Journal

Wednesday, April 10, 2002
I wondered how long it would be before the first early copy of Coraline went on sale at e-bay. Sigh. Well, I hope it goes to someone who wants to read it, and not just put it in a bag in a basement.eBay item 1530074877 (Ends Apr-17-02 10:11:44 PDT ) - Neil Gaiman Coraline ARC Dave McKean

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Snow has gone, so I went out today and hung bars of smelly soap in socks from young apple trees. Do not believe anyone who tells you that hair, urine (human or wolf), deer repellent, dried blood, or any of the other things that are reputed to stop deer eating young apple trees actually work. They don't. You will come out one morning and find nothing but a nibbled-down stump.

Hanging really smelly soap in socks from the trees, however, works like a charm. I used to get it from hotels, but hotel soap has improved too much in recent years, so now I go to the soap aisle of the supermarket, close my eyes, and walk until it gets really unpleasant. It may seem unlikely, or silly, but we have apple trees these days, and we used to only ever have stumps. And very satisfied-looking deer.

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And I saw the American Gods header, and it has lights which flicker down the lightning bolt, and is very impressive indeed. Also very silly. You can be both.