"Snow, Glass, Apples" -- by Neil Gaiman

It's just another version of the Snow White tale. How creepy can it be?

You'll want to be locking that door, by the way.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Illustration by Julie Dillon.


"Snow, Glass, Apples" -- by Neil Gaiman

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An American Classic

I first read this book many years ago on a business trip, one of those things you have to endure where you want some sort of engrossing novel to carry you away from the bullshit of a job you hate (and traveling with the company owner, too) and one of those nerve-wracking times when you have to be “on” all the time because you’re surrounded by clients who are all morons anyway, and you have to be nice to them. I was on board a plane reading the opening scenes of American Gods that take place on a plane. Not that it had anything to do with the novel, but I remember watching what was almost a mugging on a Baltimore street from my hotel room late one night while I read this book. Fascinating, as if the world had become weirdly in-tune and out-of-order from the normal and usual, as if tendrils of the novel wormed their way out of the pages and into the ether.

I finished American Gods well after that trip ended, and when I closed its pages I was startled by an unbidden thought: “That was one of the most satisfying books I have ever read.” And I meant it. Every moment spent reading American Gods had been worth it, every hour with it an hour much more than well-spent. How often can you say that about any book? The works of Shakespeare and Homer; the utterly perfect characters and situations of Stephen King’s masterpiece, The Shining; the overwhelming too-muchness and diamond-flaw perfection of my favorite novel, Les Misérables. Not many others. Not many others at all.

The edition of American Gods I read years ago was the “standard edition,” I guess we could say. I started reading it again recently in the above pictured, Tenth Anniversary edition, with text restored by the brilliant Neil Gaiman. I’m already hooked again. Read this. It’s worth every minute of your time. Very little written today is this goddamned excellent.



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I'm in Ravenclaw House Myself...

Congrats to my best friend for a gajillion years Claudia White, flute-player extraordinaire, who landed an awesome gig tonight playing for a whole host of celebrities and guests as part of an orchestra at the grand opening of the new Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios in Orlando. I understand author J.K. Rowling will be there along with the stars of the Harry Potter films, and the orchestra Claudia is playing in will be conducted by none other than John Williams! Woo!

The degree of separation between me and John Williams has now been reduced to one. This is exciting! I was a John Williams fan before anyone knew who he was. Seriously, do you know anyone who actually owned (I may still have it somewhere) the original soundtrack recording of The Towering Inferno? On LP?!? I credit Williams’ lush scores with introducing me to the world of great orchestral music, laying the groundwork for my later interest in classical music. A favorite JW score? Too many to mention, and he has had his ups and downs. But who of my generation can forget that day when we first sat down to watch some brand new space adventure flick called Star Wars, and Williams’ iconic theme tore out of the speakers and into our ears for the first time? You knew in two seconds this was going to be the best adventure of you life ‘til then. Currently, I’d have to rank JW’s score to Catch Me If You Can as one of his finest, mostly because the jazzy riffs were totally unexpected. One of my most enduring favorites by him has to be his score to Empire of the Sun, a very underrated classic from Steven Spielberg that introduced us to some kid named Christian Bale – wonder whatever became of him?

And J.K. Rowling herself? Don’t get me started. This is the woman who took fantastic tales that most people regard as children’s stories and made them respectable for everyone to read. Outside of the pleasures of the Harry Potter series itself, would we have Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book or China Miéville’s Un Lun Dun without HP’s success? The best writers have long known that if you want to write inventive stories with memorable characters, you write for young people – or the young-at-heart.

Anyway, congratulations once again to Claudia White, who has put up with more of my insanity than any reasonable person should. I toast thee with Maker's Mark!

Incidentally, there's a live web feed available here tonight and Friday morning.

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Why I Love Neil Gaiman

Mr. Gaiman was recently involved in a bit of a dustup over his speaking fee. How he explains what happened and tries to soothe some inappropriately ruffled feathers is another example of why I love this man. And this isn't even about his actual writing!

"Q. How can I get Neil Gaiman to make an appearance at my school/convention/event?

A. Contact Lisa Bransdorf at the Greater Talent Network. Tell her you want Neil to appear somewhere. Have her tell you how much it costs. Have her say it again in case you misheard it the first time. Tell her you could get Bill Clinton for that money. Have her tell you that you couldn't even get ten minutes of Bill Clinton for that money but it's true, he's not cheap.

On the other hand, I'm really busy, and I ought to be writing, so pricing appearances somewhere between ridiculously high and obscenely high helps to discourage most of the people who want me to come and talk to them. Which I could make a full time profession, if I didn't say 'no' a lot."

Plus, this is an interesting look at what us aspiring writers can look forward to when our respective ships come in. Someday. Maybe. At least, I hope so...

