a copy-editing sort of a down-under day

I've spent most of today going through the copy-edited pages of FRAGILE THINGS. Much of this was done while sitting at a table at the Oyster Bar in Sydney Harbour, drinking tea and being outdoors and occasionally scribbling something on the manuscript in green pencil. There's no doubt that I was working, but honesty compels me to admit that it didn't really feel like it. Truth to tell, it felt suspiciously like a day off.

I think part of that is that I tend not to get time off normally -- time when it's just me, and I'm somewhere new, and nobody needs me for anything, and the phone doesn't ring, and I can just get on with something. (It's always my own fault, and undoubtedly if I'd known I'd have a couple of days off on getting to Sydney, I would have filled them with something.) But having two days to catch up on sleep and on work (FRAGILE THINGS copy-edit, wrapping up ETERNALS #2 and sending it off, polishing the ORANGE short story, while tomorrow I read Alan and Melinda's LOST GIRLS), I'm enjoying them too much. Last night I wandered into a restaurant called Azuma, sat at the sushi bar, and, after a look at the kind of things on the menu, told the chef to just feed me whatever he wanted. And it was a very good call. He seemed to have fun, and I definitely did.

Here's a small cellphone picture of half of the view from my hotel window.

Lucy Anne's posted lots of clippings, mostly about Coraline-the-movie or Stardust-the-movie over at http://www.holycow.com/dreaming/

Hi Neil
Will you be signing books at the Sydney Town Hall talk on Monday or any of your other Sydney gigs?

I expect so. I bought some spare pens today, just in case people had things that needed Silver pens or sharpies to sign. So I'm prepared.

Hi Neil!

In your last post you answerd a couple of questions on Coraline, and mentioned Henry Selick, but what a coincidence! Just yesterday I remembered one short film I used to watch on the MTV, back in the early 1990's, and went for you tube to search it. And I found it! The short film was named "Slow Bob in The Lower Dimensions" and when I hit the play button I could see that its creator was the same Henry Selick!

So, your others readers, that are anxious to see the Coraline film as I am, may find "Slow Bob..." a really interesting sneak peak. Sort of. :o)

Here goes the link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZsqohyYv-A&search=slow%20bob

Cheers
-Alvaro Cavalcanti.
Manaus - Brazil

That's our Henry. I've not seen Slow Bob for a while. Wonderful stuff.

Hello Neil.
First of all I'd like to apologise if my English is horribly misspelled and barely understandable. It's not only quite late, but English of any form is also my 2nd language, so I hope this makes Sense.
I usually call myself a fan in the making when it comes to your work. I have managed to read 4 of your books since I was introduced to them at some point about two years ago, and let me tell you: It's not easy getting you books in Denmark without having to pay more than I have, especially when you don't want a translated version (I've managed to get 3 of the 4 I've read in English, and it took me a while to realize that the translated one was by you too).
But that really isn't what this is about, it's about Sandman.
You see, Denmark is not known for its great love of comics. I have to travel two hours by train to get to Copenhagen to get to a place where they sell anything that hasn't been turned into a movie. This means I have to plan ahead and know what I want, or I'd buy everything that sparked my interest and leave the store with a great grin and no money. I'm a student, I don't have a job... there's other things i want to buy. Now, the last two times I've been there, I've looked at the nice Sandman comics. I want them. Badly. But then I hear about this great glorius Absolute Sandman. And I wonder... Should I be patient and wait for it (hoping that it'll actually end up in one of the two places I go to when I want some quality comics, not that it happens often) or should I give in and buy the collections that looks so tempting there at the shelf?

~Mette M. Rønkel, who apologises for the length. 18 years and she still can't ask a short question.

Your English is just fine, Mette. Well, if AMAZON.COM really is offering the first volume of ABSOLUTE SANDMAN for 84% off, as it claims to be at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401210821/sr=8-1/qid=1148114706/ then I'd just go and get that there. Because you couldn't buy the first three paperbacks of Sandman for $14.99, let alone an oversized recoloured, corrected version with a leather cover, and even if you're paying the shipping to Denmark, it's worth it. (If it turns out it's just some kind of computer glitch, though, then it's your call.)