Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Rani--Having a horrifing time trying to imagine what that child would
look like.

It seems that I've slipped back into a minor case of lurkdom.  I feel
shy again.  I'm sure I'll come out of it again soon.

Angelina.
  

    
Rani, Angela - I'd like to think I'd be the love child of Neil and
Bilquis... (oh, no, I just realized that Neil killed off my mama!)
  

    

I'm truly sorry I said anything.  Because, of course, I meant the
*questioning* aspect of the relationship, not the relatedness part of the
relationship.  But, whatever, carry on, if you must.  <sighing, wandering
off distractedly, wondering when the next spaceship to Mars might be and
if there's room for me aboard.>
  

    
E-mail from Michaela:

Hello everybody!

I hope you don't mind my intrusion *shy smile*. I have been lurking on and
off (more on than off actually) for the last few months, but I always felt
that it's not quite fair to barge into this without even being registered. I
still do. But. I have to make an exception today and risk your disapproval.
Where to start? Introducing myself might be an idea.
I am a student of literature and I hope to finish next spring - I am German,
and in Germany it can take you quite a LONG time to study - you tend to get
lost somewhere on the way, not knowing what to do, where to go, what is
expected. So you spend some time trying to sort that out - and since nobody
actually cares how long you take, it takes even longer. Since I got married
inbetween and changed universities, I am now quite desperate to finally do
my finals - but I will be getting there.
More importantly, which is why I've been getting my nerve up to e-mail this
post, I am right now in a state of extreme happiness/excitement/nervousness
because tomorrow I'll be boarding the ferry that is going to take me to
England - and on Saturday I will be at the Canterbury signing! It took quite
some organising, since a trip to England is not that cheap, you either have
to take an airplane or a ferry, I'd hate that canal if England weren't so
charming, last not least because of it being an island. But since you lucky
people in America have somehow lured Neil over to your continent, I had to
grab this chance to see and hear him - aren't you ashamed of keeping this
charming British person so far away from the old world? ;)
I have been a fan of Sandman for a few years, a friend introduced me to it -
I don't normally read comics, so I would have missed out if I had not had my
nose pushed into them. Since then, I have tried to get my hands on
everything he has written. In the very near future I have to write my final
paper - it is going to be about Faerie in modern Fantasy Literature. When I
started researching for it, I noticed that at least two relevant novels had
introductions by Neil - in fact I only bought one of them because Amazon
listed it as a search result for "Neil Gaiman". So I decided that asking
could not hurt and I had an e-mail forwarded to him, asking whether there
were titles he'd recommend looking for. I was so thrilled when I actually
had an answer in my mailbox a few days later. It helped me a lot and I was
really impressed - what a nice guy.. but I am not telling anybody here
anything new, I know. If I can speak at all when I meet him and if it is not
such a huge line - I really felt for you, Erynn, when I read about your
experience - I hope to be able to thank him personally. From what I've read,
the UK signings are a bit smaller than the US ones.
Sorry this has become such a long post. But I had to tell somebody
understanding - people around here just don't see why I am going to so much
trouble just to go to a signing, in England of all places ;) I hope to stay
around - I hope to buy Marthas book when I have the money to spare -
unfortunately Amazon Germany doesn't stock it - so I have to order it in the
US :( But from what I've read so far, I am dying to lay my hands on a copy!
Thanks for your patience - michaela 
  

    
Linda - I'm not sorry at all, it's been great fun. :D

Michaela- Hi! Neil *is* a great guy... but y'all can't have him back,
there's more of us over here.
  

    
Well, hell, I'm a nasty train wreck between Walt Disney and Edward Gorey, so
I don't think a Neil Gaiman - David Bowie love child would be _that_ weird.

NG and DB may think differently, of course.
  

    
Pamela - somthing big?? Like my ego? eeep!

Mary - My Italian (is that italian) is a bit off... in bocca al lupo?
The wolves play bocce?

