Just Giblets

The Graveyard Book is Neil Gaiman’s latest work for children coming out in September. Now I don’t remember what it was like to be 10 or 11, but his man in his forties loved this novel. No one writes books with appeal to all ages as well as Neil Gaiman. Borrowing a concept from Kipling’s The Jungle Book, which tells the story of an orphan raised in the jungle, The Graveyard Book features a toddler who wanders out of the house and into the graveyard after his family is brutally murdered, and is raised by the spirits and others beings who live there.

Young Bod (short for Nobody) is adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a kindly couple who died childless, and watched over by Silas, a mysterious and powerful being who is neither alive nor dead. Bod learns the secrets of the graveyard, and things no living beings know. As he grows up, he begins to encounter the living from time to time, and a curiosity is sparked. All the while, Jack, the man who murdered his family, is hoping to correct his failure by finding and finishing of Bod as well.

Gaiman populates The Graveyard Book with all the sorts of mystical and fantastic creatures he is known for. Silas’ wonderful, Eastern European substitute guardian Miss Luprescu is surely my favorite, but from ghouls to witches and other denizens of the dead, there is something to astound and capture everyone’s imagination. Watch for this one when it’s published in September.

Of course, friends of mine will know I’ve got a long-standing admiration for Mr. Gaiman, and about a month ago, while attending BookExpo America in Los Angeles, I was able to meet and hang out with Mr. Gaiman not once, but twice!  The second time I even was so bold as to ask to have my picture taken with him.  It was a geeky thing to do, and I’m smiling way too hard in the photo, but at least I hvae it.  I’ve been reading Neil’s work since the 80’s when he broke into comics at DC with the Black Orchid miniseries.  Shortly after that Neil began what has become arguably his most popular work, The Sandman.  His work as a novelist began with the riotously fun Good Omens, co-written by Terry Pratchett.  He has since hit the NYT bestsellers’ list on his own with the titles American Gods and The Anansi Boys.   He has done screenplay work for such films as PRINCESS MONONOKE, MIRRORMASK, and BEOWULF.  His young adult novel Coraline has been adapted for the screen and is due out later this year.

As you may or may not know, I am in Los Angeles at the BookExpo America conference.  It’s my favorite professional conference that I attend, as it’s all about the publishing industry and books.  You get to meet and listen to tons of authors (if you so choose) and pick up tons of free books (if you so choose.)  I was really excited because I was finally (after 20 + years of admiration) going to see Neil Gaiman speak as part of a Children’s author breakfast along with Eoin Colfer, Sherman Alexie and Judy Blume.  The panel was terrific and Neil was a wonderful speaker.

So several hours later, I was in the HarperCollins booth with two colleagues for a meeting with our Library Marketing reps, the wonderful Virginia Stanley and Bobby Brinson.  We were chatting about various things (like the delicious cupcakes that HarperCollins were passing out) and hadn’t started the meeting yet, when I glanced over my shoulder and who should I see but… you guessed it, Neil Gaiman.  Well, I think I gasped when I turned back to the others and blurted out, “Oh my God, Neil Gaiman is here.”  Well, without even blinking, Virginia grabbed my arm and said, “Let me introduce you to him.”  And sure enough, a few minutes later, we were chatting.  It’s weird, I’m not usually “star-struck” when meeting authors, actors, filmmakers, etc.  I’ve gotten quite used to it through Chlotrudis and all that, but this was very different.  My heart was racing a little and I think I babbled (although Viriginia said I cam across very intelligent and composed if a little excited).  We chatted about him coming to Boston, about Black Orchid, his first work in comics, and then he offered to sign my book on the spot.  It was a lovely meeting; many, many thanks to Virginia.  He was just darling.

Augusten Burroughs came to the Boston Public Library last night and it was one majorly successful event.  We filled the 350 seat auditorium and piled an additional 50 - 100 people in the overflow area who watched Augusten read on video.  Then they all had the opportunity to get their books signed and have their pictures taken with the very popular author.  This is what the BPL needs, more big author events that appeal to a young audience.  I’m on the case.

Yeah, he’s a NYT best-selling author, and he’s the rock-star of comic book writers, but what does having a piece in Time magazine mean in the zeitgeist of popular culture? Neil Gaiman’s got his first Hollywood film adaptation of his writing, the fantasy novel Stardust. Time discusses the potential for Neil’s level of fame to be on the verge of exploding… moving from that level of cult appeal to a more mass appeal. It’s so strange, because on some levels, Neil’s popularity seems enormous already, yet in a way, by its very nature (and despite a few best-selling novels) stemming from comics and living in the fantasy genre, some might label it cult appeal. Well, I’ve been a fan of Gaiman’s since his “Black Orchid” miniseries for DC, and predictably, I’ve had a bit of a crush on him as well. In addition to his talent, he’s awfully cute. But whether you’ve read his work or not, if you’re a blog reader and you haven’t checked out his journal, you probably should. It’s one of the better ones. I wonder how he does it?