Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Woo. American Gods is reviewed in Entertainment Weekly. In fact, it's
the lead review  in the Books section. They give it a  B rating (say it
with me now, "Bastards"). The picture of Neil is both spooky and
beautiful. And of course he's dressed in black.

Don't read the review if you haven't read the book -- it gives a good
bit away. (Ie, they talk about the ending...say it with me now...)

Neil -- hope you are having fun in England and do try to get some
rest.

Rani
  

    
No, not that Delirium.

Me.  I’m delirious.  Google-eyed, even.

Hi.  I’m Pam and I’m a newbie.

I’ve been reading the net and web for over six years and I’ve been too
intimidated to venture online to post that entire time.  I’m finally
compelled to do it by the sheer intensity of my reaction to this past
week.

(Rebecca:  Thank you for you.  You gave me courage.)

All: I apologize ahead of time, because this is long.  It’s my debut
post and I just need to gush.  I hope you’ll bear with me.

I went to both L.A. signings.  Which is all ‘Walker’s fault, really. 
(Well, at least the second one may be sufficiently attributable to
‘Walker, since he did such a bang-up job of convincing me at Vroman’s
to show up at Booksoup on Friday, too.)

If I’d stopped at one, I might have recovered.
After two signings, though, I think I’m a junkie for life.

Except.  Here’s the thing that defines my essential understanding of
Neil right now: 
It’s not a fix.  It’s... real.

He brought such authenticity, such generosity, such awareness to these
signings that it defied denial.

Here’s a man who’s hardly had time to celebrate the monumental
achievement of completing _AG_, let alone his own induction into the
Bestseller echelons; who has slogged through a human meatgrinder of a
signing tour; who was—in the case of Vroman’s/Pasadena—doing his second
signing of the day after travelling from SF to SD to LA within 24
hours; and who was incomprehensibly...

Kind.  Interested.  Generous.  Kind.  Charming.  Witty.  Kind.  And
(can we say this?) still sexy.

Did I mention kind?

He’s like Kuan-Yin with a moody wardrobe.

I found myself trying to make sense of it, and wondering random
things, like:

-Is sushi really that sustaining?
-Do you suppose he might actually be capable of living in L.A. and
never succumbing to road rage?
-Is it Zen and the art of goldfish maintenance? 

WHO IS THIS MAN?

Incredible.

And _AG_ is such powerful medicine: scalpel-sharp and magical.

Natalie Goldberg wrote that addiction diminishes, but passion uplifts
(paraphrased).

This was my experience.  Instead of the zero-sum equations of
comparison, need or insecurity, I left the signings with this
incredible rush of energy, of a sense of possibility, of hope.

How does he do that?

And I’d really like to say that I have never been in such a nice crowd
of people.  Seriously.  Y’all were fabulous.  I had a great time! 
Especially, I’d like to thank ‘Walker and Adriana for contributing to a
wonderful experience.  

‘Walker: you are one of the world’s nicest people.  Thanks for the
_Death: THCOL_ recommendation.  It was yummy; I ate it all.

Adriana: that recognition thing was so weird, huh?

Miss-Mousey: may I assume you were the one who had the mouse cage
signed?

Okay.  That’s my rant.  Hope it was okay.  Hope to stick around and
get to know ya.

-Pam
“Not all of us dream awake.  But those of us who do have no choice.”
--Patricia McKillip
  

    
PAM!  you are here!  that rocks!  i totally knew i hadn't seen the
last of you.  bizarre.  yay.  welcome.  
  

    
Hi, Adriana!  Thanks!  (Also hi to your husband--Dave?)

And damn, I'm actually sorry to have to leave work, now, because we're
technologically challenged at home.

(Speaking of corporate hell... I have a lovely boss, which is why I'm
still here.  But I have stories about working in The Biz, which I might
be induced to share after a couple margaritas... You're at WB, right?)

Anyway, I'm so sorry to miss all the folks and posts this weekend. 
(But hey... something to look forward to on Monday.)  Hope it's a great
one for everybody.

 -Pam
  

    
Tara - I should see if the card my other designed for Christmas last
year has been scanned anywhere; you'd probably like it. A cross between
celtic knotwork and art nouveau...

Pam - welcome. Zen and the art of goldfish maintenance. I like that...
I think I need to go meditate on some goldfish. 

Nothing else comes to mind, save "thank god it's Fria's day..." ...
that and "god, corporate hell, I hope I got that job I interviewed for
this morning..."
-Kelly
  

    
Michelle Montrose-Hyman (miss-mousey) Fri 06 Jul '01 (03:32 PM)

"JaNell - Does the slobbery mess have anything to do with the... uh...
autopsy thing?"

Eeewww. NO.
I don't even eat sushi (shudder).



"Sushi. That's what my wife used to call me. Cold Fish."
  

    
Michelle ... the bondage marsupial is named Stanley and he's an
accountant.
...
...
riiiight...
  