Linda - I have no idea. The only reason I have the chutzpa to
advertise it at all here is because the Bay Area Well Contingent
expressed a desire to gather and make it an event.

Rani - the question begs... who would have carried the children? Neil
or David? (humming... "we could be mothers... just for one day")

Michalea - welcome! 
  

    
No, Dan, the real question is:
Which would you rather have nurse you, and change your diapers?
  

    
Dan- I think 'in bocca al lupo' means 'into the mouth of the wolf',
and if it doesn't, I'm pretty sure that's what Mary meant (sorry to
step on your virtual toes and answer, Mary; I actually just read it the
other day, while I've been researching wolves [my next novel, *Scent
of Thunder*, is a police-procedural-whodunit-with-a-werewolf, which has
been *a lot* of fun to consider, and go over, let me tell you]).

Michaela- welcome!  Can I take your coat?  I do hope you'll no longer
lurk (by the way, did you see Hastur, and Ligur?  They were lurking,
too, last I heard).  And I *so* envy you, seeing Neil in Canterbury
(man, that's just *such* a literary place, and there's just no escaping
it).  I only saw Neil at the World Trade Center, which is only cool if
you take it as literally as if it had appeared in Neverwhere, with
Nightsbridge, and the Abbey, and Earl's Court, and wonder just who,
exactly, is trading worlds over there...

On the cool side of things, Newsweek just ran a cover story about how
popular Christian-related things are getting, which is great for me
because my second novel chronicles two young people's going back in
time to save Jesus of Nazareth... me feels the time is right.

And a mixed note; my friend's band that I'd been going to see,
Cocapelli, is no more.  I mourn their loss, and you can read it, if
you'd like, at www.cocapelli.com ... I even got a reference to Neil in,
if that will entice you further.
  

    
Michaela:  Hello and welcome!  I'm so excited for to meet Neil; it was
such a wonderful experience for me.  He seems to be a lot more rested
for the UK tour, too.  Let us know how it goes!  BTW, it took me eight
years to finish my undergraduate degree, what with switching majors and
schools and stopping to work.  So, hang in there!  I was so proud of
myself when I graduated.  (Pam, who's wishing she could get there, too,
by just hopping a ferry.)

Mary R: Thanks.  I'll toddle off and get hold of _The Wooden Sea_,
then.

Dan: No, no, not your ego!  Like, attendance records, maybe. 
Seriously, hope the show's huge.

Adriana: Isn't that weird? I lost Kevin at Booksoup for a while, too,
because he'd gone off to check the truck parking and I'd made it
through the line, meantime.

All:  Taking a moment to plug an author.  Which is still on topic,
Martha, I swear, because she's credited by Neil in _AG_.  Read Kelly
Link.  She's got a new book coming out end of this month, called
_Stranger Things Happen_, which you can order from Amazon.com.  Not
sure what kind of release she's going to get in the chain bookstores. 
She's wacky and utterly wonderful.

-Pam <streeeeetching the topic for all she's worth>
"The girl detective has saved the world on at least three separate
occasions.  Not that she is bragging."
--Kelly Link, _The Girl Detective_
  

    
Howdy!

Michaela--Welcome!  If I could spell Wilkommen, I'd write that too,
but I can't ;-)

Will--exactly, grazie (we have now used up all my non-menu Italian)

Dan-- it does mean "in the mouth of the wolf" and is the "break a leg"
of the opera set.  "Merde" is the ballet version.  I love all these
traditions. My rapper friend, Vince says in rap it's "rock tha house". 
So that too!  Basically, all good wishes, and a blessing from St.
Genesius to boot!  

Will-but they're Olympic level lurkers, aren't they?  :-)

Pamela--I've heard other novels of his are better to start with, but
I'm just glad I started...

I think I've just convinced 2 other friends to get AG--mostly by
sending them pictures of the signings.  Whatever works.

Mary (who thinks that the aforementioned love child would be
astonishingly beautiful)
  

    
Email from dianna:

Hi everyone.

