 2! There was also this one take that was hilarious and everyone was watching it. I saw it like 13 times but it never got old! Hopefully they use that one in the film!! Well, since I shouted out to my friends last week and I did a big thing for my sister three days ago, I would like to say hi to my mother dearest today. “Hi to my mother dearest today”. ☺☺ On Monday they are filming on a different set which is pretty exciting!! It is a change of scenery, which is good because I was pretty bored today. I’m not reading anything at the moment so instead of just sitting there reading my book in one of the chairs in front of the monitor, I actually watched the monitor! Crazy, I know! But then it gets super boring when they are like setting up the set, or when it’s in between takes. That part usually involves me going to the food table and eating a lot, or talking to some of my bestest buddies on the set, or playing a game on one of my bestest buddy’s cellular device, or just sitting there while the crew move around. Oh my good golly gosh I just realized something! I will only be in Budapest for five more days! That means I will only be blogging for five more days!!!!!! Ohhhh… the pain … the sorrow... I know you all are feeling it. I am also kind of glad to go home, because I have missed it! I will also miss it here too; for I have made lots of friends that I might not ever see again! OH NO!!! Well we have some pretty fun stuff planned for this weekend so I will tell you allllll about it in the days to come. Woot woot! I hope you all have a (looks online for an adjective that is a synonym for great) delightful day/morning/afternoon/evening/night.

From the desk of Maddy Gaiman

Photos!!! Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Howdy! It is Madeleine the Great!! Okay, well nothing very exciting happened today so it will just be several pictures with captions.

Today I pretty much ran the entire set.

Here is me supervising everyone.
I was talking to Doug Jones, and giving him advice on playing Abe, ("You're looking a little blue today, maybe you should get some cheering up before going on camera" ), when someone took this picture.

Now I am telling Guillermo del Toro and Guillermo Navarro what to do. GDT might be the director and Navarro may have won an Academy Award, but as you can see they do whatever I say.

Here is Doug Jones and some strange man. We got the strange man kicked off the set because he was scaring little children. :)

Tomorrow we are back in the studio, and I hear some pretty fun stuff is going to be happening! I shall report back in the days to come...

My best regards,
The Official Web Maddy

P.S. Sorry for stealing your saying, Official Web Elf.

Ice cream is a food group.

Hey everyone! It's Maddy again!! Today was a pretty action-packed day. A lot of stuff was filmed on the set and I sat through it all (except I slept in a trailer for a little bit because the jet lag was catching up to me). Guillermo took his personal assistant Russell, Dad, and me out for ice cream so we didn’t end up eating the not so tasty lunch they have on set!! (That’s a good thing.) None of us had any real lunch actually but that’s okay because GDT (I’ve noticed that that’s one of his nicknames ‘round here) claims that ice cream is a food group. It was kind of funny because while we were eating my father dearest said I should put the whole ice cream thing on this blog, and then Guillermo insisted that we go back and try the lemon sorbet because then I’d really have something to blog about. It was delicious by the way. ☺ I met more of the cast members today including Doug Jones who plays Abe. He is very nice but his costume is kind of smelly. I think it’s the leather. Oh, and I have some simply brilliant news!! Selma Blair thinks I’m cute, Claire Danes thinks I’m funny, Doug Jones thinks I’m gorgeous, and Guillermo del Toro thinks I should eat more ice cream. Pretty mind-blowing, I know! Anyway… today’s picture is one that my dad took of me with his phone when I was standing there unaware. (That rhymes. I’m a poet and I didn’t even know it.)



Apparently my padre is learning a lot about directing from Mr. del Toro and I think that he is also helping with the dialogue in the script. Oh Madeleine, Oh Madeleine how lovely are your branches… tee hee, sorry that is in my head. I replaced the words Christmas and Tree with Madeleine though because I think it gives it a nice little jingle. Plus Madeleine is my first name. Anyhoo, we won’t be going back to the studio until Monday, but on Sunday we are going to see Tori Amos who just happens to be here the same time we are. Also Selma’s birthday is tomorrow so today they had cake for her at the end of the day. It was very appetizing. Someone gave me bubbles to blow when the cake came out and everyone was going to blow kazoos and stuff, so I set the bubbles on my chair but when I came back they were gone. Tear. Ah, well it was still fun. Dad also took a really good picture of me and Selma but I’m not allowed to put it on here for reasons I am not allowed to mention on here but don’t get curious because it’s nothing big. Also curiosity killed the cat. Alrighty, well I best be finishing up! I’m not promising that there will be an entry tomorrow but we shall see. Fare thee well!

