Neil Gaiman

Oh...my...GOD!

I met Neil Gaiman the third, and omg...he was soooooo nice, charming, witty, and BRITISH. SOOOO amazing.

Nick and I were the FIRST TWO PEOPLE IN LINE! We were by ourselves for about two hours before anyone else showed up. We got there around one o'clock, with the event scheduled to start at 7:30. While waiting, we made friendlies with those around us...the first six or so people that showed up after us quickly formed a bond, sharing stories about Neil, Nick Cave, David Bowie, Harry Potter, and The Princess Bride. Oh, yes. One of the lovely fellows next to us in line even made a bottle of mead for Neil, which I am sure he appreciated very much (if the man who was giving it to him was able to stay long enough - he had a flight to catch...I hope he was able to meet Neil!).

We also had a jolly good time laughing it up over the guy who stopped by us, asking, "anyone got any heeeerrrrb?" (He was serious, and was later arrested by an overly zealous policeman who made it a point to stop in front of us again, letting us know, "that guy you all told me about - I GOT 'IM!") Some other random guy walked by, rapping along atrociously to his headphones, but it was all in good fun. Our little group also joked around about how funny it was that Neil Gaiman was doing a signing in a CHURCH of all places, then we decided it wasn't really THAT strange, since he does include oodles of mythology in his works, of course.

For some stupid reason, the Powell's employees, who were sponsoring the event, decided to open the OTHER door, not the one everyone had lined up at originally. We attempted to shove ourselves across the breezeway, but some people who HADN'T been there for six hours ended up ahead of us...no matter...

We still got front row, middle seats.

Anyway, once the event itself started, it was WONDERFUL. I took some pictures as Neil read one of my favorite parts of Anansi Boys (the part about wine, women, and song). His British accent is so alluring. Anyway, then he did a short Q&A section, during which someone asked about what became of the Satanic salsa ("my housekeeper loves to can things, so it's waiting at home"). Some girl who travelled five and a half hours by bus got a limited edition Sandman statue, worth $200. He also read "A Writer's Prayer", because someone said it was appropriate, based on the church setting. :)

At one point, a little girl jumped up and down, going, "oo! Oo! OO!" Neil let her ask a question about Coraline. Later, a guy up in the balcony raised his hand and snapped his fingers, to which Neil said something about how that doesn't even work for waiters, "why would it work for me? An 11-year-old girl, jumping up and down going OO! OO! works." To which the girl yelled out, "NINE!" Neil said, "NINE years old, excuse me." :D

Anyway, then it was time for our books to be signed...that man is SO EASY to talk to.

When I got up to him, the following ensued:



(gives Neil pictures of me with the Satanic ice cube found in freezer) [ LINK ]

ME: I sent this to you through your website, but I didn't know whether or not you saw it.

NEIL: Oh, yeah, I did!

ME: You should probably start a collection of all the Satanic food items people discover. I just thought it was weird because there wasn't water dripping down in the freezer or anything.

NEIL: I've heard there's a scientific explanation for that, but to me, saying it's Satanic just makes more sense. (smiles)

ME: Oh, yeah, definitely.

(NEIL reads the note I wrote at the bottom of the picture, which was basically saying how much I appreciated his works. He laughs softly at my P.S. of, "The lime is so hot.")

NEIL: The lime is hot, isn't it? (smiling)

ME: Oh, yeah! It's so sexy.

NEIL: Well, I will say it's the most well-rounded character I've ever created. (laughs)

(Joke about a LIME being ROUNDISH goes completely over my head until I leave the event.)

(NEIL starts saying again how hot the lime is, while he begins to sign my book, when I unintentionally interrupt him.)

ME: Um, I have a request.

NEIL: Yes?

ME: It's kind of silly, but could you sign it with 'love and limes'?

NEIL: Oh, of course! Oddly enough, I've actually signed a few that way on my own. And because you think the lime is so hot, I'll draw one for you. (NEIL draws a cute little lime, and labels it 'a lime', just in case there was any doubt)

(NEIL hands book to me)

ME: Can I have a hug?

NEIL: Sure!

(We BOTH lean over the table, during which NEIL gives ME a very nice, warm hug. Also included in this hug is the feeling of his soft, for once, COMBED, hair against my cheek.)

ME: Thank you very much!

NEIL: You're most welcome. (NEIL grins genuinely, then moves on to next person in line)



Come on, that is AWESOME! That's pretty much it word for word, as I kept repeating the whole conversation to myself over and over, engraining it forever in my memory. He was SO REAL, down-to-earth, nice, and he took all that time to talk to me.

I only saw ONE other person give him a hug, and most of the people just stood there blankly, getting their book signed and moving on, not even talking to him. That is SAD.

Now, maybe they were just nervous. I mean, I read Stardust and Good Omens when they were new, but it wasn't until I picked up Smoke and Mirrors a few months ago (I am ashamed I just became a fan) that I was blown away. I immediately had to devour anything of his I could get my hands on.

Oh, yeah, anyway...I think if I'd been a fan longer, maybe it would have been more difficult for me to talk to him. I don't know, though, I'm pretty amazed by his writing ability. Anyone who can write a short story so well, dragging you in so deeply so quickly, is a GREAT role model by me.

But yes, it was awesome. I took the pictures (and Nick took some of me talking to Neil - we couldn't pose with him, because it'd been taking too long at other events) on an actual camera, so I won't be able to share those until they get developed. But yes, I had such a great time!

Here's my SIGNED first edition copy of Anansi Boys:


I didn't know you could get more than one thing signed, unfortunately. I wish I had known that, because then I could have gotten my first edition copy of Stardust signed. Oh, well, when he comes back next time, I'll be there!

God...first "celebrity" I've ever met, and he was SO FUCKING SWEET! God...so REAL. He is AMAZING!