    
Dan, I've got a Kookaburra named Mistress Kooka who is a licenced
massage therapist by day and a Dominatrix by night.  Don't ask.

[Tree..creating chaos everywhere she goes...]

Yeaaaah!
  

    
Pam - It's signed "Help! I'm being held prisoner in a mouse cage!" :)

Dan W - Beware of strange houseguests from Australia. They may *look*
normal, but they bear altogether wrong thank you gifts...

Rocky - Massage therapist? LOL! Right....

squeaks, waving hello to a Tree
  

    
I looked at that mouse cage very closely and whatever was written on it, I
didn't see Neil in there.
  

    
Tree... don't ask... you and Michelle are conspiring to make me
incredibly curious... keep this up and I'm going to have to buy you
both drinks just to pry complete paragraphs out of you.
  

    
Martha - A couple other people I mentioned the signature to said the
same thing. :)

Dan W - Well, Tree is off on the other side of the US right now. But
maybe if you're good, you can meet Stanley someday. 

Off to get far too many hours of sleep tonight.

squeaks, still trying to catch up on posts
  

    
Pam -- Welcome!

Neil entered the Washington Post bestseller list at #8 yesterday.

The hidden post that follows is a recounting of the strange Harlan
Ellison dream that I had last night. (Yes, another one, I'm as
mystified as you.)
  

    <hidden>
  

    
Michelle - maybe if I'm good... well, I'll have to be on my best
behavior then.

Well, I finally saw Moulin Rouge last night. Wonderful! Bold,
innovative, daring, delightful, wounding... a wonderful example of
using film to tell a story in a way that couldn't be told in any other
medium. There was one romantic notion that I had problems with (the
whole "we're in love and that's all that matters"... completely
forgetting about the livlihoods of a couple of hundred other dancers,
actors, musicians, set designers, lighting technicians, seamstresses,
the theatre owner, etc. etc. etc... and how they will be affected by
the protaganists running off into the sunset.) but other than that, I
was completely entranced by the film.

So thanks all, it was largely due to the joyous ranting about the film
here that convinced me to go see it.
  

    
This is just wrong:

1. Duran Duran by Neil Gaiman Proteus, 1984 Trade Paperback. Fair/No
Jacket.  Sig ned by Author. ISBN:0862762596. Book has creases to the spine
and the cover.Spin e is cracked. One page is loose. (Keywords: 0862762596)
The price of the book is US$ 100.00 Please reference the seller's book #
000711 when ordering.

To order this book click here:
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/BookDetails?ph=1&bi=78454908

The book is in TERRIBLE SHAPE.  Even as an amusing artifact it is NOT work
$100.  Do not buy.
  

    
Dan Guy-Thanks for the Hey.  And CONGRATS on your new love affair with
Alexander.  (That little mouth thing they do is one of the great
irresistables of the universe.)  However, as Harlan Ellison is
obviously your alter ego, I will be watching you closely from now on.

Kelly-Did you get anywhere with the goldfish thing?  Because the only
result I'm getting is that our toilet tank is now making odd, "blup,
blup" sounds.  BTW, hope you get the job!  Let us know.

Michelle/Miss-Mousey/squeaks-(Is there a preferred form of address?) 
But who _is_ in the mouse cage?  Also, by-the-by, I loved your hair. 
It looked worth the sore scalp.  

Tree?  Where is Tree?  Are you a Tree by any other name?

Hey, Martha.  I appreciate the warning, but you know, one man's
trash... Somebody'll probably pay it.  I still can't forget that guy in
the 70's or 80's who threw buckets of paint through jet engines onto
canvases and sold for thousands.  A positive role model to cons
everywhere, I'm sure.

-Pam
who read Martha's post as one name: "Neil Gaiman Proteus"
  

    
Someone probably will buy it, but it's too bad.  Maybe if it were perfect.
Or if the proceeds were going to CBLDF.
  

    
Hello Pam!  Awww, I'm touched.  I'm blushing, and all.
I thought your first post was wonderful, lyrical, inspired...also very
well-crafted and full of your own voice.  Which is always freshening
to read.  Not overlong in the slightest.  "Kuan-Yin with a moody
wardrobe"!!  That image will stick with me for quite a while...
Also, I love your Patricia McKillip quote.  Isn't she great?  Have you
ever read any Ellen Kushner?  

I've been offline for 2 days because of storms, great strange violent
storms, rolling over us like some kind of giant oceanic migration. 
Weird, unexplanably menacing cloud patterns--big black tidalwaves, shot
through with blue snaking lightening.  And still more storms coming
today, supposedly.  Storms coming...where have I heard that? ;)  I'll
be on the lookout for wind-tossed gods, which wouldn't be surprising,
given this weather. 
        
  

    
Thanks, Rebecca.  Welcome back!