It's been wonderful reading all your signing stories and such. i've just
been lurking quietly and enjoying :) Thankyou.

Will and Dan - (going back a bit to your posts on #116) You made me laugh
so hard wrt the Lucifer/pom/gay thing in Sandman. i thought that Americans
called British people poms or pommies too - but to my surprise it seems
you don't! They got the name for having rosy apple cheeks - apples being
pommes in French - which of course does not explain how Australians came
by the use of the term.

If Lucifer were being asked about his sexuality - the word would likely
have been poof or poofter.

All of this is leading to a question i have...

Way back, when the Great Barrier Reef came up in conversation momentarily,
i came across a website (National Geographic) that stated, quite
officially, that Australians call Americans SEPPOS.  Having never heard
the term used in that way before, i started asking around. It seems to be
unanimous - we don't. Yanks are Americans, Seppos are separatist lesbians.

Does Seppo have another meaning in the US?

Pardon me wandering waaay off topic. I just had to ask :)

from dianna, survivor of a timely storm (two weeks ago) which took the
roof off her home, really.
  

    
Email from Tori Bat:

Hello All~ I'm at work here in the museum...its been a slow morning, but a
great one! I've been creativly dry for months now. unhappy about it but I
woke up this morning from a great dream... and now I have a big creative
storm! (yeay Dream doesnt hate me!) *laugh* I've been planning and
envisioning my new art project all morning! and boy is it a project!
*laugh* I need money! all the money I'm making at work right now is going
to my parents and towards my friend, Norma's wedding! Which is next
weekend (21st) I'm so excited! I've never been to a wedding before, let
alone IN one~ (I'm a bridesmaid) The bridal shower is this weekend...and I
have SO much to do! but I'm at work, reading. My mom gave me this really
neat "southern vampire mystery" book... (I love/collect) vampire books...
anyway...this one is by Charlaine Harris and its called "Dead Until Dark"
very good so far... anyway back to work--> customers.
                    *HUGS*
                       Tori Bat!
  

    
E-mail from Michaela:

JaNell- I still think it's not fair that you people keep monopolising him,
even if there's more of you .. at least take good care of him in the
meantime (he might just move back one day, you never know ;) )
 
Umm - hi Neil, I do realise that you are not public property, no offense
meant *smile* 

Will - thanks, keep it safe for me :) I am very happy to go to Canterbury as
well. I had planned from the beginning to go to a smaller town if I could. I
figured that it wouldn't draw as much of a crowd as London would, and
besides, I have never been to Canterbury before. My backup plan would have
been London, because it is always possible to get a cheapish ticket to
London. Unfortunately London was the very first signing, so when all my
plans fell apart last week, I was really in a panic - the London signing was
over and I had to find a way to somehow get to England, get to Canterbury
(British public transport is not that cheap) without ending up broke. This
now involves taking the 22h ferry from Hamburg - at least I live near
Hamburg, no problem there - driving 266km from the east of England to
somewhere midwest, picking up my husband, who's working there for a few
days, driving back east to Canterbury (about 350km) next day. Don't ask me
WHY this is the perfect solution, but it is ;) Fortunately, I have an
understanding husband who likes Neil's stuff as well, even if he is less
fanatic about it than I am.

Pamela - I think when I finally finish I will have studied for about that
many years as well - I really shouldn't think about it.

I think this has become a going-out-of-lurking-post - I will tell you about
my week-end in England when I get back .. have to finish packing now. Trying
to decide whether to pick AG to reread for the ferry (it will be boring -
the 22h trip on my own, not the book!), or maybe Angels&Visitations.