I'm not very good at this whole title thing.

Good evening everyone! This is marvelous Maddy here and as I promised today was much more exciting than yesterday meaning I have lots to report.

1. Guillermo del Toro can shout "action" very loudly and I do not recommend standing next to him as this event happens. I'm pretty sure that I might be deaf in my right ear.
2. I learned a lot about Hungary from what Julian, our driver, was telling dad on the way onto set this morning except for I wasn't exactly listening that much on account of the fact I was reading a book by Meg Cabot. Eventually I had to stop though because I have troubles reading in the car and I felt a little bit woozy (cool word).
3. Guillermo's daughters, Mariana, age, 11, and Marisol, age 6, (not sure if I spelled those names right) are quite awesome. I hung out with them most of the day today except for when they ditched me and then I had to follow my weird dad around. (Just kidding! In no way is he weird no not at all in a million years.....)
4. Selma Blair is really, really super nice and did anyone else realize that she was in Legally Blonde because I sure didn't. She also has a cool doggie named Wink.
5. As fun as Budapest is I miss my friends back home... not that any of them told me to mention that *cough* LEXI *cough*! P.S. now that I said Lexi's name I should probably mention Akansha and Anna Rose, too. I'm sure you three feel very special now. :)
6. There was a really cool storm-ish type thing while we were driving back to the hotel and that was the first time that I have actually seen the full on lightning bolt thing so close to me. It was pretty wonderful!
7. It is really weird/cool seeing Hellboy up close with all the make-up and everything!
8. I like how they bring you watermelon, red currants, and raspberries when you are just sitting there on set and getting a little bit hungry. (Hungry in Hungary HAHAHA GET IT?!)
9. I am running out of exciting things to tell you. Plus it is 11:40 and I am getting a bit tired and I think dad wants the Internet plug. :)

Hope you enjoyed it. I shall be back tomorrow!!! Have a brilliant day.

Graduation Days

So this is Holly last week at Bryn Mawr, getting her degree...

With her brother and sister in attendance...

And these are a few photos of Maddy and Mike from this morning, when Mike got his Masters from Brown.

And, in case you were wondering, this last one is a photo of me and Maddy last night and it's rather blurry, and I've just started growing a scruffy beard, and I'm not sure who took it, but there weren't any other photos of me on my camera, mostly because, well, it's my camera and I was taking the photos. I'm sure there will be lots of decent ones with me in as well on Holly's camera, mind you.

Also I am typing this with an 80lb dog asleep on my foot. He seems astonishingly pleased that I came back.

Artists are bizarre...

So, I'm recovering. And yes, I am recovering, thank you. The lovecraftian whiteness that covered most of my throat has been replaced by a vicious pink, and the feeling that invisible people were randomly stabbing my tonsils and throat with tiny, but extremely sharp steak-knives, has also gone away, replaced by a sort of dull deep ache, as if from one large invisible person with one large bread-knife.

I also look like I've lost about 15lb, now the swollen neck has gone down, and my head is on a normal-sized neck again.

This is what I've done since I got home: I've slept.

Sometimes I've growled at poor Lorraine.

Her: "What you do want to drink?"
Me (in the saintly tones of the soon-expiring): "Anything".
Her: "How about a lemon, ginger and honey drink?"
Me (even more saintly and further from this world): "Anything."
She goes off and makes a hot drink, carefully adds ice cubes to stop it being too hot, brings it upstairs.
Me (on the point of death, like a perfect Victorian child): "Thank... you..." (Takes one sip. Stops sounding saintly.) "Ow! That hurt! What the hell did you put in here? Lemons? Are you trying to kill me? Why didn't you warn me you were putting lemon in this nightmarish concoction? Oh you claim you did, you, you Lucrezia Borgia of assistants! Ow!" and so on.

For some reason, she hasn't murdered me yet.

The most exciting thing I've done since I've got home is -- because I wasn't up to reading aloud yesterday evening -- I found the video of Sunday in the Park With George. It's currently Maddy's favourite CD, and she knows much of it by heart, and walks around singing "artists are bizarre, fixed, cold, that's you George you're bizarre, fixed, cold, I like that in a man, fixed, cold..." which can be a bit disconcerting from a nine year old, although will be useful knowledge for her in case she ever meets any French pointillists when she grows up. So I put it on for us to watch. I ate some lukewarm tapioca and drank some lukewarm chicken soup, cuddled Maddy, and stayed awake for the next ten minutes, while Maddy explained who everyone was and what they were going to do next.