A Political Football in A Teacup

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The Parent Problem in Young Adult Lit

Via Neil Gaiman's Facebook post, here's an interesting article from the New York Times about the "problem parent" in YA novels. When I was a kid, I didn't like the genre of "problem novel" very much -- I had plenty of my own problems which I found every day when I rolled out of bed, thank you very much, and I sure didn't want to waste good reading time on reading about other kids and their too-close-to-home problems. If you're going to do that sort of thing, at least be creative about it, which is exactly what Neil Gaiman does in Coraline.

You have to wonder how the distracted, failing parent became such a ubiquitous image in pop culture. In Neil Gaiman’s novel “Coraline,” from 2002, the lonely title character wanders into danger in a creepy new house because the parents are busy and preoccupied. “Go away,” the father says cheerfully the minute she appears. This theme was made more explicit in the 2009 movie version, in which both parents seem to be transfixed by their computers. “Hey Mom, where does this door go?” Coraline asks, and her mother replies without looking away from the monitor: “I’m really, really busy.” Near-fatal adventures ensue with terrifying “other parents” in the alternate world behind the door — who begin by offering Coraline delicious meals and toys, but actually want to turn her into a kind of soulless rag doll with button eyes — because the real parents are on deadline writing a gardening catalog.

The author of the article makes this sound like such a bad thing...

Not that I don't agree with the cynical outlook -- believe me, I haven't forgotten the way kids think about their parents, and quite often, it ain't good in the best of times. Getting the parent(s) out of the way so the kid can begin to live and/or have an adventure is a problem all writers face (if this is the sort of writing you do). Anyway, an good article if you're interested in YA books, or if, like me, you want to portray kids and their lives accurately.

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Young adult lit comes of age

A great article in the LA Times about the popularity of YA fiction amongst adults.

"YA authors are able to take themselves less seriously. They're able to have a little more fun, and they're less confined by this idea of themselves as Very Important Artists. That paradoxically leads them to create far better work than people who are trying to win awards."

I’ve written a lot of stories and novels with young people as central characters, although I wouldn’t classify any of them as YA – I like to reserve the right to use appropriate levels of sexuality, violence, and vocabulary in my work where needed. (You can understand why I so love Spike Jonze’s description of his film Where the Wild Things Are as a movie about childhood, and not necessarily for children.) And I have known for years that if you want a ripping good yarn with memorable characters and, very often, trenchant observations about life, you should give YAs a try. I felt quite vindicated when Harry Potter became a success. (I read them all, and loved them.) Expect more of this from my writing – the world caught up to me once, maybe it will do so again.



The article doesn’t mention one of the most popular adult writers who has crossed over more or less full-time (at present) into YA and children’s books, and that is the inimitable Neil Gaiman. Pictured at the top of the post is one of my favorite YAs, China Miéville’s Un Lun Dun, about an alternate world existing parallel/underneath the real London. Miéville cited as one point of inspiration for this book Gaiman’s Neverwhere, another book I love. Compare the two sometime.

Young adult lit comes of age (LA Times)

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"The Price," by Neil Gaiman

Oh, to be able to craft such a perfect, perfect little story as the one Neil Gaiman has written here. The tale is called "The Price," and it is the story of a very special cat. A remarkable tale, with an appropriate amount of shiver down your spine. Pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and enjoy!

BTW, Neil Gaiman is the only author I know of who can successfully pull off making himself the main character in fictional stories, as he does here. Amazing.

"The Price," by Neil Gaiman

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Ten Rules for Writing Fiction

Cover of the Russian-language edition of Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things, which I just read for the second time (in English, of course). Many good stories in this, and I particularly love the final story in it, "The Monarch of the Glen."

Via Neil Gaiman's blog comes not one but two columns of advice from writers for writers, just published in the Guardian. Agree with some, disagree with others, laugh at a few, nod in agreement with more; but definitely peruse this advice from writers like Margaret Atwood, PD James, Joyce Carol Oates, and Mr. Gaiman himself. The best advice might be that of Philip Pullman. Oddly enough, the kickoff for these columns was the list of ten rules for writing from the article by Elmore Leonard that I posted here recently, which Mr. Leonard is turning into a book.

Part One is here.
Part Two is here.

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"Goliath," by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman and friend.

I'm currently re-reading Neil Gaiman's story collection Fragile Things, which contains this terrific story set in the universe of The Matrix. Gaiman was asked by Warner Bros. to write a story set in the world of The Matrix (they sent him a copy of the script), and the result, "Goliath," was posted at the film's website about a week before the movie opened. This is such a fine example of how a great story works, and it is so quintessentially Gaiman. Enjoy!

"Goliath," by Neil Gaiman

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The Quotable Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite writers. He conveys his terrific ideas in ways that manage to constantly surprise us. American Gods was one of the most amazing books I've read, Neverwhere is riveting for so many reasons, and The Graveyard Book is an absolute little gem of a novel. And the movie MirrorMask is simply terrific. Anyway, if you want to learn more about Neil's writing and the craft of writing in general, explore his blog, The Quotable Neil Gaiman, which he says he is going to start adding to soon (it appears there haven't been any updates for a while, until yesterday). And read one of Neil's books soon. Sounds like a good way to spend a long weekend!

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