Michaela 
  

    
Diana- Hmm let's see- I can't speak for every region, or everyone, but
, at least here in the South East:
British: Brit, Limey, Anglo (as in 'Anglophilic", or "Anglophobic')
Lesbians: Lesbo, dyke (if mannish), Lizzie/Lezzie; the vast majority
of my female friend are gay or bi, so hopefully, they won't swat me
Gay men: Fag, Queen (if very feminine), Mary, Flamer (if openly,
flamboyantly gay)
Gay/Bi in general: Friend of Mary, Goes To Our Church, Alternative
Lifestyle (which can also include Pagans, and environmentalists, and
such)
I guess SEPPO works because of the close pronunciation to "Sappho", or
'Sapphic"...
Do y'all use "FemiNazi" as an insult, like for a woman who gets
offended if you open a door for her?

Most of the terms are terribly insulting, I guess.
And I'm NOT a Yank, honey- them's fightin' words down here, so never
refer to anyone south of the Mason-Dixon as a Yank, we're Americans, or
Southerners, or in my case, a hillbilly just a few generations away
from the novel _Christy_...

Hi, Tori Bat, my oldest will be volunteering down there soon as part
of his civics project...

Michaela - we all *try* to take good care of him, so he'll stay, but
I'm afraid that I'm a little rough on him sometimes myself because I
try treat him like a friend, not an idol, and therefore make
unreasonable demands like I do on everyone else. Like answering
questions if I'm interested enough to ask them, and teasing him, and
occasionally telling him I want to give him a good whack if he's being
annoying... hopefully he still loves me anyway... 
*Sigh*
  

    
No, the only people who use "feminazi" as an insult are the far right-
wingers.
  

    
Dan--to add to the Boca al Lupo thing, i learned that phrase the cool
and creepy way.  i was wandering Tuscany and walked into a remote inn
somewhere and told the lady i needed food, and that i was a singer. 
this woman was older than the hills, and looked as if she herself had
control of the Evil Eye.  anyways, she took my face and kissed both
cheeks and said "In Boca al Lupo," and looked at me, waiting.  i didn't
know what was supposed to happen next, and i could tell there was a
protocol i was missing.  she looked nervous and whispered that i must
say "Crepi il Lupo," which means basically "may the wolf choke."  so i
said it, and only then could i enter the house.  incidentally, i had
the greatest food of my life there.  but that's a different story.

so apparently the full line is : in the mouth of the wolf, and may the
wolf choke.  which is really lovely.  may we see the abyss and know
its depths, yet come through unharmed.  
  

    
Robynne, I never realized that I was a far right winger...
learn something new every day, I guess.

Seriously, though, I've never called myself a feminist because it's so
limiting... all these restrictions and expectations... which I thought
was what feminists were fighting against, but it seems that they only
want to replace male restrictions on female behavior with their own. At
least that's how it seemed to me, growing up in the seventies... women
getting castigated for staying home with their children, or even
having children... men who opened doors, or said ma'am... where I was
raised, that's just good manners, you open the door for children,
parents (either sex) with toddlers or baby strollers, pregnant women,
the elderly, people with packages, and so on...
My friends and I *do* use the term 'FemiNazi" for women who militantly
and rudely refuse, and become verbally abusive of, common, nonsexist
politeness... there are already *plenty* of things to call rude men. ;)



Adriana -  it is a lovely saying, and one I wholeheartedly agree with.
  

    
God, Adriana, that is gorgeous.  Thank you so much for sharing that. 
Your interpretation was especially rich.  Maybe Neil will put the whole
phrase in the little-old-lady's werewolves story he threatens to write
in _Smoke and Mirrors_ (I can't remember her name--from _Chivalry_);
it sounds like just the thing.

I'm so fascinated by your story.  Did you literally sing for your
supper?  Why were you wandering around Tuscany hungry?  I'm getting,
like, a musical version of _A Room With a View_ in my head, starring
you, directed by Neil.

-Pam
"Italians Drive Them" --_ARWAV_
(This is important for certain destinations.)
  

    
Dianna- Never heard Seppo; wonder from whence it came.

JaNell- I think you covered most.  What about 'fairy,' for gay men? 
(I've been called every gay name in the book, even though I'm
straight.... weird).

