Meeting Neil Gaiman

So I have some catching up to do.

Several weeks ago, okay more like a month ago now, I had the extreme good fortune of being a ticketholder to what Neil Gaiman called his last US signing tour. It was in honor of the release of his novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and was held in my personal favorite Portland venue, the Crystal Ballroom. Or at least, it's typically my favorite.

We aren't sure who ordered the sweltering heat, but it certainly wasn't us - the Crystal Ballroom has no air conditioning, the ballroom is on the top floor, and they typically don't even open the windows upstairs - and it certainly wasn't Neil, who was in his customary all-black and long sleeved ensemble. Oops, Neil said that he was going to keep it a secret that Portland had days like that; I guess the cat's out of the bag.

Either way, it was a delightful afternoon with approximately nine hundred people packed into one room, which Neil informed us was about the maximum comfortable number to sign for. Apparently the event the night before had gone from 8:00 PM until 2:00 in the morning (ouch). He read from chapter three of Ocean at the End of the Lane as well as an excerpt from his upcoming children's book Fortunately, the Milk (which I will shamelessly purchase without having a little one to give or read it to).

However, one of the best parts of the afternoon was the question and answer portion. Every guest had the opportunity to write a question on an index card which could then potentially be drawn at random and asked on stage. The best, or at least most memorable, question went something like: "Summarize your writing process in three words or less." He thought about that one for a long moment, and then responded, glaring, "Glare," and finished with a nod, "Drink tea." Which just about summed up the feelings of everyone in the room, including mine.

And then of course came the moment of truth. The room was divided into sections based on colored slips of paper in the copies of Ocean at the End of the Lane we were given as we arrived, and each  group was called up to cue for the signing table one at a time. I had looked forward to meeting Mr. Gaiman, even for a moment, since the second I realized that tickets for the event had gone on pre-sale. Everything of his that I've read I've enjoyed, but just as importantly, he is an incredibly encouraging person. Many of my closest friends are writers and artists of some capacity, and there have been many times that we call or message each other looking for support; insecurity seems to come with most creative territories. And then, one magical day, we found Neil Gaiman's tumblr. He spends a lot of time answering asks from fans, which has always struck me as generous, and many of those responses have to do with encouraging others not to give up on their passion because they are afraid or nervous or insecure about their work, their education, or basically anything else. So going up to that table, I wanted to thank him. Not only for the encouragement and confidence I had personally taken from his internet outreach, but for the fact that he seeks to support everyone he can. It is so easy to feel constricted or crushed by the concept that you are not good enough, or that art is not worth your time because it will not make you any money, or that nothing is ever original, and seeing an author who is so successful express so much support is not only refreshing, it's vital.

I had all these things in mind when I went up there. I was calm up until the moment it was my turn. I was good and remembered that he's a person, not the clout that his name carries. But then I was there, he was signing my books, I got my thank you out, and my mind went blank. He was a good sport about it, of course, and after I stammered something else I asked if it would be alright if I got a quick hug, and he waved me over. And I am so, so grateful for that.

Just in case, I'll try again: thank you so much, Neil Gaiman, for visiting my city, for making such a long trek around the country, for bearing the hand cramps and long hours, for sharing your newest work and your stories, for answering nosy questions, and for listening to all of us blunder our way to telling you how awesome we think you are. Please never change.

Cheers,
-Maddie

If you are interested, and you should be, go visit Neil's Tumblr at neil-gaiman.tumblr.com and get inspired!

Reclaiming the Dead, by James Patrick Brotherton

You could say that this book is an adventure story, following the tried and true ‘unsuspecting, ordinary person gets invited to be an adventurer, goes for it, becomes a badass’ plot. You could say that this is a book about vampires and vampire hunters. But really, this is an awakening story, one about an ordinary man who is shaken out of his stagnant life into motion and, ultimately, to a kind of enlightenment. This is not only a valuable theme, it’s a theme particularly relevant to our time: when technology has placed everything just a click away, what could possibly be more important than relearning to appreciate the “feast” that is life? It just so happens that the vehicle that brings the protagonist, Merton Daniels, to his enlightenment is the existence of vampires.

My favorite part about this book is the dark, deadpan humor that exists throughout it. Merton and his best-friend-turned-sidekick, Coaler, are in sharp contrast to each other, and their interactions create a dynamic that brings in the sort of absurd situations everyday life has to offer. Because of this, the world of Reclaiming the Dead is convincing – maybe uncomfortably so. The humor which arises because of this absurdity also prompted me to begin thinking of it in terms of film – if Reclaiming the Dead ever hit the silver screen it could be Shawn of the Dead’s wittier, indie cousin.

Another intriguing part of this novel is how it handles the myth of the vampire. While I can’t think of a concrete example of this theory being put forth in vampire literature or film, the concept of Judas Iscariot being the first vampire is a familiar notion. However, wedding this concept to, in some instances, the blood-sack baseness of folkloric vampires, the powers of Dracula, and the ability to retain fragments of his human consciousness create a very new spin. Perhaps because the story is primarily about enlightenment and awakening to the world, this book takes the myth of the vampire and makes it less about monsters and more about philosophy, about the nature of life and the universe.

In short, this little book is more than it seems, and it’s worth a read. Go and send James Brotherton some love at his website, jamesbrotherton.com. Reclaiming the Dead is available at Amazon.com.