Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Rani-- Hi, I'm sure you're gonna find the conversations here as
entertaining (and occassionally mind-boggling) as I do. :^)

Blythe- I completely agree with Will and Eryn. The length of your post
shouldn't be dependent on anything other than whether or not you have
something you want to say. And you story was great!

Shawn -
living in No-Neil-Land here in Texas...
  

    
Shawn- the South in general is a wide open market for Neil, especially
with his sweet personality. I'd like to see him down in the warmer
half more often, but I think we'd have to explain how very different
southerners, and southern Cons, are from the rest of the country... a
thing you'd not learn from the humongous ones here like DragonCon, as
much fun as a big Con like that can be...

What part of Texas are you from, and have you been to Justice, if it's
still going on?
  

    
I'm sure this link will go up on AG/NG.com soon, but there's an
article on CNN.com about the marketing of the book. Here's the link...
http://www.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/readingup/06/26/american.gods/index.html
  

    
Shawn -- I pronounce it "Ray-Knee" but I'm a hick from West Virginia.
I am sure Neil and other brits would pronounce it "Rah-nee" as in evil
character on the BCC show "Doctor Who." My real name is Monica Gaudio.
Rani is just the screen name I've used for years. 

Will - mmmm, cider. 

Neil -- Any chance of coming to Pittsburgh in the near future?
  

    
Woops. that Shawn should have been to Tara. My bad. 

See you all in a few days. I'm off to Atlanta. 
  

    

That was a good article right up until the final sentence which not only
misspells Neil's name but says that this book might just make his career. 
  

    
I know, I wrote a scathing email that basically said "whattaya mean,
MAKE his career? Look on eBay, search for sites about him, then come
back after some real research..."
Then, I didn't send it. But I feel much better any way... >]
  

    
I wrote the same email, but tried to be nice about it.  I sent mine.
  

    
Okay, I couldn't find a link to e-mail a reply, but there's something
else we have to address on the CNN article:

492 out of 594 people, when asked if they'd followed American Gods,
responded "American What?"

Surely this is something we, um, Wellsh can correct, no?

Oh, and Danguy, also wanted to say that I'm glad Alex is wonderful and
cute and giggly.

-Will, who is, apparently, in the seven percent of 600 people who
followed the journal avidly, and who thus knows not enough people
voted.
  

    
Aha, little polling box on that page.

http://www.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/readingup/06/26/american.gods/

It must cookie you when you vote, since I couldn't get it to go up one by
closing the browser and voting again.  So, let's see, another machine or
another browser or clean up cookies and start over...
  

    
Just noted on the journal, and confirmed at techtv.com, that Neil will
be a guest on The Screen Savers today. Cool!
  

    
How could they spell his name wrong?  

All right, no more fretting about length and I'm happy people are
talking to me. :)

Hello Rani, glad you're here Im (relatively) new too!

I still can't believe they spelled his name wrong. "This just may make
Niel Gaiman's career"  Does anyone see the irony of misspelling his
name in that sentence?  

--Blythe, who is very tired because she stayed up too late listening
to Neil read Chivalry on Warning: Contains Language. Lovely cd.
Everyone here should get it if possible.
  

    
JaNell-
Yeah, I definitely think that Neil would recieve a warm reception down
here. Folks in Texas are about the nicest, friendliest people in the
world... until you meet them on the road. 

Once they climb into a car they metamorphize into angry, speeding
primates who will stop at nothing to get where they need to be. And if
you make the foolish mistake of getting in their way, they'll attempt
to run over not only you, but your family, pets, and probably any
lawn-furniture you may own too.

And they have the equipment to do it. I'm pretty sure that if you
surveyed every SUV in Dallas, the sheer tonnage of steel measured would
equal the whole of the U.S. Navy.


But mostly they're nice. 
  

    
I think they fixed Neil's name on CNN.  As for that last sentance, I'm
going to pretend it never happened.  

If anyone has seen the Ruby Falls mention in AG:

Ahhhhh!  I had a latin teacher in high school who told us about Ruby
Falls about once a week.  Apparently her grandfather or uncle
discovered the place, and she had to tell us about it every time we
came across the word "ruber".  Very funny to find him and that place in
a book of Neil's.  :)

Angelina.
  

