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Teasers: ..

here @ my journal

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/half-lifetime.html

The editor at CBS Sunday Morning asked if I had any photos of my son Mike back at the period when I first had the idea for The Graveyard Book - late 1985. I looked. We really didn't have any. I wandered next door and asked Mary (his mum, my former wife and for these last five years my friend and next-door neighbour) if she had any photos from back then. "No," she said. Then, "Do you mean those transparencies? I have them in an envelope somewhere." She vanished and came back with a large manila envelope from a long time ago. "Here."

Half a lifetime ago -- literally -- I was nearly 25, and working for magazines. Henry Fikret, who photographed a lot of the interviews I did, volunteered to take some photos of me and my family, and he did.A week later the envelope arrived, and I realised that everything he shot was on colour transparencies -- like huge slides -- and I was never sure what do with them, other than being fairly sure I couldn't take them down to Boots the Chemist and have prints knocked out. So they stayed in their envelope, and they kept their secrets, and were forgotten.

Yesterday I had the transparencies scanned, and finally got to see lots of pictures I had never actually seen before of Holly as a baby, Mike at the time that I would have watched him riding his tricycle around the graveyard, and me... at exactly half my age: A young journalist who had sold a very small handful of short stories and two non-fiction books, with dreams of writing fiction and comics. At the time I was dressing in grey, but was getting tired of the way that you would buy something grey and take it home and discover that it was a blueish grey or a brownish grey, and wondering if I'd have the same problem if I just started to dress in black.

And half a lifetime on, it seemed like it might be good to put one up here. I checked, and Mary didn't mind. What odd clothes we wore back then. What big glasses. And look, my hair is practically normal.





So long ago, and it went like the blink of an eye.

• 22:57 @carefully b day cards? #
• 22:58 @carefully you should have taken a picture! #
• 00:24 @carefully No excuse! I do not accept! #
• 11:26 @scotlanded What day is the play? #
• 11:28 @lrscoupland Imp Schaf sem, Thom 6th, Omar 5th. Crit Schaf Sem, Pers Stowell 6th, Prose Ian Sem #
• 11:28 @lrscoupland Extemp Thom Sem, Omar 6th. Info Jon Con Sem, Thom Sem. #
• 12:44 @scotlanded Oh cool. I think I may be able to swing that. #
• 12:44 Didn't get a part because I'm too tall. wtf. #
• 13:03 @scotlanded I'm ok, I kind of thought that was something I left in High School though. #
• 13:38 Apple I brought for lunch? Mushy and mealy. GD this day. #

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• 21:47 this week's weather was brought to you by monty python and the holy grail #

zomg loudtwitter

So I really hate doing these, but I really needed to. If you were cut, it was either because I didn't feel like we were really connected/had much in common or I didn't think you were using your journal anymore. I also removed all deleted journals (with one notable exception), so if you deleted and plan on triumphantly returning please let me know. ♥

Comments screened.

http://www.fupenguin.com/2009/11/dissatisfied-ferrets-resort-to-jewish.html

Ferrets have made no secret out of the fact that they are not happy about being so low down the list of favorite pets, hovering way below the classic favorites like dogs and cats and somewhere between a potbellied pig and a chia pet. Instead of taking this like a man, they unsurprisingly take it like a ferret, which means tons of fucking passive aggressive comments about how all the ferret wants is for you to be happy and if it doesn't make you happy, well, then maybe it just shouldn't be around any more.

This particular manipulative bastard has taken it to a whole other level. If a Ferret ever gives you shit like this, just say, "No, Ferret, I am not going to cook you to put you out of your misery. JUST BECAUSE I DON'T CALL EVERY WEEK DOESN'T MEAN I DON'T LOVE YOU ANY MORE. And stop looking at me like that, I will not be taken in by your firm but loving stare." Then slowly back away from the Ferret and when both of you are calmer you can make plans to firmly define your boundaries.

http://sewliberated.typepad.com/sew_liberated/2009/11/its-here.html

No, not the double chin, sillies ... the advance copy of my book! It's real! It's shiny! It has my name on it, and my name is spelled correctly! Oh my. You can imagine the fluttering of the stomach butterflies...

Happenings
This week's challenge at ginny_challenge is the HBO HBP special -- and check out last week's winners.
This week's prompt at weasley_100 is trouble.
This week's theme at hpgw100 is snow.
Bonnie looks gorgeous in outtakes from a LUXX Magazine photoshoot.

Discussions
greenschist recommends Barefoot on a Broom and Give it Time.
werewolfsfan asks what happened to the stories archived at the Sugar Quill?

Graphics
kamizuki drew Harry and Ginny on the Hogwarts bridge.
punkbunny223 drew Ginny pin-up
gerre drew Your Father's Coming (Harry, Lily)
_jc_icons made 10 varied H/G icons out of a single screencap image.
dlittleone put together a Harry/Ginny picspam.

