Meeting Neil Gaiman

Would have written this sooner, but the experience took a couple of days to settle in. It was amazing.

Have to start by setting the ambiance. Going to Atlanta, a fog set in, the kind that we never see around here. Middle of the afternoon, the clouds seemed to touch the ground, a gray blanket that wrapped goosebumps around your arms. A picturesque fog that belonged across the pond, not in Georgia. It never rained until much later, but the fog stuck around. Waiting out in it for the couple of hours before the doors opened just heightened the anticipation. We waited behind a girl who was knitting a Doctor Who scarf, and another girl who I swear I lived in the same dorm as in college.

The doors finally opened and the crowd filed in and filled a large auditorium in no time at all. They even opened up an overflow room with a live feed of Gaiman talking. The place was packed and the anticipation heavy.

Then finally, the introduction was made, with the amazement at the audience for a 'children's author's audience' and Gaiman came out. He made jokes about the weather, then took a book from a kid in the audience, and did a reading from "Odd and the Frost Giants." First off, wow. I'd seen films of him reading, but it doesn't prepare you. He reads so wonderfully well. Made me want to go out and buy audiobooks just becuase he reads most of his own. Hypnotic, colourful, and had this 30 year old hanging on the edge of his seat like he was 3. Secondly, he takes Norse mythology and turns it into children's books. If that isn't beautiful, I don't know what is.

After reading a couple of chapters, he answered audience questions. Mostly regarding "Coraline," "The Graveyard Book," and "Odd". Though the meaning of life did come up, and he answered in a way that was possibly better than the standard 42. The question that stands out though was about "Coraline." He was asked where he got the idea for the button eyes. His honest answer was that he couldn't remember, but that whenever he finally got his rectangular, box shaped time machine, before flitting off through time and space having all sorts of adventures, he would go back to around 1991 and ask himself if he had thought of the button eyes yet. Then would tell himself to remember when he did because that would be the most popular question in the future. Yeah, it's much funnier listening to him tell it. The other question that stands out was also about "Coraline" and the answer involved asking at his local bookstore about "gothic horror for 5 year olds," the looks that brought about, and the decision to write his own.

Following the Q&A session, he read a chapter from "The Graveyard Book." It was the chapter where Bod goes and asks the poet for advice. If you've got a copy, go look it up and imagine the enthusiasm that Gaiman read it with. It was wonderful to listen to. The fact that it was one of my favorite scenes in the book was just icing on the cake.

After the second reading, the signing began. They let the families with children go first, and then did the rest by rows. It went smoothly, or at least the first part did. We were sitting in the second and third rows, respectively and were in the first group of rows called. The line was moving quite quickly, but there were enough people there that he was probably signing all night. Talking to him was amazing, even though I almost stumbled over my tongue and sounded like an even bigger fool than normal. My brother gave him an engraving he had done for a project of Morpheus and Daniel, which got sincere praise and left him still walking on clouds. Hell, when we left, all three of us were giddy as schoolgirls.

It was a wonderful experience. Neil Gaiman has no right to be as amazing a person as he is. That much talent wrapped up in a nice guy. If you're not reading his stuff, go find some now. If you are, then yes, he is as awesome as he seems.