Robynne- I've used the term 'femi-nazi', and I don't think I'm way
right wing.  I just hate the backlash against men like me.  I mean, if
I open a door for a girl, it's as a chivalric gesture, and because I
respect her, not because I don't think she can do it herself, and if
someone were to open one for me, girl or guy, I'd be genuinely
appreciative, and not pissed.

Adriana- what a *way* cool story.  I want to say something about
envying you, and how surreal it is, and how hard it rocks, but I can't
really get it out (I tried twice).  So, *great* story.  How cool.

Michaela- You are hardcore.  And here I thought it was full-tilt to
wait seven hours for the man...

Neil- both of which should tell you the lengths to which your fans
will go for you.  And, also, I got back the picture of my friend, you,
and I, arm in arm and grinning and looking for all the world like we're
a force to be reckoned with.  Very cool.  And I also have one of you
and Claudia, from the Fields.  If you'd like, I'll send it to you (you
won't even have to trade a copy of "Instructions" <grin>).
  

    
JaNell, you slipped right by... agree with your post; it's manners, to
me.  And I'm glad to hear you wouldn't scream at me if I opened a door
for you.  Always heartening to know there are still ladies like you
out there... There surely aren't many in NYC...
  

    
Will, you're right, I forgot the most onvious one... and don't feel
bad about missing the post, I suspect that most people here skim over
mine because they assume I'm only being a smartass like normal.
Wouldn't call me a lady, though; I cuss like a sailor...

"You're straight outta Compton? I'm straight out the trailer!"

I mean, really, after thinking about it, the whole
opening-doors-as-a-way-of-continuing-to-subjegate-women thing allows
people to vent on the small stuff; that way, feeling pretty
self-satisfied that they've established the parameters of their
equality, they don't have to actually get involved with real issues,
outside of their own ego, like rape, incest, child abuse, gay bashing,
racism, genital mutilation, and sexual harrassment. That would be
distasteful and time consuming and without the easy emotional fix of
chewing out some poor guy who was simply being respectful, by his
lights.

If it's all that important to a person, simply getting the door
yourself and saying, "Thanks, I've got it", is sufficient to establish
a sense of equality...
  

    
Onvious?!... see what happens if I don't spellcheck?
  

    
You know, call me crazy, or dense, or sexist, or whatever, but I've
never, and will never no matter what you tell me, understood just how
opening a door for someone connotes in anyway that you're superior to
them.  If anything at all, wouldn't the opposite be true?  I mean,
someone who walked in front of you and opened doors; they'd be like the
portal equivalent of a food tester, or something, wouldn't they?
  

    
Pam and Will just made my day.  

Pam, I tend to live my life like a Merchant-Ivory film way too much
for my own good.  I went to Italy after graduating college, looking for
my "roots" (oye) and searching for the sea for which I'm named.  I
wanted to dip my feet in those dark waters.  I actually set out with my
Opera History professor in the streets of Florence, when I was almost
accosted by a band of thieves...but that's a different story.  Anyway,
my health was poorly at the time.  Digestive tract failure.  I went off
to the countryside looking for health.  I stopped at this Inn in the
middle of some golden field.  I was so sick I hadn't held food down for
days and was ready to pass out.  The woman took me in and made me this
broth...this crazy healing broth...that within 3 hours time had cured
me.  I lay in a hammock in the yard and a golden kitten slept on my
belly while the sunlight gently warmed me.  Strega Nona came back to
tell me she had a bed for me, in the "Saint Adriana" room over by the
barn.  Now, this was pretty astounding considering, as far as I know,
there IS no Saint Adriana, but there it was, painted over the door.  In
the courtyard was a small statue of the Magdalene, not the Madonna,
with roses around her.  That's when I knew I was in the right place. 
So, I guess I did sit in the wolf's belly for a while, and it ended up
being a warm and healing place.  And most wonderfully, it spit me out
healthy and whole.

And Will, any person who holds a door for me gets good karma points. 
I think it is wonderful, and I appreciate the graciousness of that
action.  It makes me feel good about humans.  And I try to do the same
whenever possible.