    
Well, I had a Neil signing dream last night...
I went to Cody's a day early because I was in the area and needed to
pick up the two copies of AG I had ordered for friends (which is
actually true.. I have two copies waiting at Cody's as we speak). For
some reason, Neil was there already, signing a few things for the
patrons. I found this odd, but not overly so. I was more amused at the
fact that so many people were missing this chance to see him and
wondered what the cock-up was.
I eventually wandered over and chatted with him a bit, primarily about
how much I liked the book and about Neverwhere. I assured him that
Neverwhere was very good and he really didn't need to be so harsh about
it. 
I wish I could remember more of it, but it was one of those "so close
to being reality that it makes you think twice when you wake up" kind
of dreams. 
So, I'm leaving in an hour for the signing and will probably not freak
out too much, since I've already met Neil at the book signing once
already.

Dan
  

    
Danguy- Cute pictures! Thanks for putting 'em up!

Martha- I suggested your book to my Grandma and she bought it and is
enjoying it.
  

    
Angelina- Neil missed so much weirdness about Chattanooga that I'm
still shocked. I lived there for six years, and, yes, it totally fits
that it plays such a big part in AG. BUT, it's even weirder than that.
A f'rinstance: I lived on (no snickering) Sleepy Hollow Road. Yes,
there is an Ichabod Lane. And a Social Circle. Orbit. Very strange road
names. Did I mention St. Elmo, a small community on the outskirts? Oh,
I almost forgot those caves- Tiftonia Pits- famously deep drop.

How do they maintain 2 thriving cons, when it's a relatively small
town? Pure weirdness. A very magical place. Sometimes a very grueling
one. *Sigh*
  

    
Many, many deep thanks for the ear drying tips.  I utilized all of
them and am mostly cured.  'Tis a very, very strange feeling.  Am
thinking of stepping up it up a notch to the ear candle soon.

Xander--you are beautiful, amazing, and really smart.  your parents
are lucky.  

JaNell--I had a crazy magical time in Chattanooga once long ago.  I
saw fireflies for the first time in my life.  I also saw raccoons. I
remember going to a place called something like Cade's Cove (?).  Was
that near there or was that some other place?   

Hello to all new people.  I'm pretty new myself.  Everyone here is
kind and good.  You'll see. 

Alright, once and for all, who will be at Pasadena and who will be at
Hollywood?  
  

    
Adriana --  I'll be at Pasadena (Mark is coming along for moral
support and to see what reaction Neil will cause in me.  He's opting
for the tongue tied girl with sticky notes to remember things -- like
her name)... would have loved to attend the Hollywood reading as well
but can't.  Are you considering standing on a chair and yelling "anyone
from the Well here?!?"
  

    
Adriana- Cade's Cove is further north in Tennessee, between Townsend
(where my husband is digging) and Gatlinburg (a hideous sign of the
apocalypse in neon).

And tell Neil "Hey!" when you see him.
  

    
anyone here going to the san diego signing tomorrow ? i would have
missed it myself , if i hadn't visited americangods.com about five
minutes back to see exactly when in july the signing was going to be .
easy to get confused , with neil in san diego this month , and the
comicon coming next month . . . there's never stuff going on in san
diego . i should probably find out when school starts back up so i
don't do something stupid like sleep through the semester .

twice i've went to mysterious galaxy to get stuff signed by neil , but
i can't remember if they give out numbers or anything like that . it'd
be nice to be able to take a nap in the car . i'm so tired , having
made the mistake of spending the entire evening last night piecing
together a theremin for a friend . the thought of an alarm clock
ringing , and especially the thought of that ringing being at seven or
eight in the morning . . . sounds unpleasant , but one couldn't really
choose not to go , so i must . haven't come up with a better way to go
about getting that duran duran biography signed yet .

sined justin .
  

    <scribbled by uisgejack>
  

    <scribbled by uisgejack>
  

    <scribbled by uisgejack>
  

    
Never mind me--I'm just being a moron. But hey, I figrued out how to
Scribble! yay! Now there will be no extant *evidence* of my idiocy!