Fiction
katwoman68 wrote The Question [drabble]
jamieln612 wrote Flushed [drabble]
fbo66 wrote Sick Day and The Biggest Kids of All [drabbles]
danfan74 wrote What's Mine is Yours and What Goes Around, Comes Around [drabbles]
aggiebell90 wrote In the Attic - After the war ends, Harry spends some time going through Sirius' things.
and Overwhelmed - Harry and Ginny as young parents.
dukebrymin wrote Inappropriate Suggestions - It's never good to propose a holiday based on Harry's life.
r_becca wrote Containment - Harry helps Ginny cope with some toxic waste. In the most enjoyable way.
fbo66 wrote Dusk - The sun was slowly falling beyond the horizon. In the dim and dusky light, deep shadows swept across the garden and over the two bodies that lay contently on the grass.
yellowitchgrl wrote I Choose You - Ginny's 17th Birthday involved a lot of food, friends, and Firewhisky... now she and Harry awake to the aftermath. They have some tough choices to make.
danfan74 updated Harry's Homecoming with Chapter 11 - Harry is lost to the wizarding world for 13 years. He's in for a shock when he's finally tracked down and so is everyone else.
kezzabear updated Rebuilding Life with Chapter 42 - Harry has defeated Voldemort but is going back to his life going to be easy? What will he go back to, the life he once had is meaningless now.

Fandom at Large
Words on the Wind is a new fanfiction awards site dedicated to paranormal fandoms, including HP.
Signups are open until November 11 for the 2010 wizard_love exchange, which includes all HP het pairings.
Love Weasleys and long fic? Check out percybigbang.
hp_fairytales is gauging interest in another fest or challenge.
A new demo video has been released for the "Harry Potter Wizarding World" DVD game.

Editors' Picks
fic: magglenagall wrote The Terrible Burden of Grace - After receiving devastating news about his son, Harry faces his greatest challenge as a father.
art: leelastarsky drew Deathly Hallows Trio (Harry, Ron, Hermione)
watch: ABC Family will air HBP and special DVD extra footage on the weekend of December 4-6.

Oldie but Goodie
Love AUs? You can't miss ladytory's Fire Whiskey for the Pain, featuring Harry and Ginny in the Old West.


News? Fic? Comment here or email us at hpgwotp @ yahoo.com

http://sewliberated.typepad.com/sew_liberated/2009/11/holiday-traditions-exchange-update.html

Sign-ups will start at 12 noon (EST) on Wednesday, November 11th. This year, the sign-ups are limited to 200 people. Visit my blog at noon on Wednesday to assure your spot! I apologize for not being able to offer unlimited...

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/for-those-who-read-this-blog-for.html

(Serena Altschul and some author in July, sitting on the trampoline after two days of interviews. None of which, oddly enough, were done on the trampoline.)

Mr. Neil,

I DVR'd yesterday's installment of Sunday Morning and after zipping through it back and forth multiple times cannot seem to find you, though the description indicated the correct episode. Was it bumped to next week? Have you been sucked into an alternate Neil-less universe?

A concerned reader,
Mary

I'm afraid it was bumped by the Fort Hood Massacre.

I checked: The profile CBS did of me is apparently still going out, probably some time in December, although no-one seems certain when. I was told that we could help ensure that it is broadcast (and possibly make it come out sooner than December) if CBS think people would actually like to see it. Which means that if you do want to see it, you can help the process along if you write or email CBS and (politely) tell them so:

ADDRESS:
CBS News Sunday Morning
Box O (for Osgood)
524 West 57th St.
New York, NY 10019

E-MAIL: sundays@cbsnews.com

...
Dear Neil Gaiman, I ask for half-a-moment of your time (I would not presume to ask for more). This Spring 2010 I am teaching a Topics in Literature class on YOU at Winona State University (Eng 225: Neil Gaiman). Easy enough to select representative novel (American Gods), short stories (Fragile Things), children and YA (Graveyard Book), but here's the rub: I will likely only assign one Sandman graphic novel to students. I have been debating which is most representative, most worthy of inclusion, most amenable to class discussion and student scholarship. Then I thought I'd ask you. I know you suggest above that, for questions of this sort, we consider you a dead author, but I know you're not. When I came to a similar impasse about which of Ursula Le Guin's works to include in another class, she actually replied and offered her input. I extend the same offer to you: which of the Sandman volumes would you like to see on the syllabus?
Thank you for your time,
Nicholas Ozment, English Instructor
WSU

It's a hard one. I think if I were teaching I'd either go for Season of Mists or Fables and Reflections, because both of them have stuff to teach -- those nice chewy bits that people can like or dislike, argue with or discuss. I know a lot of teachers like to teach Dream Country because a) Midsummer Night's Dream won awards, and b) it's short and c) it has a script in the back. Your call. And good luck.

...

I mentioned recently that there were some beautiful new Polish and Russian book covers for my books that I'd seen at signings, which got me thinking. The International Cover gallery on this website is incredibly out of date.

It's at http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/Neil's_Work/International_Covers.