"Hang on," I said, thinking through cloudy layers. "You've only ever heard the CD. How do you know this stuff?"

"Daddy," she said, in that infinitely patient dealing-with-idiots tone of voice that children only use around their own parents, "the CD does have notes, you know."

"Right," I said, and fell asleep.

...

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of links and things I'm meant to put up, but it may take a while for me to catch up (particularly because, when I've finished posting this, I'm going back to bed). The only one that can't wait -- a huge congratulations to Brian, Tzipi and Ben at Comix Experience. http://www.comixexperience.com/ben.htm

And for the people worried that the LiveJournal feed at http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=officialgaiman is down, LiveJournal, in a burst of "it's not a bug, it's a feature" seem to now be checking syndicated feeds once a day.

On the other hand the unofficial feed (without the titles of these feeds) at http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=gaimanblog does seem to be having problems.

Sooner or later I have to fix things so the titles of these posts show up on the journal itself. They contain extra information, or something, after all (there was even one of them which contained some "Snow Cherries" lyrics).

....

And this came in from Rita Rouse (RRouse@plcmc.org), who ran the Charlotte event, and was passed on to me:


Hi, Lorraine. I have an odd problem that I 'm not even sure you can help me with, but I thought I'd ask. After Neil's presentation on Saturday (he was FANTASTIC, by the way), we found a beautiful leather-bound journal that belongs to an unnamed owner. There is writing in it but no name. Do you know of a Neil Gaiman chat room or message board where I might post that we found this? Or some other way to let folks know that we found this? So far, no one has contacted me, the library or the venue about it, But it's a beautiful book (with some very personal writings) so I know the owner would like to have it back. Any suggestions are very welcome. Thanks for any help you can give.

Rita

American Gods Blog, Post 125

More from the Strange STuff People E-Mail Me Department: http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/au-gaiman-neil.asp is an interview with me (you have to page down past the biography stuff). http://www.kiplinger.com/spending/ is -- right now anyway -- something that lists the best prices of "this week's bestselling book, CD, DVD and software." American Gods is the book (and Fatbrain is currently the best price, it says).

Did a signing in Bristol at lunchtime which was lovely. It should have been an evening signing with a reading and stuff, really. Saw Diana Wynne Jones and several other friends, albeit too briefly in every case. Biut I got to tell Diana of Maddy's addiction to WARLOCK AT THE WHEEL, finally... Then got the train back and did an AOL chat, then London Live radio, now back in the hotel.

Up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to go to Norwich for a lunchtime signing, then on to Canterbury where I shall see Dave McKean and his family, which I am looking forward to.

Sunday is the Giles Brandreth radio show on LBC, and a desperate attempt to see as many people as possible. Monday is editorial meetings, sign 300+ books in the Headline offices, and, in the evening, do some filming and reading and such with Tori for some album stuff. Tuesday morning I fly home.

Wish I had some trenchant and brilliant comments to make on the media or something, but mostly I'm just pooped. People have stopped assuming I'm American though, and my daughter Holly, when I phoned home last night, said "Dad! You sound so English!" which I shall take as a compliment, although I'm not entirely sure that was how she meant it. Really, my accent is just a universal sort of case of "you aren't from round here, are you?"

American Gods Blog, Post 102

Just posting this because there are still 6 boxes of books to be signed and removed from my bed before I can go to sleep.

http://cbldf.safeshopper.com/13/cat13.htm?279 It's got a bunch of stuff you won't get anywhere else, and is, I think, the only place you can simply order one of the signed 5000 books online. And that's not all. It's all for a good cause. Check it out.

And here's a review: http://www.likesbooks.com/heidi23.html.

And this is for any of you who think that stories are universal. Read it and ponder.

I go home in a few hours. This makes me very happy. I like the idea of sleeping in my own bed. Maybe walking around the garden and saying hello to the pumpkins. Reading Maddy's bedtime story. Not travelling, for just a few days.

"How are you doing?" asked most of the last fifty people in the line at tonight's signing as they came up.

"I'm tired," I said. "But I'm pretty good."

"Get some rest," they said, one by one, concerned.

I have nice readers.