I... cherish Patricia McKillip.  She makes me completely dreamy.  She
just keeps quietly turning out these walloping works of art, like the
granny knitting in the corner.  I was so happy to get _The Tower at
Stony Wood_ in hardback, this time.  I just reread _Atrix Wolf_ while
my Dad was in the hospital after heart surgery (He's fine; he's back on
the golfcourse.).  I think it's my favorite.  Apparently, _Ombria in
Shadow_ is due out in January.  

And speaking of lyrical... your description of the storms was so
visual.  I could feel the reverberations in my sternum.  Where are you?
 You're so lucky.  I _miss_ storms.  When I was little, I was never
afraid of them; I'd run to the front door and stand there looking out
and getting rained on 'till my mom found me.  We never get 'em here in
LA.  These people don't know from storms, believe me.  Little pissant
things, and the newscasters are all running around yelling "Stormwatch
2000!"
  

    
Also-Martha:

I agree.  It does seem deeply unjust that none of that money is going
to Neil or somewhere he'd like it to go.

(Especially when he seems to wish that all copies of that book would
simultaneously cease to exist.)
  

    
Well, I'm keeping my copy.  Which I paid $15 for.  If I ever decide not to
keep it, I'll donate it, but it does amuse me to have it around.
  

    
Pam--I read the entirety of _Atrix Wolfe_while sitting in an
absolutely frigid bus station in Preston, which is vaguely in Northern
England.  Totally miserable, and I was more or less chained there
because of my luggage, because there were bomb scares and they weren't
renting out lockers.  I'd planned on noodling around town until my bus
came that night...no such luck.  Thankfully I'd packed this wonderful
book.  I doled it out, one chapter at a time, all through the day.  It
kept me warm.  Even now I can't pick up that chewed-up little paperback
(travelling is hard work for a little book!) without feeling immense
gratitude.  No doubt it could keep you warm in a hospital, too.  I've
been circling _The Tower at Stony Wood_ for a while...damn lack of book
money, I'm going to have to start selling my clothes.  

I'm in Eastern Kentucky, foothills of the Appalachians.  We do get
some good wild storms coming out of the mountains, sometimes.  I still
run outside in storms, which is probably really dumb since we live on a
hill, surrounded by catalpa trees (they seem to really attract the
bolts, for some reason...3 of which have been completely fried by
lightening since I've lived here--as in busted open and smoking), on an
underground lake.  Our house has 4 lightening rods.  Somewhere Darwin
is shaking his head and checking off my name.

The storms we had yesterday were unusually windy--95 mph, I hadn't
come across anything like that since I lived in Norfolk (hurricane
season, always a good excuse to stock up on candles!).   Lots of
topless barns and hail-riddled crops.  My stepfather, a crop insurance
adjuster, calls it "job security."  As long as it doesn't bust up my
roses, I'm fine with that.

It's very sad that there are no good storms in LA.   They are a
spiritual electrolyte, as far as I'm concerned.   Someone told me that
there was a tornado somewhere on the West coast yesterday, though. 
Were they lying?  And where did you run in the rain?     
  

    
Rebecca:

Is eastern Kentucky the horsey part?  It's gorgeous there.

>good, wild storms.  

Exactly.  I used to run, actually, when I got old enough to drive, off
to this big old bluff over the river.  Before it became designated as
a State Park/Landmark, you used to have to climb up it.  I drive out
there and race the storm to see who got to the top first, and then
stand there on the verrrry tippy top point while the storm came racing
in straight on top of my head, until the wind would get strong enough
to knock me off.  I was high enough to watch huge black clouds rolling
over on top of each other as they swept down into the valley.

I got a thing for storms, actually.  

But it's prob'ly not any smarter to stand on top of that big rock in
the middle of the plains than it is to run out into the catalpa trees.

>Somewhere Darwin is shaking his head and checking off my name.

I keep telling my husband that we humans just blow his curve all to
hell.  But hey, we make great Thingies.

We did get a tornado somewhere, I heard.  But I don't think it was a
big one.  L.A. people tell me they'd take an earthquake over a tornado
any day, and I'm not sure I don't agree with them.  Which is odd,
because my house has never been smooshed by a tornado, but the
earthquake did a pretty good job.

Do you know the color of a tornado sky?  In my crazier moments, I miss
those, too.
  

    
When the air is all chartreuse syrup?  Yeah, I do actually love that.
It's some kind of fetish, no doubt.  Or a genetic defect, maybe, I
don't know.

Your description of storm-racing on the plains made the hair stand up
on my arms. Envy!!  Although when I used to live higher in the
mountains it was wonderful like that, you felt like you were flying
with the storm.

Yes, this is horse country, and I do think it's gorgeous.  Green
rolling hills, white fences (OK, most of them have switched to black
creosote...but they still manage to look romantic with all of those
horses behind them), bluegrass and mint juleps...(OK, mint grows in
every streambed around here, but I use it for tea.  Juleps are nasty. 
My favourite recipe for juleps involves assembling all of the esoteric
ingredients, throwing them away and drinking the bourbon.)  In any
case, I'll miss the ol' place when I leave.  But hey, more hurricane
chances in D.C..