And though I get a lot of foreign editions in, and will at some point head down to the basement and rummage around and scan some (this week's mail brought the two-volume Japanese edition of Anansi Boys, on the cover of which Fat Charlie is not only Very White, but also Very Thin, and the complex Chinese - ie. Taiwan and Hong Kong - edition of The Graveyard Book) I thought that blog readers, being, as you are, all over the world, might be a better resource for knowing where to look for foreign covers.

Was your basement finished when you purchased your home or did you have it finished for your basement library? If you finished it yourself, how difficult was it? Also, I thought I saw a dehumidifier in one of the Photosynth pictures. Do you need one because of the books?

I'm asking because we have a full unfinished basement that we would like to have finished. We are running out of room for our books also. I don't think we don't have as many as you do though. :)

Any other suggestions for such a project would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
C.

No, when we got here the basement had a clay floor that puddled when it rained. We hired some nice builders and spent a lot of money finishing it, putting in drainage tiles, underfloor heating and all. There's a dehumidifier there in the summer and a humidifier in the winter, because after the first few years I noticed that binding glue and leather book covers were both cracking and flaking. There's now the equivalent of a large house in basement rooms beneath this house, filled with books and CDs and suchlike stuff.

And finally, a few photos from the China trip, taken by Ian Ford (or in one case, on his camera). Ian's a travel guide who now lives in China who helped organise my travels, and came along with me for part of the journey.

Amanda and I in the silk clothes that my publisher had given us as a thank you for coming, and because they are terrific.

I'm holding the Galaxy Award for this year, given to the foreign author most popular with Chinese reader-voters. This was my second year of winning it, so I have retired from the competition and said that they have to find a new favourite foreign author now.

Fandom meme!

01. Who is your best friend?
Ginny Weasley - HP
Juliet O'Hara - Psych

02. Who is your mother?
Mrs. Weasley - HP
Anne Shirley Blythe - AoGG

03. Who is your father?
Jed Bartlet - WW

04. Who is your older sibling?
Rebecca - Brothers&Sisters

Younger sibling?
Rosie - Georgie Nicolson

05. Who is your prom date?
Burton Guster - Psych

06. Who do you have a no-strings-attached one-night stand with?
Shawn Spencer - Psych
Sirius Black - HP
Justin Walker - B&S

07. Who do you date for a year or two?
Gilbert Blythe - AoGG

08. Who do you marry/live in sin with?
Burton Guster - Psych

09. Who is your boss?
Leo McGarry - WW

10. Who is/are your next door neighbor(s)?
Leonard and Sheldon - Big Bang Theory
---

What is your alias?
Mia

How did you choose it?
It's short for Maria, which is my real name =)

My name: Maria or Mia

What fandoms do you write for?
I used to write for The West Wing, Harry Potter and some Anne of Green Gables. Now it's all Psych all the time.

What fics are you currently working on?
Joy Comes In the Morning, as well as a constant string of one-shots.

What fandom did you start in?
Harry Potter

What is your deepest darkest fic-writing secret?
Hehehehe... ^^

Okay. Let's see. Not that long ago I wrote a Shassie story to prove a point. (My point being that the Shassie shippers' biggest problem is that they can't write the characters. Anyone can write good Shassie fic, even an non-Shassier like myself. You just got to make the characters IC and believable. I like to think my point was very much proved.)

Do you have any quirks/habits in your writing?
Umm.. I do a lot of inner monologue stuff, since I'm not such a huge fan of writing description. I'm getting there, but inner monologues and dialogue in general is what I do best.

Do you have any fan fiction pet peeves?
People who sacrifice ICness for plot.

Do you have an OTP?
Oh yes. Josh/Donna from WW. Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Draco and Remus/Sirius from HP. Or anything OBHWF, basically. Penny/Sheldon from BBT, and of course, Shawn/Juliet from Psych.

If you could get someone to write a fic for you right now, who would it be?
I think Pat. *sticks tongue out at Pat*

• 17:06 "Oops, my bad." #threewordsaftersex #
• 17:10 Bandaide? #onewordaftersex #
• 17:12 @scotlanded I need to own that movie, asap. #

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HOLY CRAP. My boyfriend has H1N1. I spent ALL weekend with him. There was touching. He woke up this morning feeling like crap, with a fever. The doctor said he might also have strep. I know he's going to be fine, but now I AM FREAKING OUT FOR HIM. WHAT DO I DO? I cannot be sick.

I'm sort of annoyed at people talking about how Jensen and/or Danneel could do better. They're both really lucky to have each other. I THINK I CANNOT TAKE A JOKE, but I'm particularly annoyed that I keep seeing Danneel could do better. The idea that someone is more or less "worthy" of another person's love REALLY bothers me. Whatever. In all seriousness, I think Jensen's a pretty attractive cool guy. And I'm feeling strangely protective of him. I think this makes me a crazy Jensen fangirl today. It comes and goes. I might need more coffee.

Good for them both. They are going to make PRETTY KIDS.